History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v3.c46.47

v3.c46.47

The Sannyāsopaniṣad (13) adds two more varieties to the four enumerated above viz. 'turīyātīta' and 'avadhūta' and defines them as follows: 'turīyātīta' (one who is beyond the 4th stage viz. of paramahaṁsa) eats only fruits in the way cows take food (i. e. he does not hold them in his hands), if he takes cooked food then only from three houses, he wears no cloth, his body only continues to live (but he is not conscious of that fact), he deals with his body as if it were dead. The avadhūta is beyond all restrictions, he takes food from all varṇas except those who are charged with mortal sins or are *patita* (outcasts) and eats like an ajagara (a *boa constrictor*) i. e. lying down and opening only his mouth without any effort and is solely absorbed in the contemplation of the real nature of the Spirit. Medhātithi²¹⁵⁷ (on Manu VI. 32) is quite emphatic that sannyāsa does not consist in defying all the rules of śāstra, but in giving up the sentiment of egoism and of possessiveness and that it is not true to say that for the sannyāsin all rules (even of morality) are non-existent.