Text 31] Dhrtarastra Quits Home 699

without consideration. Instructions for the renounced order of life were
imparted to Dhrtarastra by Vidura, and Gandhari was by the side of her
husband. But he did not ask her to follow him because he was at that time
fully determined, like a great warrior who faces all kinds of dangers in the
battlefield. He was no longer attracted to so-called wife or relatives, and he
decided to start alone, but as a chaste lady Gandhari decided to follow her
husband till the last moment. Maharaja Dhrtarastra accepted the order of
vanaprastha, and at this stage the wife is allowed to remain as a voluntary
servitor, but in the sannyasa stage no wife can stay with her former hus-
band. A sannyasi is considered to be a dead man civilly, and therefore the
wife becomes a civil widow without connection with her former husband.
Maharaja Dhrtarastra did not deny his faithful wife, and she followed her
husband at her own risk.

The sannyasis accept a rod as the sign of the renounced order of life.
There are two types of sannydsis. Those who follow the Mayavadi philos-
ophy, headed by Sripada Sankaracarya, accept only one rod (eka-danda),
but those who follow the Vaisnavite philosophy accept three combined
rods (tri-danda). The Mayavadi sannydsis are ekadandi-svamis, whereas the
Vaisnava sannyasis are known as tridandi-svamis, or more distinctly,
tridandi gosvamis, in order to be distinguished from the Mayavadi philoso-
phers. The ekadandi svamis are mostly fond of the Himalayas, but the
Vaisnava sannyasis are fond of Vrndavana and Puri. The Vaisnava sannyasis
are narottamas, whereas the Mayavadi sannydsis are dhiras. Maharaja
Dhrtarastra was advised to follow the dhiras because at that stage it was
difficult for him to become a narottama.

TEXT 31

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fais acat 3 |
gw offs gear
a amsafaat aaet 7 13211

ajata-satruh krta-maitro hutagnir
vipran natvd tila-go-bhiimi-ruk math
grharm pravisto guru-vandanaya
na capasyat pitarau saubalith ca
