________________
Walk With Me
'Tell us dear Prince, how did it feel when you touched the cobra?' someone asked again.
'It wasn't any different from being near you, hugging you,' said Vardhaman with a smile on his face.
'Whom are you kidding, Vardhaman? It could have killed you. It was poisonous. We are not crazy. You cannot talk like this to us Vardhaman; we have to tell your mother all about this foolishness.'
The Prince continued. "When I saw that cobra, I was amazed by its smooth and beautiful body and by its bright red, shining eyes! It was staring at me as well. I sensed that it wanted to tell me something. When I offered it my hand in friendship, it smoothly crawled up my arm. I kept on caressing it and the cobra was happy, like a child in its mother's lap. I gently told him, "Welcome, my friend, I love you." The cobra told me, We, too, need love and friendship. We do not bite people just for fun. If people harass us, and we have no other defense, then we strike back. How else can we save ourselves?'
A villager who was listening to this story in the Bahusal gardens suddenly interrupted. "Gurudev, isn't that wonderful and bold of Vardhaman?" However, the story teller continued, 'That is when we decided to call him Vir Vardhaman! Brave Vardhaman! Others joined us and raised the slogan, “Vir Vardhaman, Vir Vardhaman..."
58
Jain Education Intemational
For Private & Personal Use Only
www.jainelibrary.org
