History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v3.c46.80

v3.c46.80

In J. R. A. S. for 1925 pp. 479-486 Dr. J. N. Farquhar contributes a very learned article on the organization of the sannyāsins of the Vedānta. Therein he shows how Moslem armed *fakirs* molested and even killed Hindu ascetics, how Madhusūdana Sarasvatī approached the Emperor Akbar, how failing to get complete redress he initiated kṣatriyas and vaiśyas into seven out of the ten orders of sannyāsins and armed them, how these sannyāsins fought against the moslem fakirs and also among themselves, how even non-brahmin women are initiated into the *giri* and *purī* orders and how in Northern India the pure monastic orders are those of *tīrtha*, *āśrama* and *sarasvatī*. This innovation later on led to serious consequences. The sannyāsins and fakirs infested the province of Bengal and their incursions and depredations caused great alarm in the first days of the British rule (latter half of the 18th century²¹⁷⁶). This shows how the rule of *ahiṁsā* enjoined upon ascetics became perverted. Various estimates have been made about the number of persons in India professing to lead the ascetic life. They could easily have been 10 per cent of the population, particularly in Northern India. They generally led very indolent, parasitic and dissolute lives. There are however, reasons to believe that in recent times the number of so-called sannyāsins is being substantially reduced owing to several causes. There have been swarms of monks and nuns in Christian countries also. Before the suppression of the monasteries by Henry VIII in England about 400 years ago, the number of monks, nuns and persons dependent on them was enormously large. Vide 'English monks' by Geoffrey Baskerville, p. 285, (f. n. 2) where the figures of monks and nuns in England, France and Spain at various periods are given.