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11. Salibhadra and Dhanya
The Jaina tradition has been enriched by the exceedingly charming and widely known life-story of Salibhadra and Dhanya. The two were closely related as brothers-in-law, one having married, another's sister, and both were the followers of Mahāyira,
Salibhadra was the son of Grhapati Gobhadra, an affluent resident of Rajagrha. His mother's name was Bhadra and that of his sister was Subhadra. When Salibhadra was still a child, his father died. So his mother had an extra affection for him and he was brought up in the midst of all comforts. It is stated that after his death, Salibhadra's father was born in heaven, and he supplied everyday 33 boxes full of clothes and ornaments (33 boxes of clothes, 33 boxes of ornaments and 33 boxes of sweets, according to another reading) for his son and his daughters-in-law. Bhadra managed the affairs of the entire household. Salibhadra spent his days at the seventh floor of his mansion enjoying the finest pleasures of life.
One day, some dealers in ratna -kambala (blankets made of fine gėms) came to the city. They carried a stock of 16 pieces each valued at 1, 25, 000 gold pieces. But they could not find a single buyer in the entire market of Rājagsha. At last, they came to King Sreņika. The blankets were liked by the queens, but they were too costly even for the king's treasury. The king did not buy a single piece.
Seated outside their hotel in the shade of a tree, the dealers discussed among themselves that if in a place like Rajagsha, they could not get a buyer, how did they expect to sell the blankets elsewhere. At that time, Salibhadra's maids were passing by them on their way to the water tank. On their way back, they stood for a while and started a conversation with the blanket dealers,
"Hello gentlemen! It appears that you are in the midst of some great difficulty. Will you share it with us "?
| SR No. | 022804 |
| Book Title | Agama And Tripitaka Comparative Study |
| Original Sutra Author | N/A |
| Author | Nagaraj Muni |
| Publisher | Today and Tomorrows Printers and Publishers |
| Publication Year | 1986 |
| Total Pages | 804 |
| Language | English |
| Classification | Book_English |
| File Size | 19 MB |