०२

TWO Age of Eligibility of a Candidate for Itinerant Asceticism 1. We will now consider the candidate’s age of eligibility.

Renunciation after Marriage 2. According to one opinion, itinerant asceticism is permitted only after a person has lived as a forest hermit and not while a person is still a vedic student. 3. This view is supported by the following vedic texts: After giving to the teacher a gift that would please him, let him not cut off his line of offspring. [TU 1.11.1] 4. At his very birth a Brahmin [is born with three debts]. [TS 6.3.10.5: see Ch 1.14] Procreation is the very foundation. Spinning out well the thread of progeny, a man becomes free from his debt to the forefathers. [MNU 525] 5. Manu, likewise, states: Only after paying his three debts should a man set his mind on renunciation. Should he take to renunciation without paying them, he will fall.2 [MDH 6.35] 6. Yajnavalkya says: No one but a man who has studied the Veda, recited silent prayers, fathered sons, distributed food, established the sacred fire, and offered sacrifices according to his ability may set his mind on renunciation. [YDh 3.57] 1. The term “moksa” (lit., “liberation”) in Manu and in Yajnavalkya (below, Ch. 2.6) refers specifically to the renunciatory mode that constitutes the fourth order of life devoted exclusively to the pursuit of personal liberation. For an extensive discussion of the meaning of this term in Manu, see Olivelle 1993, 137-42.

  1. The meaning of “fall” here (and in similar contexts elsewhere) is not clear. It may refer to the falling into hell after death, to the fall from caste, or more generally to falling into a state of sin.

39 ‘40 Rules and Regulations of Brahmanical Asceticism 7. Sankha and Likhita state: After he has lived as a forest hermit and has reached an advanced age, a man may freely take to itinerant asceticism.

8-10. Medhātithi says: Detached from ties to sons, wife, home, fields, cows, gold, and the like, as well as from human and divine pleasures revealed in the Vedas; freed from sin by reciting the Vedas and by performing sacrifices and austerities; with his heart made pure and his senses subdued through religious practices carried out over many lifetimes; and counseled by the Epics, Puranas, and the Veda-he strives after the highest state. Because he strives, he is called an ascetic.3 Only such an ascetic attains this highest bliss, and no one else.

Renunciation Permitted at Any Time 11. Some, on the other hand, are of the opinion that a person may take to itinerant asceticism freely either while he is a vedic student or from home or the forest. 12. This position is supported by a vedic passage from the Jābāli: After completing his vedic studies, he should become a householder. After he has been a householder, he should become a forest hermit. After he has been a forest hermit, he should depart for the ascetic life. Or rather, he may depart for the ascetic life while he is still a vedic student, or from home or the forest. [JU 64] 13. Yama says: After he has observed his vedic vow,4 a learned Brahmin who is impartial toward all creatures, both the mobile and the immobile, may devote himself to renunciation [see Ch. 2.5 n. 1).

  1. Or else, a householder who has fathered sons and subdued himself and his senses, who yearns not for any pleasure, and who has done all he has to do may become a wandering ascetic.

  2. We gather from this passage that, if someone is a vedic student, he should depart for the ascetic life only after he has completed his vow; if he is a householder, he should depart only after he has fathered a son-because it was already stated, “… one who has performed sac- 3. The author derives yati (“ascetic”) from yatana (“striving”). The etymological connection between the two is uncertain, but it was a common practice in ancient India for an author to use such phonetic similarities to point out what he may have regarded as the essential nature of some institution or practice.

  3. The vedic vow refers to the period of vedic studentship following a boy’s vedic initiation.

  4. Age of Eligibility 41 rifices, after drawing his sacred fires into his heart…";5 and if he is a forest hermit, he should depart only after he has performed austerities. This interpretation should be applied to what follows as well.6 This is also the object of Manu’s statement: “Only after paying his three debts…” [see Ch. 2.5]. 16. Some declare: After he has truly come to know the highest Brahman, a vedic student, a widowed householder, or a forest hermit should give up attachments and become a wandering ascetic.

  5. From this passage we gather that, if he is detached, itinerant asceticism is open to a widowed householder even before he has completed such duties as fathering a son. 18. Bṛhaspati says: Seeing that samsara is without any substance and longing to see the true substance, a man imbued with deep detachment should depart for the ascetic life even before he has married.

