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INTERVENING STORIES
187
King Sakalabhūsana, the son of Sri and Vidyadhara-king Simhavikrama of Guñjavidhānanagara, had Kiranamandalā as his chief queen among his eight hundred wives. She had illicit relations with Hemasiṁ ha. First of all she was warned but next time she was expelled from the territory by the king. Thereafter the king (Sakalabhūşana) became a monk. That queen after her death became Vidyunmukhí, a Rākşasi, She assuming various forms such as those of an elephant, the fire and the thorny-path, tried to trouble the muni but in vain. By her mainpulations she charged him with theft, dacoity etc. She further created many hobgoblins, and then beautiful women to distract the muni but he did not swerve at all and in due course he attained Kevala.
The PCR (104.102-129) and the RPS (p. 184) contain the same story while the TSP (IV. p. 332) mentions Jayabhūşana in place of Sakalabhūsana as the son of Harivikrama.
54. The previous births of Rāma, Sitā, Lakşmapa, Rāvana,
Sugriva etc. or The story of Dhanadatta, Gunamati Vasudatta, Śrikānta, Vrșa dhadhvja etc :
Following the fire ordeal of Sītā, her intiation and the delivering of a religious discourse by Kevalin Sakalabhūşaņa to Rāma, Vibhisana enquired as to why Rāma attained such a 'Māhātmya' great prowess, why Sītā was kidnapped by Rāvana, why Rāma was deluded, why Rāvana was attracted to Sītā and why Rāvana was killed by Lakşmana? The Kevalin narrated the following story (103.1-123) (136-152) elucidating the results of forming 'nidāna' and observing penances and to show the consequences of committing murder, harbouring enmity, censuring monks and to exemplify the fruits of affection, love and confession
Vanik Sagaradatta of Ksemapura had begot on his wife Ratnaprabha a son, Gunadhara and a daughter, Gunamati. He betrothed Guņamatí to Dhanadatta who was the son of Nayadatta and Sunandā. But Ratnaprabhā being allured by the offer of some wealth betrothed Guņamati secretly to a śreşthin Śrīkānta. Brahmin (Jannavakka) Yājñavalkya broke this news to his friend Vasudatta, the younger brother of Dhanadatta. Vasudatta at once went out to kill Srikānta and in the following encounter both of them were killed by each other. They were reborn as antelopes in the Vindhya hills and Gunamati was also reborn as a doe at the same place. Both the antelopes killed each other for that doe and then wandered through the existences of boars, elephants, he-buffaloes, oxen, monkeys, stags,