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The Story of Muladeva
Yoga Shastra, Second Light, Verse 72
The kingdom was being ruled peacefully and systematically. All the clouds of sorrow had dispersed, and the sun of happiness had risen. Due to his cordial behavior with the king of Ujjayini, a friendship had developed between them.
Meanwhile, Devadatta, upon witnessing the mockery of Muladeva by Achal, felt hatred towards Achal. One day, she found an opportunity and reprimanded Achal, "You foolish, money-blinded fool! Do you consider me your family woman? You behaved so lowly with Muladeva in my own house, in front of me. Remember, I will not forgive you for this. I will destroy you. You are not welcome in my house from today onwards." Thus, she scornfully banished Achal from her house.
After that, Devadatta went to the king and said, "Dev! I want to claim the boon that I have kept with you as a deposit." The king said, "Ask for any boon you desire, I am bound by my word." Devadatta requested the boon, "From today onwards, do not allow anyone to enter my house except Muladeva. Especially, impose a ban on Achal, as he often visits my place." The king said, "Alright, it shall be done. But tell me, why do you want to impose such a ban?" Upon this, Devadatta signaled Madhavi with her eyes to tell her everything. Madhavi narrated the entire incident from beginning to end. Upon hearing this, King Jitashatru's eyebrows furrowed. He angrily summoned the merchant Achal and said scornfully, "Fool! Listen carefully! These two are the jewels of my kingdom, my ornaments. You, blinded by your wealth, have disregarded my jewel like a stone. For this heinous crime, you are sentenced to death."
Upon hearing this, Achal sank into the earth out of shame. His face turned pale. He began to beg for his life, pleading before the king. He also apologized to Devadatta, looking at her with a timid gaze. Devadatta felt pity for him. She pleaded with the king to pardon his death sentence. The king ordered him, "Merchant! Your life will be spared only if you find Muladeva and bring him back here." Achal accepted the king's order, bowed, and departed from there. On one hand, the insult inflicted by Devadatta was gnawing at his heart, while on the other hand, like a lost treasure, he was relentlessly pursuing the search for Muladeva. But days passed, and he couldn't find any trace of Muladeva. Achal, the merchant, began to feel restless. In this hurry, he quickly loaded all his goods onto the wagons and set off with his caravan towards the country of Parasakul.
Meanwhile, Muladeva, now the king, began to think, "Without Devadatta, enjoying this kingdom's wealth feels bland to me, like tasteless food." Therefore, he sent a message with his clever envoy to King Jitashatru of Ujjayini, along with gifts for Devadatta. "Muladeva, enjoying the wealth of the kingdom, has sent this message to King Jitashatru through his envoy, 'Rajan! You might have forgotten my current name due to your familiarity with my previous name. I am the same Muladeva. You know how much love I have for Devadatta. Therefore, if she wishes, please send her to me.'"
Upon hearing the message, the king of Ujjayini said to the envoy, "Why did he need to make such a request to me? We have good relations with King Vikram. There is no difference between us. I didn't even know that this King Vikram is the former Muladeva. Otherwise, I would have gone to meet him myself and would have already sent Devadatta." Jitashatru immediately summoned Devadatta and said, "Mahabaghe! Your fortune has opened up. After a long time, your desire has been fulfilled. Muladeva, by the grace of God, has become King Vikram of Venatat. He has sent a message with his envoy specifically to call you. Therefore, you should go there immediately." Upon hearing this good news, Devadatta's face lit up with joy. With the king's permission, she departed with her entourage and necessary supplies and reached Venatat within a few days. She sent word to King Vikram about her arrival a day before entering the city. Therefore, King Vikram welcomed Devadatta with great pomp and ceremony, accompanied by music and drums.
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