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[Upāsakadaśāṅgasūtra]
He had set a limit of thirteen wives. Even in the context of transactions, he had limited himself to two droṇa-measure bronze - limited gold coins per day.
Revati, the chief wife of Mahāśataka, was also very wealthy in terms of personal property, but she had an insatiable desire for wealth and enjoyment. Once, in the middle of the night, the thought came to her mind that if she were to kill her twelve co-wives, then their personal property would easily come under her control, and during Mahāśataka's time, she would live a life of abundant sensual pleasures as a solitary human being. She was the daughter of a great family, she was in a large family, and she had many means. Somehow, she fulfilled this wicked desire of hers. She had her co-wives killed. Her mind became what she wanted. She became engrossed in physical pleasures. In a person in whom there is such a detestable craving for wealth and enjoyment, there are also other vices. Revati was greedy and attached to meat and intoxicants. Revati was so attached to meat that she could not live without it. Once, it so happened that a royal proclamation was made in Rājagṛha, prohibiting the killing of living beings. It became a great difficulty for Revati. But she found a way. Through the servants she had received from her parental home, she made arrangements for two calves to be killed daily in the cowsheds of her parental home and brought to her. This began to happen secretly. Revati's luxurious tendency continued to grow further and further.
The life of the ascetic-devotee Mahāśataka was taking a different turn. He was advancing further and further in the worship and adoration of vows. Fourteen years passed in this way. His religious feeling gained more and more momentum. He handed over his family and social responsibilities to his elder son. He became more and more engrossed in the worship of dharma. Revati did not like this.
One day, Mahāśataka was engaged in religious worship in the penance hall. Intoxicated with alcohol, the unsteady Revati came to the penance hall with her hair disheveled. She tried to distract Mahāśataka from his religious worship. She repeatedly displayed seductive gestures and said to him - You will only get heaven from this religious worship! Is there anything better than this sensual pleasure in heaven? Abandon the worship of dharma, and enjoy the rare pleasures of human life with me. It was a strange incident, a conflict between renunciation and enjoyment, detachment and attachment. This is a very critical situation. Bhartṛhari has said:
"There are many brave warriors in the world who can crush the heads of elephants intoxicated with pride, there are also warriors who can defeat lions, but rare are the men who can subdue the arrogance of lust."
As long as a person remains on the right path, as long as he can protect the modesty of the senses, as long as he can maintain decorum and conduct, as long as the arrows of the eyebrows of the beloved, which shake the patience, do not pierce the ears.