Vigayaghosha, pleased, folded his hands and spoke

as follows: 'You have well declared to me what true Brahmanahood consists in. (37)

'You are a sacrificer of sacrifices, you are the most learned of those who know the Vedas, you know the Gyotishanga, you know perfectly the Law. (38)

'You are able to save yourself and others; therefore do us the honour to accept our alms, O best of monks.' (39)

"I do not want any alms; but, O Brahmana, enter the order at once, lest you should be drifted about on the dreadful ocean of the Samsara, whose eddies are dangers. (40)

"There is glue (as it were) in pleasure: those who are not given to pleasure, are not soiled by it; those who love pleasures, must wander about in the Samsara; those who do not, will be liberated. (41)

"If you take two clods of clay, one wet, the other dry, and fling them against the wall, the wet one will stick to it. (42)

"Thus foolish men, who love pleasure, will be fastened (to Karman), but the passionless will not, even as the dry clod of clay (does not stick to the wall)." (43)

When Vigayaghosha had learned the excellent Law from the houseless Gayaghosha, he entered the order. (44)

Gayaghosha and Vigayaghosha both annihilated their Karman by self-control and penance, and reached the highest perfection. (45)

Thus I say.

Footnotes

^136:1 Yama etymologically means 'restraint;' here it denotes the great vows of the Gainas; cf. XXIII, 12, p. 121 and note 2.

^137:1 It is worthy of note that, according to the opinion of our author, the knowledge of astronomy, as taught in the Gyotisha, was one Of the principal accomplishments of a priest. This quality of a priest must therefore have been more conspicuous to an outsider than Brahmanical books would make us believe.

^137:2 To render muha = mukha.

^137:3 Nakshatra.

^137:4 Dharma.

^138:1 Gannatthi veyasa muham = yagnarthi vedasam mukham. According to the Dipika sacrifice here means the ten virtues: truth, penance, content, patience, right conduct, simplicity, faith, constancy, not injuring anything, and Samvara.

^138:2 According to the commentators we should translate: He who does not embrace (his people) on meeting them, and is not sorry on leaving them.

^139:1 Niddhantamalapavagam. The commentator assumes a transposition of the members in this compound. Such irregular compounds are not unfrequent in our Prakrit. If, however, pavaga stands for papaka, the compound would be regular, and would refer not to 'gold,' but to the person described. In that case we must translate: whose impurities and sins had been annihilated.

^139:2 I.e. by thoughts, words, and acts.

^140:1 Snataka denotes a Brahman who has finished his studies; it here means as much as 'a perfect sage.'