Chapter CIII - Duties of Yatis

Yajnavalkya said:—Hear me, O you, the foremost of beings, narrate the duties of a Bhikshu (mendicant friar).

Having returned from the forest and performed the religious sacrifice, known as the Sarva-Veda Dakshinika, he shall celebrate a Prajapatya Vrata. Then humble, self-controlled, and doing good to all, he shall abstract the divine energy from the sacrificial fire and assimilate it in his own self. Now he shall be considered fit to reside in a village, living on alms voluntarily offered. Otherwise he shall stir abroad in the evening without any of the paraphernalia of begging, which characterise a common mendicant, and live contented on what will be obtained in a single stroll. He shall carry his bowl of gourd (Kamandula) and his Tridanda staff with him. He shall beg for the barest necessaries of life, and not out of any motive for gain. By practising self-control and regulation of breath, etc., a Bhikshu may attain the elevation of a Paramhansa,. and ultimately emancipate his self at the completion of his Yoga. By practising Yoga and moderation in diet, a Bhikshu may acquire an elevated status after death. Even a householder may emancipate his self by dint of wisdom, hospitality and charity.