________________
359
his father, went with a skein of thread prepared by his mother, and going round his father and encircling him with rounds of thread, smilingly said :--Now, you are bound, how will you go away i' Ārdraka Muni, counted the rounds of thread on his body, and out of paternal love towards the child, he consented to live there, for as many years as there were rounds of the thread on his body. Owing to attachment towards Srimati, and affectionate love towards her son, Ārdraka Muni, thus, lived as a householder for some years.
One day, during the latter part of the night, the following idea arose in the mind of Ārdraka Muni :--Ah! I took the sheIter of the Five Great Vows of ascetic life, with the object of being lifted from getting drowned into the endless abyss of this Samsāra (worldly existence ), but now, having broken my vows, I am again falling into that miserable abyss. During my previous life, I broke my vow only mentally, and I was consequently born in a Non-āryan country and also in an anārya family. But during this life, I broke my vow in three ways ( by mind, speech, and body ). I am at a loss to know what my future condition will be. However, I will take Dîksâ again and I will make my Soul purer by severe austerities." With the idea of taking Diksā again, Ärdraka Muni left the house of Srimati and was going to śramaņa Bhagavâna Mahāvira for Bhagavatî Diksā.
The five hundred feudatories who were sent by King Ardraka to Bhārata-varsa for makiug inquiries of Ardra Kumāra did not go back to their king, but they remained in this country owing to their fear of being punished by the king, and they maintained themselves by doing high-way robberies, and such other mean pursuits.
When Ardraka Muni was going to Sramaņa Bhagavāna Mahāvira, on his way, he met these five hundred robbers, Having persuaded them by sound advice, to desist from their nefarious pursuits, Ardraka Muni gave them Dikşâ Accompained by
Jain Education International
For Private & Personal Use Only
www.jainelibrary.org