“Whoever resists our spell
And troubles a preacher,
May his head be split in seven
Like an arjaka sprout;
May his doom be that of a parricide,
His retribution that of an oil-expresser
Or a deceiver with false measures and weights,
Or of Devadatta who brought schism into the Sarpgha;
He who offends these teachers of the Law,
Such shall be his retribution.”

This is a famous verse. It is said that if one touches an arjaka flower its petals will open and fall into seven pieces. The lines “May his head be split in seven / Like an arjaka sprout” mean, “May that man’s doom be that of a parricide.” The words “His retribution that of an oil-expresser” refer to an Indian custom. When one grinds sesame, he puts a weight on the grinder to press down the sesame. If this weight presses only moderately on the sesame, the worms in it are not squeezed. If he puts too heavy a weight on the grinder in order to press the sesame faster, they are squeezed and the sesame will lose its flavor. Therefore, in ancient India, this was regarded as symbolizing the crime by which one takes another’s life for the sake of his own self.

The same thing can be said of the crime of one who deceives with false measures and weights. Although such a crime cannot be compared with that of homicide in today’s legal system, it is a heinous deed from a spiritual point of view. Therefore, such a deed was considered a great crime in ancient India.