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At a later date not merely Sinai itself but the whole tract of Arabia Petraea through which, as it was said, the Jews at their exodus under Moses had wandered was peopled with ascetics of like mind, who gave to their settlements the names of the resting-places of the chosen people, as mentioned in the Scriptures; but as yet there was no connection between the individual penitents, no order ruled their lives; they might still be counted by tens, though ere long they numbered hundreds and thousands.
And after their business was finished, he said upto them, 'Retire. Then after those snakes disguised as ascetics had gone away, the king addressed his ministers and friends, saying, 'Eat ye, with me, all these fruits of excellent taste brought by the ascetics. Impelled by Fate and the words of the Rishi, the king, with his ministers, felt the desire of eating those fruits.
But whether this should be regarded as anything more than the elated faith of ascetics, a fine dogma of academics, or a theme for show in the pomp of moral rhetoric?
In that direction also are the rivers Venna and Bhimarathi, both capable of destroying sin and fear, and abounding in birds and deer, and graced with abodes of ascetics. In that region also, O bull of the Bharata race, is the tirtha of the royal ascetic, Nriga viz., the river Payoshni, which is delightful and full of waters and visited by Brahmanas.
The silent and solitary ascetics, who had secluded themselves from the world, were entitled to the warmest approbation of Chrysostom; but he despised and stigmatized, as the disgrace of their holy profession, the crowd of degenerate monks, who, from some unworthy motives of pleasure or profit, so frequently infested the streets of the capital.
There were juicy cakes too among those viands, and several agreeable kinds of confectionery, and solid preparations of milk. Indeed, the viands offered presented different kinds of taste. Among them there was also some food the produce of the wilderness such as ascetics liked and took. Diverse agreeable kinds of fruit, fit to be eaten by kings, were also there.
In their mode of life they belong to the class of ascetics and preach abstinence, indifference to human praise and blame, love of God and absolute trust in him even to the extent of refraining from all effort in one's own behalf, and in extreme cases going so far as to court danger. In theoretical teaching they adopted the emanatistic doctrine of the Neo-Platonic School.
""Dharma said, 'Thy body, O foremost of ascetics, should certainly be cast off. Do thou ascend to heaven, O Brahmana! Or, tell us what else should please thee, O sinless one! ""The Brahmana said, 'I do not, O puissant lord, wish to reside in heaven itself without this body of mine. Leave me, O Dharma! I have no desire to go to heaven itself without my own body.
And, O best of men, although the Danavas behaved in this way towards the ascetics in woody retreats, yet men failed to discover anything of them. And every morning people saw the dead bodies of Munis emaciated with frugal diet, lying on the ground. And many of those bodies were without flesh and without blood, without marrow, without entrails, and with limbs separated from one another.
He should protect his subjects, never doing anything that may obstruct or thwart righteousness. He should always maintain and protect the helpless, the masterless, and the old, and women that are widows. The king should always honour the ascetics and make unto them gifts, at proper seasons of cloths and vessels and food.
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