  6. Or someone may do so after he has fathered children and offered a variety of sacrifices, while another may do so after his “half-body” has died, and yet another from the forest.

  7. “Half-body” means wife, according to the statement: When a man’s wife drinks liquor, half his body dies. [VaDh 21.15] and according to the vedic text: The wife is a full half of a man’s body. [TS 6.1.8.5] 21-24. Śankha states: Having thus spent some time in the forest, a twice-born man should enter the celibate order of life. Even a vedic student may do so, however, if he has attained a high intensity of detachment by his knowledge of various Upanisads; if he has withdrawn all his senses and keeps them far from sensual objects; if he finds delight only in himself; if with his mind he 5. It is unclear where this statement was already made. No manuscript records it in any other section of the work. It may well refer to that part of Yama’s text which Yadava does not include in the citation made here. Yadava may just be assuming that his readers are aware of this passage.

  8. This means that when a text permits a student, householder, or forest hermit to renounce, we should assume that its author means that such people are eligible to renounce only when they have completed the duties of their respective states.

  9. There is a play here on the Sanskrit word “sara” (“pith” or “substance”). Samsara, if one ignores the nasal, can mean “with substance.” In reality, however, samsara is asara (or niḥsāra), that is, “without substance.” The true substance that he seeks is Brahman; see also NPU 139. This is another example of the phonetic etymology 1 commented on in n. 3.

  10. The expression “brahmasrama” may also mean the order devoted to (acquiring the knowledge of) Brahman. In either case, it clearly refers to the last order of life, i.e., renunciation.

42 Rules and Regulations of Brahmanical Asceticism has vanquished his adversaries; if he has got hold of his self and keeps it securely fastened by repeatedly engaging in yogic practices; if he has banished all attachments; and if he adheres strictly to his vow. Or even a twice-born householder, if he possesses the above qualities, may enter the celibate order of life after he has offered a sacrifice to Prajapati, given all his possessions as a sacrificial gift to the priests according to the prescribed rules, and deposited his sacred fires in himself.

Renunciation before Marriage Only for the Handicapped 25. In this manner, some vedic and scriptural texts advocate itinerant asceticism directly from vedic studentship, while others permit it only after a man has paid his debts and fulfilled other similar obligations. Given the resultant contradiction, some argue that the vedic and scriptural statements advocating renunciation directly from vedic studentship are made with reference to people such as the blind and the lame who are disqualified from performing rites. 26. This is supported by Likhita: As a result of merits he has accumulated over ten million lifetimes or by divine intervention, a man may become detached and display a strong yearning for Brahman.

  1. After he has learned the true meaning of the Veda, it may become impossible for such a man to live at home. So he may depart for the ascetic life either while he is a student or, when he is old, from home or the forest.

  2. The contradictions that result when vedic or scriptural texts prescribe mutually exclusive actions provided much of the grist for the hermeneutic mill of Brahmanical exegetes. Briefly, the hermeneutic rules provided three avenues to resolve contradictions: (a) A person could show that one of the statements in question is less authoritative than the other, either because one is vedic and the other is not (see Ch. 1.13 n. 4), or because there is some doubt regarding the injunctive power of one (see Ch. 1.20 n. 18). According to a well-known exegetical maxim, only statements of equal authority that contradict each other’s provisions can give rise to an option (GDh 1.4). (b) One could show that the contradiction is only apparent by demonstrating that the provisions of the two have in view two different groups of individuals or two different periods of the same individual’s life. This is called “restrictive option” (vyavasthitavikalpa), even though there is no true option here at all. This is by and large the preferred method of conflict resolution in Brahmanical hermeneutics (see Ch. 2.28 n. 10) and the one advocated by those who would restrict renunciation to ritually handicapped people. (c) When the first two avenues fail, the contradiction between equally authoritative texts creates an option. An individual may choose to follow either one. In the discussion below, and in general throughout the book, we will see these methods of conflict resolution used by various factions to buttress their own positions and to invalidate those of their opponents.

