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CHAPTER ONE
mane of a sleeping lion ?" Then Arkakirti's son himself gave Srivijaya the vidyā obstructing weapons, capturing, and also releasing. He, causing death to enemies, sent fifty thousand of his sons: 278 Raśmivega, Amitavega, Ravivega, Arkakīrti, Bhānuvega, Adityayaśas, Bhānu, Citraratha, Arkaprabha, Arkaratha, Ravitejas, Prabhākara, Kiranavega, Sahasrakiraña and others accompanied by an army with the best of heroes, Triprstha's son, to the city Camaracañcā to take Sutārā from Ašanighosa at once. Then Trippstha's son went to Camaracañcā instantly, the whole sky being covered with the Vidyadhara-army; making hundreds of comets appear, as it were, in the sky from the soldiers' weapons; making the horses of the sun neigh by the neighings of many horses; spreading another bank of clouds, as it were, in the sky by the elephants; showing portentous suns, as it were, by shining aerial cars.
Knowing that Aśanighosa was versed in vidyās, Arkakīrti's son went with his son, Sahasraraśmi, not inferior in power, to Mt. Himavat to subdue for himself the vidyā named Mahājvālā, which destroys the vidyās of enemies. There he engaged in pratimā for seven days with a month's fast 279 at the very purifying feet of Rși Jayanta engaged in pratimā and also of Dharanendra and he began the work of subduing the vidyā. Sahasraraśmi guarded his father thus occupied and a little less than a month passed while they were thus engaged.
278 298. I am convinced that the satapañcaśatim of the text is an error. This episode occurs in 3 other Säntināthacaritras that I know: GOS 58, that of Munibhadra, and one in MS in the Baroda Oriental Institute to which Pandit L. B. Gandhi called my attention. This is by Devacandrasüri, Hemacandra's guru. In all these the number of sons is 500. However, all the MSS that I have seen have the same reading as the ed. I think probably śūra or bhața (which are used in the other works, but with a different construction) should be substituted for sata, but the construction would be somewhat awkward and there is no authority. I consider 50,000 an impossible number here. See App. I.
270 306. That is, he fasted continuously for a month and during the month he observed pratimā for 7 days continuously.
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