The Blessed One, sending this retinue of lay disciples in front, and attended by the great multitude of monks, entered the Jetavana monastery with the infinite grace and unequalled majesty of a Buddha, making the spaces of the grove bright with the halo from his person, as if they were sprinkled with gold-dust. Then Anātha Piṇḍika asked him, “How, my Lord, shall I deal with this Wihāra?” “O householder,” was the reply, “give it then to the Order of Mendicants, whether now present or hereafter to arrive.” And the great merchant, saying, “So be it, my Lord,” brought a golden vessel, and poured water over the hand of the Sage, and dedicated the Wihāra, saying, “I give this Jetavana Wihāra to the Order of Mendicants with the Buddha at their head, and to all from every direction now present or hereafter to come.”[236] And the Master accepted the Wihāra, and giving thanks, pointed out the advantages of monasteries, saying,-- 294. Cold they ward, off, and heat; So also beasts of prey, And creeping things, and gnats, And rains in the cold season. And when the dreaded heat and winds Arise, they ward them off. 295. To give to monks a dwelling-place, Wherein in safety and in peace To think till mysteries grow clear, The Buddha calls a worthy deed. 296. Let therefore a wise man, Regarding his own weal, Have pleasant monasteries built, And lodge there learned men. 297. Let him with cheerful mien Give food to them, and drink, And clothes, and dwelling-places To the upright in mind. 298. Then they shall preach to him the Truth,-- The Truth, dispelling every grief,-- Which Truth, when here a man receives, He sins no more, and dies away! Anātha Piṇḍika began the dedication festival from the second day. The festival held at the dedication of Visākhā’s building ended in four months but, Anātha Piṇḍika dedication festival lasted nine months. At the festival, too, eighteen koṭis were spent; so on that one monastery he spent wealth amounting to fifty-four koṭis.