# Acceptance of empty string by nondeterministic automaton

Why is the input $\epsilon$ accepted by the nondeterministic finite automaton shown below? Does it not leave $q_1$ and go to $q_3$?

You're confusing the concept of the empty string $\varepsilon$ with the concept of an $\varepsilon$-transition.
The empty string $\varepsilon$ is just the string with no characters. The presence of a $b$-transition from $q_1$ to $q_2$ means that the automaton can move between those two states by reading character $b$ but the presence of an $\varepsilon$-transition from $q_1$ to $q_3$ doesn't mean that it moves by reading the character $\varepsilon$. Rather, it means that the automaton can (but is not forced to) move from $q_1$ to $q_3$ without reading any input at all.
So, when this automaton has no input, it can either remain in state $q_1$, which is accepting, or move to $q_3$, which isn't. Since it can reach an accepting state, it accepts.
I think you are asking why the input string $\epsilon$ (the empty string) is accepted by the given NFA. If so, you need to create a set of all states reached by the given string (in this case it is $S=\{q_1, q_3\}$) and see if an accepting state belongs to this set (in this case - yes: $q_1 \in S$).
To expand on Denis's answer, the given automata is non-deterministic because it has $\epsilon$-transitions. Because it's non-deterministic, given an input of the empty string $\epsilon$, we don't have to follow the transition from $q_1$ to $q_3$; we can just stay in $q_1$, which accepts the string.