11 - Odes of Renunciation

Summary

In the rite of renunciation (saṃnyāsa) as described in the Dharmaśāstric texts and in special handbooks (paddhati) there is little room for spontaneity or emotional outbursts, even though the event is charged with emotion both for the renouncer-to-be and for his family, relations, and friends. Following the ritual custom, the actions, words, and gestures, as well as the material employed in this rite are determined by the authoritative texts. No extemporaneous innovations are permitted.

There are, however, instances within the ritual itself which manifest flashes of emotion and allow us to penetrate the façade and get a glimpse of the feelings of the participants.

One such instance is when the renouncer-to-be takes leave of his family as he departs from home never to return. Though the occasion is, humanly speaking, a sad one –in fact, the renouncer-to-be as well as his relations are instructed not to cry– nevertheless, true to the spirit of detachment inculcated in the texts, his words are cold and harsh: na me kaścin nāhaṃ kasyacit – “No one belongs to me, nor do I belong to anyone.” The same theme is amplified in a more prosaic address recorded elsewhere:

saṃsārasya pāram ahaṃ gantukāmo 'smi | mayā sarveṣāṃ mamatā tyaktā putraiṣaṇā vittaiṣaṇā lokaiṣaṇā ca tyaktā | yuṣmābhir mamopari mamatā na kartavyā | vighno na vidheyaḥ ∥

I am desirous of going to the yonder shore of (the river of) saṃsāra.