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અધ્યાત્મતત્ત્વાલક,
discrimination construct in thousands of years. Envy, pride, hatred, rashness, etc., generate this monstrous passion. The good fruits accumulated by long austerity are destroyed at once by this passion. Stories illustrating the bitter fruits of this passion are too many to be narrated here. Many ascetics are hurled down from their progressive advance in spiritualism, being overpowered by this evil passion. It would not be here out of place to illustrate its bitter fruits by the following legend:
Lord Mahāvira, during his tourings for public religious discourses, passed by a place called Kanakakhala. He was warned by the people not to proceed further on account of frightful terror and panic caused by a virulent cobra dwelling in an anthill in the vicinity of the road. This road was totally deserted. This cobra was in his previous life a Jain ascetic who was highly enraged at the conduct of his disciple who reminded him to do penance for the sin he had incurred in walking over and killing a frog inadvertently, though, in reality, the ascetic had not killed the frog. He, in a fit of anger, without giving any explanation, thought it to be inpertinence on the part of the disciple to remind him of it. He, then, with a view to punish the disciple, rushed against a pillar and bruised his own forehead, and died. He was reborn as a violent cobra and took his abode in an anthill adjoining the path and became a dreadful object of fear to all. • Lord Mabāvira took his stand on the cobra's anthill in a meditative
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