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A. CHAKRAVARTI : obtaining alms for themselves. The officer of the king, who went about in search of human victims, was very glad to capture these two beautiful youths and marched them to the Kāli temple and informed the king of his capture. The king Māridatta gladly went to the Kālī temple with the object of offering his sacrifice with these beautiful youths. The people assembled there asked these two beautiful youths to prey to Kāli that, as a result of this great sacrifice, blessings must be showered on the king and the land. The two ascetics smiled at this request; and they themselves blessed the king that he might be weaned from this cruel form of worship, so that he might have the pleasure of accepting the noble ahimsa-dharma which would lead him to a safe spiritual haven. When they pronounced this with a smile on their beautiful faces, the king was nonplussed for he could not understand how two such young and beautiful persons, in the face of death, could have such peace of mind as to laugh at the whole game as if it were none of their own concern. Therefore the king wanted to know the reason why they laughed at such a grave moment and expressed a desire to know who they were, and why they had come to the city, and so on. The sword drawn for sacrifice was sheathed again, and the king was in a mood to know the reason for the queer behaviour of the two youths. As desired by the king the brother Abhayaruci began to answer: “The reason why we laughed, without being in fright, was the result of the knowledge that everything that happens to an individual is but the fruit of his previous karma. Fear to
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