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killed. But King Śréņika went away safely with Céllanā in the chariot.
On the way to Räjagriha Nagara, King Śrepika used to accost Cellaņā as Su-jyéśthā but at last Céllaņa showed him his mistake, and said :-"I am Su-jyéstha's sister. In your hurry, Suiyéşthā has been left behind." On seeing that Cellapā was As charming as Su-jyéştha, and that she was equally in love with him, King Śréņika gladly contracted marriage with Cellana.
Klag śrénika before his marriage with Céllana-dévi.
It is said that before his marriage with Cellapā-dévi, King Śréņika was a believer in the tenents of Buddhism. When Cautama Buddha soon after renouncing the world was walking for alms in the streets of Rājagriha, he was seen by Sréņika Bimbisāra who was sitting in a terrace of his palace. Attracted by his lustrous and charming face, the king sent one of his servants to him to inquire as to where he had put up, and then, he himself went far away on the surface-ground of a high mountain to pay him a visit. Knowing him to be born in a Ksatriya family from his lustrous beauty, King Srénika inquired about the reason why he was practising severe penance after renouncing his kingdom at an age fit for wordly pleasures, and he also told him that if he would leave off ascetic life, he might give him a dignified post in his army, suitable for a Ksatriya chief. On hearing the reply of Gautama Buddha, the king became greatly attached towards his tenents, and he requested him “O prince ! "If you ever come accross a remedy for the Salavation of the World, you should first of all, accept the gift of a vihara (monastery) from me". Gautama Buddha gladly accepted the invitation. When Gautama Buddha, later on, went to Rājagriha Nagara, he was greatly honoured by King Śrenika, and thinking that Vénuvana Udyāna would be a suitable solitary dwellingplace for Gautama Buddha and his ascetic disciples, King Śrénika made a free gift of the Véņuvana to him.
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