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The Mahapurana, the Uttara Purana, speaks of the happiness of heaven and liberation through restraint. Those who hold false views, through charity and other merits, attain the happiness of heaven. ||225||
Again, those who hold false views, due to the influence of their peaceful consequences, attain the appropriate Dharma, either by themselves or through others. ||224||
Those who are fit to attain liberation will be freed from the cycle of births and deaths. Others, however, are deeply attached to worldly pleasures and are afflicted by the poison of false views. ||225||
Those who engage in violence, falsehood, stealing, adultery, initiation, and attachment, accumulate sin and fall into the well of suffering, which is the cycle of births and deaths. ||226||
Hearing these words, many people embraced Dharma. Then, the merchant Sagardatta asked the Muni about the duration of his life. ||227||
The Muni replied, "Twenty days." Hearing this, the merchant entered the city with great joy. ||228||
He performed the Ashtaahnika puja and handed over his position to his eldest son. Then, after consulting with all his relatives, he took the vow of renunciation for twenty-two days, and at the end of his life, he attained the divine state. ||229||
On another day, Nagadatta, driven by insatiable greed, called Kubera Datta and asked him with malice, "Did your father show you the most valuable treasure?" ||230||
Understanding that he was consumed by intense greed, Kubera Datta replied, "Did our father have any separate treasure that we were unaware of? He has gone to heaven after taking the vow of renunciation according to the scriptures. Therefore, it is a great sin to slander him. Brother, this is neither something you should say nor something I should hear." ||231-232||
Thus, Kubera Datta dispelled all the evil thoughts of Nagadatta. He divided all the wealth, built many temples and shrines, performed various types of Jin worship, and gave four types of charity to the three types of recipients with devotion. ||233-234||
In this way, the two brothers, filled with mutual affection, spent their time happily. One day, Kubera Datta, along with his wife, wealth, and friends, offered a powerful meal to the Muni Sagarsen. After offering the meal, he bowed down and asked the Muni, "Will we both ever have sons?" ||235-236||
"If not, then we will both take the vow of Jain initiation." ||237||
The Muni replied, "You, young man, are destined for great merit and will have a son who will be a great benefactor." ||238||