Yasastilaka and Indian Culture

Author(s): Krishnakant Handiqui
Publisher: Jain Sanskruti Samrakshak Sangh Solapur

Page 84

4. YASASTILAKA AS A PROSE ROMANCE
"Sire, riches, although they do not crop up of their own accord, may, like brides seeking a husband, come into the possession even of a man fallen from the sky, as a result of (royal) favour; but learning, like the span of life, never comes to a man, even though accompanied by efforts, unless he attends the lecture-hall of a teacher. Because, 'wealth there may be in plenty in men's homes as a result of a king's favour, but not nobility of birth nor scholarship' (3. 179). When, my lord, there is a show of learning in a man, although he is devoid of these two qualities, it is due not to his own ability but to that of wealth, just as a flash of lightning in the sky is due not to any potency of the sky itself but to the presence of clouds.
The field of the intellect, although devoid of the water of learning, may on account of the power of wealth undulate with falsehood, and prove attractive to those deer, the dunces (3. 180). Indeed, this minister (of yours) has the hardihood to hold forth on certain branches of art, although lacking in depth, just as a drop of oil spreads on water without penetrating below the surface; but even that is due not to any great measure of intelligence on his part, but to his association with people who commit the sin of prostituting their learning, being without any self-respect, with all sense of pride destroyed by the axe of chill penury,' and the antelope of their intelligence trapped in the snare of the hope of gaining an infinitesimal quota of wealth. Sire, the fragrance of the mouths of slave girls is due not to any luck but to their taking the remnants of the betel chewed by their masters. The lovely redolence of a breeze is due not to its natural qualities but to its contact with flower gardens. The fierce burning of wood is due not to its natural properties but to the action of fire. A dog is eager to fight not on account of his courage but on account of the presence of his master, and a piece of stone becomes an object of veneration not on account of its natural state but because it is shaped into the likeness of a god............
Further, the minister annoys the Exalted Goddess of Speech with his wretched verses, his purpose being to proclaim the villainy of his subordinates. This is meant to put outsiders off the scent, who would be led to think, 'How can a man who speaks thus (about the vices of his subordinates) be a villain himself?".
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Then it is the associates of the many heretics, wandering in the world to its farthest limits, who have oftentimes given wide publicity to his way of life, similar to that of a spendthrift whore.
1 Lit, the axe of a stomach difficult to replenish. 9