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## Fourth Study
## Summary
There was a wealthy merchant named Suradev in the city of Varanasi. He was very prosperous. He had six crore gold coins in his treasury, six crore in his business, and six crore in his household wealth. His wife's name was Dhanya.
By a fortunate coincidence, Lord Mahavira arrived in Varanasi. A Samavasarana was held. Like everyone else, Suradev also embraced the Shravak Dharma. He progressed further and further in his religious practices.
One day, Suradev was engaged in meditation, observing Brahmacharya and Poshad in the Poshadshala. It was midnight when a deity appeared before him. He held a sharp sword in his hand. He threatened and intimidated Suradev to stop his meditation. When Suradev refused, the deity killed his three sons one by one, in the same way that the deity had killed the sons of the Chulani father in the story. Each time, he cut the body of each son into five pieces, boiled them in a cauldron of boiling water, and sprinkled the boiling flesh and blood on Suradev. But Suradev's determination did not waver. He continued his meditation with unwavering courage.
The deity thought, "He is not being swayed by the pain of losing his sons. So, I must now inflict suffering on his body." Thinking that nothing is dearer to a human than their body, the deity said to Suradev in harsh words, "I have killed your sons in front of you, and you didn't care. Now, watch as I inflict suffering on you. I tell you, abandon your vows, or I will inflict sixteen terrible diseases on your body at once: asthma, cough, fever, burning sensation, abdominal pain, fistula, piles, indigestion, eye disease, headache, loss of appetite, pain in the eyes, pain in the ears, itching, stomach disease, and leprosy. Your body will rot from these diseases, and you will be consumed by their unbearable pain."
Suradev, who had not been shaken by witnessing the murder of his sons, trembled at the mere mention of the diseases that would befall him. The thought of his body being consumed by these terrible diseases and becoming like a living corpse filled him with fear. His courage suddenly broke. The horror of a life afflicted by disease terrified him. He thought, "I must catch the evil being who wants to make me like this." He stretched out his hands to catch him. But it was a divine illusion. How could he catch him? The deity vanished into the sky. The pillar of the Poshadshala that was in front of Suradev came into his hands. Suradev was stunned. He couldn't understand what had happened. He cried out loudly...