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Paramahansa; nor is there anything inferior to it or beside it or before it. It is a condition that is divested of sorrow and |
happiness; that is auspicious and freed from decrepitude and death and that knows no change.'[563] |
"Uma said, 'Thou halt recited the religion of the householders, that of Emancipation, and that which is based upon the |
observances of the righteous. These paths are high and exceedingly beneficial to the world of living creatures. O thou that art |
conversant with every religion, I desire now to hear what is the high religion of the Rishis. I always have a liking for those that |
dwell in ascetic retreats. The perfume that emanates from the smoke of the libations of clarified butter poured on the sacred fire |
seems to pervade the entire retreats and make them delightful. Marking this, O great god, my heart becomes always filled with |
delight. O puissant deity, I have doubts regarding the religion of the ascetics. Thou art conversant with the details of all |
religions. Do thou enlighten me, O god of gods, in detail, respecting this topic truly about which I have asked thee, O great |
deity!' |
"The blessed and holy one said, 'Yes, I shall recite to thee the high and excellent religion of the ascetics. By following the |
dictates of that religion, O auspicious lady, the ascetics attain to success through the severe penances they practise. O highly |
blessed one, do thou hear, from the beginning, what the duties are of those righteous Rishis that are conversant with every duty |
and that are known by the name of Phenapas. The Grandsire Brahma (during the days he devoted to the observance of |
penances) drank some nectar (in the form of water). That water had flowed in heaven from a great sacrifice. The froth of that |
water is highly auspicious and (in consequence of Brahma's having drunk it) it partook of His own nature. Those Rishis that |
subsist upon the measure of froth that thus issued (from the water indicated) are called Phenapas (Froth-eaters). Even this is the |
conduct of those pure-souled Rishis, O lady, possessed of wealth of penances! Listen now to me as I explain to thee who the |
Valkhilyas are. The Valkhilyas are ascetics that have won success by their penances. They reside in the solar disc. Adopting |
the means of subsistence that is followed by the birds, those Rishis, conversant with every duty of righteousness, live according |
to the Unchha mode. Their attire consists of deer-skins or barks of trees. Freed from every pair of opposites, the Valkhilyas, |
possessed of wealth of penances, walk in this track of righteousness. They are as big as a digit of the thumb. Distributed into |
classes, each class lives in the practice of the duties assigned to it. They desire only to practise penance. The merits they win by |
their righteous conduct are very high. They are regarded as having attained to an equality with the gods and exist for the |
accomplishment of the purposes of the gods. Having burnt off all their sins by severe penances, they blaze forth in effulgence, |
illuminating all the points of the compass. Others, called Chakracharas, are endued with cleansed souls and devoted to the |
practice of compassion. Righteous in their conduct and possessed of great sanctity, they live in the region of Soma. Thus |
residing near enough to the region of the Pitris, they duly subsist by drinking the rays of Soma. There are others called |
Samprakshalas and Asmkuttas and Dantolukhalas.[564] These live near the Soma-drinking deities and others that drink flames |
of fire. With their wedded spouses, and with passions under complete control, they too subsist upon the rays of Soma. They |
pour libations of clarified butter on the sacred fire, and adore the Pitris under proper forms. They also perform the well-known |
sacrifices. Even this is said to constitute their religion. The religion of the Rishis, O goddess, is always observed by those who |
are houseless and who are free to rove through every region including that of the gods. There are, again, other classes about |
whom I shall speak presently. Do thou listen. It is necessary that they who observe the different religions of the Rishis, should |
subjugate their passions and know the Soul. Indeed, in my opinion, lust and wrath should be completely conquered. With corn |
(wealth) acquired by the Unchha mode, they should discharge the following duties, viz., the pouring of libations on the sacred |
fire, occupying a fixed seat employing oneself the while in the sacrifice called Dharmaratri, performance of she Soma-sacrifice, |
acquisition of especial knowledge, the giving of sacrificial presents which forms the fifth, the daily performance of sacrifices, |
devotion to the worship of the Pitris and the deities, hospitality towards all. Abstention from all luxurious viands prepared from |
cow's milk, taking a pleasure in tranquillity of heart, lying on bare rocks or the earth, devotion to Yoga, eating potherbs and |
leaves of trees, and subsisting upon fruits and roots and wind and water and moss, are some of the practices of the Rishis by |
which they attain to the end that belongs to persons unsubjugated (by the world). When the smoke has ceased to curl upwards |
from a house, when the husking machine has ceased to ply, when the hearth-fire has been extinguished, when all the inmates |
have taken their food, when dishes are no longer carried from room to room, when mendicants have ceased to walk the streets, |
it is then that the man who is devoted to the religion of truth and tranquillity of soul, desiring to have a guest (but finding his |
desire ungratified), should eat what remnant of food may still occur in the house. By acting in this way, one becomes a |
