Jain Ramayana Part 1

SR No.: 002021
Original Sutra Author: N/A
Author: Bhadraguptasuri
Publisher: Vishvakalyan Prakashan Trust Mehsana
Publication Year: 2000
Total Pages: 452
Language: English
Classification: Book_English, Mythology, & Story
File Size: 21 MB

Page 154

142
JAIN RAMAYAN
He was in great distress. He became crushed between the mountain and the earth and was pressed into the earth; and when he was thus crushed down, he began screaming with pain, panc-stricken. He shouted aloud; and his loud cries shook every part of the mountain, its peaks, its surroundings, and the mighty trees and massive rocks. His pain and anguish were boundless.
Hence he came to be called Ravan.
When Ravan's cries of pain and distress fell on the ears of the Mahamuni Vali, he was moved to compassion. He lifted his toe. The Mahamuni Vali was an ocean of compassion and grace; and so he was not angry with Ravan. He had done it only to prevent the destruction of holy places and the death of jivas. He had done what he wanted to. Taking a step naturally to teach a lesson to somebody is entirely different from taking a step angrily to inflict a severe punishment. There is a world of difference between the two. A great man punishes an offender that too with the attitude of neutrality only after estimating his offences and only when it is absolutely unavoidble. But when the offence has been neutralized or removed, he liberates the offender and pardons him. Great men always are forgiving by nature. They know that forgiveness is nobler than revenge. But the common people of this world become infuriated when someone offends them. Their anger begins to flame out. They make an allout effort to punish the offender infuriated by his offence; but soon they realize their mistake and seek forgiveness. Under such circumstances the one who punishes an offender thinks only of one thing. "What I am doing is right; and if I inflict this punishment upon the offender, he will not dare repeat his offence. He will come round at once. He may now confess his blunder and seek forgiveness but he will not desist from his evil actions; he will, after sometime, repeat his offence. A dog's tail gets curved again. Moreover, even after punishing the offender, he will not keep quiet. He will continue to view every action of the offender with suspicion. His way of dealing with the offender and of estimating his offence, keeps changing.