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ment and having remained without food and drink, he went to svarga bhùmı (heavens )
Through the medium of his avadhı jñāna (Visual Knowledge) Gobhadra-déva saw his son Śālibhadra of his previous life, and becoming attracted by the preponderance of his son's meritorious deeds, he became ready in doing friendly service to his son, and like the Kalpa Vriksa, he began sending him divine garments and ornaments, every day. Bhadrâ śeghāni was giving orders for the execution of work that was to be done under orders of a male member of the family, and Salibhadra under the pre-eminent influence of his previous meritorious acts, was happily enjoying worldly pleasures
By reading the account of the prosperity of Sālibhadra śetha and of the reason of his renouncing worldly concerns one can have an idea about the affluent condition of India during the time of Gramaņa Bhagavana Mahāvira and of the Jainas and their religious instinct.
One day, a travelling merchant came to King Śreņika of Rājagriha with some ratna-kambalas (excellent woollen shawls) with the object of selling them. The king was not able to buy any one of them as they were very costly. This gives some idea of the excellent workmanship and costly nature of woollen shawls produced in India, that even a king like Śréņika was not able to buy one piece. It also indicates the prosperous condition of India, as well as, of the Jainas of that time, that all the ratnakambalas of that merchant were bought by the mother of Salibhadra śétha while King Sréņika showed his inability to buy one piece on account of its high price.
When King Śrèņika refused to buy any, the shawl-merchant roaming about in the town, went to śälibhadra's mansion-house and saw Bhadră Mâtā Bhadrâ śéthāņi liked the ratna-kambalas but they were not thirty-two. Thinking that she would not be
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