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ŚRI MAHAVIRA'S NIRVĀŅA
337 in dharma. The ones who are not negligent and will give instruction to those lax in dharma, they will be ridiculed by them (the negligent) like city-people in a village by the villagers. In future there will be contempt for the scriptures. Know, king, this is the meaning of the monkey-dream. -
Laymen, equal to a holy fig tree in a good field, liberal, worshippers of the doctrine, will be oppressed by deceitful false sādhus. The great sages, having the character of lions, will look like watch-dogs of those having contacts with worthless doctrine. The false sādhus will take over the path of the touring-country of the well behaved sādhus, like babbūlas.254 Such is the meaning of the holy fig tree.
For the most part munis of a bold nature, even though seeking dharma, will not be satisfied in the sects, like crows in ditch-water. Then they, stupid, will go with other sectarians, with sūris at the head devoted to deceit, like mirages. They will constantly harass the teachers among them, saying,
Going with them is not fitting. This is the meaning of the crow-dream.
The doctrine of the Jinas, equal to a lion, devoid of memory of former births, et cetera in succession, will perish in this forest of Bharata devoid of righteous people. Certainly animals of teachers of corrupt doctrine will not prevail; but the false sādhus, self-originated like worms, having impure knowledge. The false sādhus surely will not prevail by corrupt teachers like wild animals, but from former power. That is the meaning of the lion-dream.
Righteous people will not be produced even in good families, like fragrant lotuses in multitudes of lotuses. Even though they have been devoted to dharma, they will change from bad association, like a hite waterlily sprung up in a village dust heap. Born in a bad country, in a bad family, even the righteous will be inferior. So you should understand the meaning of the lotus-dream.
254 41. A thorny bush of little value that spreads rapidly. 43 M
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