  3. Age of Eligibility 28. A young and healthy man should live diligently as a householder, while the blind, the lame, the old, and lepers should resort to asceticism.10 Renunciation before Marriage for Detached People 43 29. Others, however, argue as follows: “Should we rather not assume that there is no real contradiction in either the vedic or the scriptural passages? Unable as he is to undertake itinerant asceticism, why should not a man who is not detached become a householder? For surely it is impossible for a man who is not detached to undertake itinerant asceticism.” 30. Their position is supported by Dakṣa: Even those beings who are endowed with the highest virtuell fall under the control of sensual things. How much more, then, creatures with paltry virtue? And need we even talk about human beings? 31. Only a man whose passions have been extinguished, therefore, should take up the staff.12 Others do not have the capacity to do so, attracted as they are to sensual things.

  4. There are a lot of twice-born men who make a living by using the emblem of the triple staff. According to scripture, however, a man who does not know Brahman is not worthy of the triple staff.

  5. Likhita: After a twice-born man has performed the rite at which he renounces all things, if he returns to the world, the king should brand him with a dog’s paw and make him a slave.

  6. A man should renounce, therefore, only after he has first examined the purity of his heart for a long time and ascertained that his mind will not waver from the Law.

  7. The first two verses of this quotation appear to contradict the view they are expected to support. If we were to argue in the manner of a Brahmanical exegete, however, we could take the last verse as qualifying the injunction that permits a detached person to renounce either before or after marriage. Thus, a detached man should get married if he is young and healthy, while he may renounce if he is old or handicapped. The option given in the injunction is thus not a true option, since the two alternatives refer not to the same but to different individuals. See the alternative (b) in the previous note.

  8. The term “sattva” is used in Samkhya cosmology as the highest of the three strands (guna), which constitute material reality. The term here may have a cluster of meanings, including goodness, power, wisdom, and purity. It is unclear who these beings are, but their opposition to humans suggests that they are supernatural beings such as gods and seers.

  9. This is a reference to the renunciatory rite at which the ascetic takes a bamboo staff as the emblem of his new state. See Chs. 3 and 4.

44 35. Yama: Rules and Regulations of Brahmanical Asceticism Only when a man has quenched his passion and lust, attained perfect tranquillity, and become totally intent on Brahman does he become qualified to be a renouncer. Others do so just to gain a living.

  1. There is no justification, moreover, for assuming that the vedic passage prescribing immediate renunciation13 is directed at those who are disqualified, because later on in the following passage the same text prescribes it separately for them:14 Further, regardless of whether he has taken the vow or not, whether he has graduated or not, and whether he has a sacred fire or not, [let him renounce on the very day that he becomes detached].15 [JU 64] 37. Jābāli the Elder states: Regardless of whether he has taken the vow or not, whether he has graduated or not, whether he has the domestic fire or not, whether he offers the daily fire sacrifice or not, let him fetch some fire from the village and….16 38. Now, the statement “the blind, the lame, the old, and lepers should resort to asceticism” [Ch. 2.28] does not contradict our position, because the terms “blind” and so forth have been explained in a different way. 39. Thus, for instance, Medhātithi says: When a man remains as unmoved when he sees a sixteen-year-old young lady as when he sees a newborn girl or a hundred-year-old woman, he is called a “eunuch.” 13. I believe that the technical meaning of the term “utthanaśruti” (lit., “vedic text on rising up”) is that the text prescribes immediate departure from society without regard to any other condition. See, for example, Ch. 2.25 above, where the same term is used with reference to texts that advocate renunciation directly from vedic studentship. The term vyuthana is used with this meaning by Samkara in his commentary on BaU 3.5.1: see Olivelle 1986, 79-91. The text to which Yadava refers here is the Jabali cited at Ch. 2.12.

  2. The referent of “them” is unclear, but in all likelihood the author means that in the following passage the Jabali enjoins immediate renunciation specifically on those who are totally detached. “Separately” may signify the following: In the earlier passage (Ch. 2.12) immediate renunciation while a person was still a student was presented within the context of prescribing renunciation within the sequence of the orders of life for ordinary people. In that context there may be some justification in taking the rule of immediate renunciation as directed at those who are disqualified from marriage. In this text, on the other hand, no such doubt is possible, because the text speaks specifically and solely of those who are detached.

  3. “Vow” refers to vedic initiation, and a snataka, here translated as one who has graduated from vedic school, is a young adult who has performed the ceremony that concludes the period of vedic studies. This ceremony concludes with a ritual bath, and hence the graduate is called snataka, “one who has taken the bath.” 16. The author cites only the beginning of the passage, a common practice in this type of literature. He expects his reader to be familiar with these citations. I have been unable to trace the rest of this passage.