practiser of the religion of the Munis. One should not be arrogant, nor proud, nor cheerless and discontented; nor should one |
wonder at anything. Indeed, one should behave equally towards friends and foes. Verily, one who is the foremost of all persons |
conversant with duties should also be friendly towards all creatures." |
SECTION CXLII |
"Uma said, 'Forest recluses reside in delightful regions, among the springs and fountains of rivers, in bowers by the sides of |
streams and rills, on hills and mountains, in woods and forests, and in sacred spots full of fruits and roots. With concentrated |
attention and observant of vows and rules, they dwell in such places. I desire, O Sankara, to hear the sacred ordinances which |
they follow. These recluses, O god of all gods, are persons that depend, for the protection of their bodies, upon themselves |
alone.'[565] |
Maheswara said, 'Do thou hear with concentrated attention what the duties are of forest recluses. Having listened to them with |
one mind, O goddess, do thou set thy heart upon righteousness. Listen then to what the acts are that should be practised by |
righteous recluses crowned with success, observant of rigid vows and rules, and residing in woods and forests. Performing |
ablutions thrice a day, worshipping the Pitris and the deities, pouring libations on the sacred fire, performing those sacrifices |
and rites that go by the name of Ishti-homa, picking up the grains of Nivara-paddy, eating fruit and roots, and using oil that is |
pressed out from Inguda and castor-seeds are their duties. Having gone through the practices of Yoga and become crowned |
with (ascetic) success and freed from lust and wrath, they should seat themselves in the attitude called Virasana. Indeed, they |
should reside in those places which are inaccessible to cowards.[566] Observant of the excellent ordinances relating to Yoga, |
sitting in summer in the midst of four fires on four sides with the sun overhead, duly practising what is called Manduka Yoga, |
and always seated in the attitude called Virasana, and lying on bare rocks or the earth, these men, with hearts set upon |
righteousness, must expose themselves to cold and water and fire. They subsist upon water or air or moss. They use two pieces |
of stones only for husking their corn. Some of them use their teeth only for such a purpose. They do not keep utensils of any |
kind (for storing anything for the day to come). Some of them clothe themselves with rags and barks of trees or deer-skins. |
Even thus do they pass their lives for the measure of time allotted to them, according to the ordinances (set forth in the |
scriptures). Remaining in woods and forests, they wander within woods and forests, live within them, and are always to be |
found within them. Indeed, these forest recluses entering into woods and forests live within them as disciples, obtaining a |
preceptor, live with him. The performance of the rites of Homa is their duty, as also the observance of the five sacrifices. A due |
observance of the rules about distribution (in respect of time) of the fivefold sacrifices as laid down in the Vedas, devotion to |
(other) sacrifices, forming the eighth, observance of the Chaturmasya, performance of the Paurnamasya, and other sacrifices, |
and performance of the daily sacrifices, are the duties of these men dissociated from wives, freed from every attachment, and |
cleansed from every sin. Indeed, they should live even thus in the forest. The sacrificial ladle and the water-vessel are their |
chief wealth. They are always devoted to the three fires. Righteous in their conduct and adhering to the path of virtue, they |
attain to the highest end. These Munis, crowned with (ascetic) success and ever devoted to the religion of Truth, attain to the |
highly sacred region of Brahman or the eternal region of Soma. O auspicious goddess, I have thus recited to thee, in brief, the |
outlines of the religion that is followed by forest recluses and that has many practices in detail.' |
"Uma said, 'O holy one, O lord of all creatures, O thou that art worshipped by all beings, I desire to hear what the religion is of |
those Munis that are followers of the scriptures treating of ascetic success. Do thou recite it to me. Residing in woods and |
forests and well-accomplished in the scriptures of success, some amongst them live and act as they like, without being |
restrained by particular practices; others have wives. How, indeed, have their practices been laid down?' |
"Mahadeva said, 'O goddess, the shaving of the head and the wearing of the brown robes are the indications of those recluses |
that rove about in freedom; while the indications of those that sport with wedded wives consist in passing their nights at home. |
Performing ablutions there times a day is the duty of the classes, while the Homa, with water and fruits from the wilderness, |
belongs to the wedded recluses as performed by the Rishis in general. Absorption, Yoga-meditation, and adherence to those |
duties that constitute piety and that have been laid down as such (in the scriptures and the Vedas) are some of the other duties |
prescribed for them. All those duties also of which I have spoken to thee before as appertaining to recluses residing in forests, |
are the duties of these also. Indeed, if those duties are observed, they that observe them, attain to the rewards that attach to |
severe penances. Those forest recluses that lead wedded lives should confine the gratification of their senses to these wedded |
wives of theirs. By indulging in sexual congress with their wives at only those times when their seasons come, they conform to |
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