Treasury of Jain Tales

SR No.: 006762
Original Sutra Author: N/A
Author: V M Kulkarni
Publisher: Shardaben Chimanbhai Educational Research Centre
Publication Year: 1994
Total Pages: 468
Language: English
Classification: Book_English
File Size: 17 MB

Page 306

59. TIT FOR TAT
Two men once chanced upon a buried treasure. They should have dug it up immediately but one of them, who was shrewd and wily by nature, suggested that it should be done on the next day, there would be an auspicious moment when a certain constellation appeared. The other man, accepted the suggestion and they both went home. But the wily man came there in the night and took all the buried treasure from the pit and left there only burnt charcoal. The next morning, as they had agreed, the two men came there with their pickaxes and discovered only charcoal instead of the treasure. The cheat began to beat his chest and cried in great agony at the unfortunate turn of events, the gods had transformed their treasure into charcoal. But during all this show of sorrow, he did not forget to scrutinise the other man's face carefully.
The other man was equally clever; he concealed successfully his suspicion that his friend had stolen the treasure. He put on a straight face and tried to console his friend and told him that any amount of crying was not going to retrieve the lost treasure and they both went back home.
In order to teach a lesson to the cheat the other man made a clay model resembling the cheat as closely as possible. He also captured two monkeys and taught them to climb on the hands and head of the model and to attract them, he kept a variety of eatables there. He trained the monkeys every day to pick up their food there only till it became a habit with them.
Once he invited the two young sons of the cheat for lunch and after feeding them well, he detained them in his own house for many days till the father came to take them back home. When he asked