The Social Organisation in North-East India in Buddha's Time c9.9

c9.9

Now one cannot here properly speak of the entrance of the king into the state of an ascetic, as Viśvāmitra practises austerities for the sake of a special, transitory object ; but here in the Râmâyaṇa the practice is repeatedly mentioned, by which kings when in advanced age exchanged the crown for the solitude of the forest ; thus, for example, we notice it when Lakshmaṇa points out to his brother Râma (II. 23, 26) that according to the custom of the old kingly seers (pûrvarâjarshivṛittyâ) residence in the forest takes place after one has left the subjects to the care of the sons, so that they protect them like children, as well as in Râma's words (II. 94.19), "This the kingly seers (râjarshayaḥ), my ancestors, named nectar, this residence in a forest for the sake of the life after death."