Page:Anandamath, The Abbey of Bliss - Chatterjee.djvu/107

Rh the boys of the village. There was a jungle near Jiva- nanda's house. She would enter it alone and hunt about for a peacock or a deer or some rare fruits or flowers. Now, the parents-in-law first remonstrated with Santi, then soolded her, and even used the rod upon her and at last began to lock her up. Santi was much chagrined at this persecution, and, finding the door ajar one day, made good her escape without letting anybody know it. Once out in the woods, she picked up some flowers and with their juice painted her cloth and dressed herself up as a stripling of an ascetic. At that time, sannyasins roamed in bands all over the country. Now, Santi in her mendicant's clothes begged her way to the road to Juggernauth. Presently a company of sannyasins appeared on the road and Santi joined them. Sannyasins of those days were not like the innocent representatives of the class to-day. They were generally a compact body, well-read, well-built, deft in the use of arms and qualified in other ways. They were usually a sort of rebels, for they plundered the king's treasures everywhere. When they saw a stout and well-built boy, they would kidnap him, give him proper training and make him a member of their company. They were therefore known as the boy-kidnappers. Santi entered one of these companies as a young sannyasin. At first they were not disposed to take her in for the delicacy of her physique, but finding her sharp, clever and active they gladly enrolled her, as one of them. With them Santi had athletic exercises, learnt