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ARIŞTANEMI’S SPORT, INITIATION, OMNISCIENCE 271 at all because their eyes are obstructed by the darkness of night? An ant destroys intelligence, a louse would cause dropsy, a fly causes vomiting, and a spider leprosy.
A thorn and a splinter of wood cause pain in the throat, a scorpion that has fallen into vegetables splits the palate. A hair stuck in the throat causes stammering. Such evil consequences as these, et cetera, to all from eating at night are seen. If one should eat pure food at night, without seeing fine creatures, there would necessarily be destruction of creatures in eating at that time. How can those people, stupid, who eat food at night which has a collection of creatures attached, be distinguished from Rākşasas? Whoever continues eating day and night is clearly nothing but an animal, whose horns and tail are lost. Whoever eats at the beginning and end of the day, excepting forty-eight minutes each time, knowing the evil results of eating at night, is a receptacle of merit. One who has not made a vow to cease from eating at night, even though eating in the daytime, would not share the fruit free from trickery. There is no interest without speech.261 The ones who, abandoning eating by day, eat only at night, have laid aside a jewel and taken a piece of glass, stupid. Owls, crows, cats, vultures, sambars, hogs, serpents, scorpions, and lizards are born from eating at night. The one who, rich (in dharma), always avoids eating at night, would necessarily observe fasts for half of a man's lifetime. What merits there are in the avoidance of eating at night, the causes of only a good status of existence—who would be able to enumerate them fully? Many fine creatures have been seen by the kevalins in the forked grain mixed with raw milk, et cetera. Therefore one should avoid them. One devoted to compassion should give up fruit, flowers, leaves and other things that are connected with live creatures and also pickle that is contaminated. Thus, being first in compassion, with a
261 356. He must make the vow, just as one can not collect interest without an agreement.
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