________________
16. Anathi - The Orphan*
Cmperor Shrenik was to learn yet another lesson. However,
this time it was not directly from Bhagwan Mahavir. One day he told me how this happened. "Gurudev Gautam, I try to see Bhagwan Mahavir as often as possible and also learn considerably from a senior Ganadhar like yourself, but I never expected that a new monk from your sangh could teach me such a valuable lesson."
His remark piqued my curiosity. "Who was that monk, Emperor Shrenik? What happened? Was he rude to you?"
“Oh no, Gurudev, he was very polite and brilliant." Shrenik replied. “The other day I was walking by the Manditkukshi garden, and I saw a young monk in deep meditation under a tree. I looked at him and was surprised to see such a princely looking man in Sraman mendicant attire like yours. Normally, I would not have disturbed his meditation, but this time I thought that something was odd! Here was a very handsome, well-built, young man with a serene, radiant regal face, and I wondered what might have prompted such a young person to walk away from worldly comforts and become a mendicant.
Uttaradhyan sutra, Adhyaya 20 - Mahanirgranthiya
Jain Education Intemational
For Private & Personal Use Only
www.jainelibrary.org
