________________
Next day, when food was brought by Panthak for the sheth, the latter gave a part of it to the robber as agreed to previously. The servant reported this to his mistress.
After some time, the king set free the sheth from the prison. So all the people were pleased. But his own wife Bhadra did not greet her husband on his return home. She got angry at the fact that her husband had shared food with the robber who was cruel enough to kill her child. He, therefore, explained to her why he had to feed the robber. The common fetter had compelled him to be civil to the robber. She was then reconciled to her husband and began to treat him well.
The robber Vijay died in prison as a result of the atrocities practised by the jail authorities.
After his release from the jail, Dhanna embraced monkhood as he got indifferent to the world. He had been influenced by the words of Dharmaghosh heard at the meeting. He practised monkhood for long and then was born in heaven known as Sudharma after his death.
From this story we learn that the soul dwells in our body. Here the sheth should be considered to symbolise our soul while the robber represents our physical body. This body has to be nourished as a means to attain liberation.
000
119