  4. Age of Eligibility 40. When a man walks only to beg food and to answer nature’s calls,,and even then does not travel beyond a league, he is called “lame.” 41. When a wandering ascetic, as he stands or walks, does not look beyond six feet in front of him, unless there is some danger, he is said to be “blind.” 42. As he hears words that are kind or unkind, soothing or scathing, when a man remains as if he had not heard them, he is said to be “deaf.“17 45 43. The blind, moreover, are not qualified to become wandering ascetics because of the rule “He should place his foot on the ground after determining its purity by inspection.“18 44. Neither are the lame or lepers, because of rules such as the following: Traveling to holy bathing places and temples, let him roam the earth like a worm along the path pointed out by the sun. 19 45. The rule of celibacy disqualifies eunuchs from itinerant asceticism, for celibacy is abstention from sex. Now abstention from sex does not arise at all in the case of a eunuch, because, remaining unmoved like a pillar, he does not have the capacity to engage in sex. Clearly abstention becomes a vow only for those who have the capacity.

  5. Consequently, the vedic passage on debts is directed at those who are not detached. For those who are detached, on the other hand, only one path is open, and that is itinerant asceticism. 47. Accordingly, Bṛhaspati states: … a man imbued with deep detachment should depart for the ascetic life even before he has married. [see Ch. 2.18] 48. Kratu: After he has truly come to know the highest Brahman, a vedic student, a widowed householder, or a forest hermit should give up attachments and become a wandering ascetic.

  6. Śankha: Even a vedic student may do so, however, tachments; and if he adheres strictly to his vow.

if he has banished all at- 17. These verses and other similar ones are contained in the NPU 146-47; see also Ch. 7.130-36.

  1. MDh 6.46. The verse literally means that he should place his foot purified by his gaze; that is, he should look carefully to see whether there are any insects or bugs before putting his foot down as he walks, lest he kill them. Jain mendicants use brooms to brush insects from their path. The point here is that this rule of Manu disqualifies the blind because they cannot visually inspect the ground.

  2. The second half of the verse is found in the MBh 14.46.32. The point of the argument is that the lame would not be able to roam the earth or to visit holy places. How this text would disqualify lepers is less clear. Perhaps they would not be allowed to enter temples or sacred bathing places (tīrtha).

46 Rules and Regulations of Brahmanical Asceticism 50. Or even a twice-born householder, if he possesses the above qualities, may enter the celibate order of life after he has offered a sacrifice to Prajapati, given all his possessions as a sacrificial gift to the priests according to the prescribed rules, and deposited his sacred fires in himself. [see Ch. 2.23-24] 51. Dattatreya: The triple staff is the emblem of Visnu. It is the means of liberation for twice-born people and signals the cessation of all rules. 20 That is the teaching of the Veda. It was prescribed of old by the Self-Existent One for those who had become disaffected with household life.21 52. The teachers 22 are of the opinion that a temporary vedic student23 is free to choose24 any of the four orders of life. 53. Vasistha accordingly states: There are four orders of life: vedic student, householder, forest hermit, and wandering ascetic. After studying one, two, or all the Vedas, a student who has not violated his vow of celibacy may enter whichever of these he prefers. [VaDh 7.1.3] 54. Apastamba also says: After learning the rites, he may undertake whichever he likes. [ApDh 2.21.5] 20. The term “dharma” in this context probably refers to the duties and laws of castes and orders of life. The renunciatory life is often depicted as transcending dharma.

  1. The referent of “it” is unclear, but in this context it may refer to the triple staff. This half-verse is given within a different context in the Yls 2.32 (Olivelle 1987, 50,65).

  2. This could, of course, be an honorific plural. In this type of literature such plurals invariably refer to authoritative figures of old whose views support those of the author. It also may be a literary device rather than an actual reference to a particular teacher.

  3. Such a vedic student is distinguished from one who resolves to live as a student all his life. According to the original formulation of the aśrama system, which is presented here by Yadava, it was the temporary student who, at the completion of his period of study, chose an order in which he would spend his entire adult life. The first order in this scheme is permanent studentship, which, among others, the temporary student may choose. The choice of an asrama was limited to this crucial period of a man’s life when he is about to assume adult responsibilities. On the original asrama system and for a discussion of the texts cited here, see Olivelle 1993, 73-101.

