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of the puja, and at once made śāstras, and taught that many gifts had much fruit. After they became ācāryas, greedy, they explained daily that a gift of a girl, of land, iron, sesame-seed, cotton, cows, gold, silver, seats, horses, elephants, couches, and other things-every gift was certainly bearing great fruit in this world and next. Wicked-hearted with great desires, they explained that they themselves were suitable recipients of gifts, and everyone else unsuitable. So they, deceitful, became gurus of the people at that time. In a treeless place a platform is made even around a castor-bean plant.472
So the complete extinction of the congregation took place in this zone up to the congregation of Sitala Svämin. At that time a kingdom with one umbrella was made by low Brahmans, like that of owls at night. In the same way wrong belief existed in the other six intervals between Jinas up to the time of Santi Jineśa. Because of the destruction of the congregation during these intervals there was unstumbling progress of wrong believers.
CHAPTER SEVEN
472 162. Vedika is the raised seat made around large trees, particularly in villages. Even the castor-bean plant is used for this purpose in the absence of real trees. Cf. Mainwaring 1218: "In a deserted village the castor-oil plant is a noble tree." In the Hitopadeśa in the story of the Vulture, the Cat and the Birds it is said: nirastapädape dese erando'pi drumāyate.
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