Vada in Theory and Practice: Studies in Debates, Dialogues and Discussions in Indian Intellectual Discourses c6.s2.14

c6.s2.14

As one who passes through a strange village, spends the night there, and the next day, leaves that place, and continues his journey, so are father, mother, home and possessions of a man; they are but a resting place, O Kākutstha, and wise do not become attached to them. Thou can't therefore abandon thy father's kingdom, O chief of men, in order to dwell in a lonely forest that is gloomy and full of thorny thickets! Come and be crowned in the prosperous city of Ayodhyā, thy locks unbound; the capital awaits thee! Come and taste the royal luxuries worthy of thee, O son of a king! Divert thyself in Ayodhyā as Śakra (Indra) in Triviṣṭapa (heaven)! Daśaratha is nought to thee now, nor thou to Daśaratha! The diseased king was one person and thou another, therefore do whatever is proper for thee to do! The seed is the only father of all beings. It is the seed and the blood from blending of which at the right time in mother's womb that man is born in this world! The king has gone where he had to go, it is the fate of all beings, do not grieve uselessly! I pity those who give themselves up especially to that which is meritorious, disregarding their own interest; I do not pity others; they suffer misery here; and in the end find extinction! Pious men say: "The eighth day should be given up to the sacrifices for the spirits of our ancestors"; the food that is offered is wasted, can the dead eat? If that which is eaten here, could enter the body of another, then let a sacrifice be offered for those who are setting out on a distant journey and they will not need provisions! The *granthas* (texts) were all made by learned men for the sake of including others to give; their doctrine is "distribute gifts, perform sacrifices, consecrate yourselves up to asceticism and renunciation!"