  4. The term “icchāvikalpa,” “free or unrestricted option,” means that any student may freely choose an order of life he prefers. This type of option is different from the vyavasthitavikalpa, which restricts the choice to a particular group or class of people. See Cg. 2.25 n. 9.

  5. Age of Eligibility 55. The Blessed Vyasa states: After duly acquiring vedic knowledge by serving his teacher, a twice-born man should give a gift of a cow to the teacher and, with his permission, take the ritual bath.

  6. Then, that learned Brahmin may live in whichever order of life he prefers, either as a permanent student, or as a sage, or else as a wandering ascetic. 25 57. Gautama declares: For him, some assert, there is a choice of orders.26 [GDh 3.1] 47 58. Now with regard to the statement “Only after paying his three debts…” [see Ch. 2.5], that too-when we interpret it within the restrictions imposed on it by vedic and scriptural statements enjoining itinerant asceticism straight from vedic studentship for those who are detached-must refer exclusively to people with attachments. Alternatively, it may intend to point out that debts once assumed must be paid. 27 59. It is established, therefore, that a man who is detached may become a wandering ascetic while he is still a student, or from home or the forest. 60. Bṛhaspati accordingly states: When a man is attached to the Supreme Self and detached from all else, and when he is freed from all desires, he is fit to eat almsfood. [see NPU 139] 25. Only three of the four orders are listed here explicitly. However, the term “muni” (“sage”) is ambiguous. It may refer to a householder or a hermit, and here it may perhaps include both.

  7. “For him,” that is, for a temporary student who has completed his vedic studies.

  8. Yadava’s intention is to show that Manu’s passage must refer to people who are not detached, for otherwise it would be rendered null and void by contradicting vedic texts. Alternatively, Manu may intend to state only that those who have assumed debts must pay them before taking to renunciation. As Vijñānesvara, another great medieval theologian, points out (commenting on YDh 3.56-57), it is foolish to think that a person is literally born with these debts. One assumes them when one becomes qualified to pay them by undertaking a particular mode of life. Thus, when a man is initiated he assumes the debt to study, as when a man gets married he assumes the debts to procreate and to offer sacrifices. According to this interpretation, Manu’s statement does not contradict other texts that permit a detached man to renounce before he gets married, because before marriage he is not burdened with the debts of procreation and sacrifice. For an extensive discussion of this point, see Olivelle 1993, 177-82,237-43.

48 Rules and Regulations of Brahmanical Asceticism Renunciation When Death Is Imminent 61. Angiras permits itinerant asceticism also for those facing imminent death:28 One who is tired of forest life may depart for the ascetic life after performing the appropriate rite. A twice-born man may renounce if he is afflicted with a disease, if he is detached, or if he has acquired the knowledge of Brahman.

  1. A man may depart for the ascetic life while he is vedic student or from home or the forest if he is learned or if he is sick and in great pain.

  2. The sage Angiras has ordained renunciation for a man overcome by fear at the sight of a robber, a tiger, and the like or when a dreadful peril is at hand.

  3. Śātātapa likewise states: If a man says, “I have renounced,” even with his last breath, he will obtain a reward equal to one thousand sacrifices.

  4. Dattatreya declares: The practice of carrying the emblem of Visnu is the prerogative of those born from the mouth, and not of those bom from the arms or the thighs.29 66. That ends the second chapter, entitled “Age of Eligibility of a Candidate for Itinerant Asceticism,” of the Collection of Ascetic Laws.

  5. The term “atura” generally refers to a person who is sick or infirm. Within the context of renunciation, however, it acquires a technical meaning and refers to a person who is in danger of imminent death either through sickness or when attacked by robbers or wild animals. A definition of this term is given at Ch. 4.42. For the procedure of renunciation in such an emergency, see Ch. 4.39-47.

  6. The reference is to the cosmogonic hymn of the Ṛgveda (10.90), which por trays the Brahmins as originating from the mouth of the primeval man dismembered in sacrifice and the Ksatriyas and Vaisyas from the arms and the thighs, respectively. The eligibility of non-Brahmins for renunciation is a hotly debated point of medieval Brahmanical theology, a topic, however, that Yadava does not address explicitly.