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## The Parable of Chilatiputra
**Chapter 1 of Yoga Shastra**
**Verse 13**
The wealthy merchant, like gold that appears to be real, saw only prosperity everywhere. Driven by this delusion, he ran wildly. Wherever he found footprints or any sign, he would exclaim, "Look! They drank water here; they ate here; they sat here; they passed this way." Thus, talking and taking long strides, he followed the trail of the thieves, tracking their footprints until he reached them. Upon seeing the thieves, the royal guards shouted, "Catch them! Kill them! Don't let them escape!" Hearing this, the thieves, fearing arrest, abandoned their loot and fled in different directions to save their lives. But just as a lion does not let go of a captured deer, Chilatiputra did not let go of the prosperity. The Kotwal and other royal officials, upon receiving a large sum of money as a bribe, returned. It is true, "When self-interest is fulfilled, everyone's mind becomes corrupted." Just as an elephant lifts a creeper, Chilatiputra lifted the prosperity onto his shoulder and fled into a terrifying jungle. For the wealthy merchant, rescuing his daughter from the hands of the thief was as difficult as rescuing the moon from the mouth of Rahu. Yet, the wealthy merchant, with courage, pursued Chilatiputra like a lion, along with his five sons. Meanwhile, Chilatiputra, with cunning, severed the head of Sushama, fearing that the wealthy merchant would take her into his possession if he reached him. Now, with a naked sword in one hand and the severed head of Sushama in the other, he ran wildly. At that time, he looked like the guardian of Yama's realm. The wealthy merchant, upon reaching the separated torso of Sushama, began to weep. It was as if he was offering Sushama an offering of tears. Afterward, he thought, "It is useless to stay here now. My daughter Sushama is gone. The wealth is also gone." Therefore, leaving the severed torso of Sushama there, he returned with his sons, his steps heavy with grief. The wealthy merchant, pierced by the thorns of sorrow, wandered through the terrifying jungle. The sun of the summer afternoon was scorching. Its blazing, harsh rays were burning their foreheads. There was no sign of shade anywhere. The wealthy merchant and his five sons, afflicted by grief, fatigue, hunger, thirst, and the heat of midday, looked as if they were undergoing the five fires. In that dense forest, they found no water, edible fruit, or any life-giving medicine on their way; instead, they saw ferocious wild animals that devoured flesh, as if they had come to invite death. Seeing the plight of himself and his sons, the wealthy merchant, while walking a long distance, thought, "Alas! All my wealth is lost; my daughter, dearer than life, is also dead, and now we are also on the brink of death. Oh! Curse this cruel play of fate! Where a man cannot achieve his desired object through effort or intellectual brilliance, there, in the wilderness, fate is the only refuge. It is very powerful. But this fate is not pleased by charity, it cannot be subdued by humility, it cannot be controlled by service. How difficult is this fate-subduing practice? Even scholars cannot understand its essence. Even the valiant cannot stop its complex processes. Who else will be equal to this fate? And it is also true that this fate sometimes bestows grace like a friend, and sometimes destroys mercilessly like an enemy. Sometimes it protects completely like a father, and sometimes it inflicts pain like the wicked. Sometimes fate brings one who is on the wrong path to the right path, and sometimes it inspires one to go from the right path to the wrong path. Sometimes it brings a distant object close, and sometimes it snatches away even an object that is in hand. Like illusion and magic, the movement of fate is very deep and strange. By the favor of fate, poison becomes nectar, and by its disfavor, nectar becomes poison." Thus, the grief-stricken wealthy merchant, caught in the cycle of worry, somehow reached his capital city with his sons. He performed the last rites for the body of his daughter Sushama. Later, becoming detached from the world, he accepted initiation from Lord Mahavira and, after performing arduous austerities, attained his full lifespan and went to heaven.
**Note:** The text mentions the consumption of the daughter's flesh to satisfy hunger in the necessary explanation.