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OH. XXIII. Kt'EESA'S FAST. 147
CHA.PTER XXIir.
THE BIRTH O? VYASA-BHATTA AND
PAEASABA-BHATTA.
Thas kad our Bhsbshya-kara' accomplished his second
pilgrimage through Bharata-khanda. Those were days of
religious rejuvenescence in India brought about by the inspired
personality of our RaniAnuja. For his influence spread from
house to house, village to village and throughout Bharataland,
and his spirit fanned the fire of religion, smouldering in
human hearts.
Kur&Sa was the very soul and shadow of BS,mS,nuja. In
erudition he was a savant ; in conduct, he was a para,gon of
excellence. Never a day was he found remiss in all the duties
«f the day, classed as AhMgamana, JJjpdd&na, Ijyd, Sv&dhy&ya
aad Yoga^-
"We have already told our readers that Kfire3ft lived by
alms ; because he had given away his all at Kura and oome
to Srlrangam to live with Raminuja.* One day, it rained all
the morning till it was past the Semgava or the Upddivaa time,
which is set apart for ezcursions for collecting alms. Kuresa'a
strict rule it was, to beg each day's requirement at the
houses of virtuous folk, and never to store a second day's provisions
in his house. Prevented then by the rainy day from,
stirring out, KureSa and his pious wife And4lamm^a fasted,
after taking the usual bath, performingthe vnornmg sandhyd and
other ceremonies and offering to his Chapel God, a fruit and
s ome water,* which latter, sipped, being sacramental. It was now
evening, and KuvSsa, performing the evening sandhyd, never
bestowed a thought for his hungry stomach, but devoutly went
throuo-h a reading of the Tiru-v3.y-mozhi (Prabaudha) considering
this as his manna, and thus went to sleep- But the wife
* See page 140 for Ramanuja winning tliis name.
* A work recently published in Madras (1904) by D. T. Srinivasacliirya,
called Paiiclia-liala-praiMsa, gives full details of these five-foW
iday-occnpations.
»•
See Cliapter XIII. * See Bhagavad-Glta, IX, 28.