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from his elephant and discarded the royal umbrella, camara and other external marks of kingship. Then he moved round Mahavira, paid his homage and obeisance, sang in praise of him and took his seat in the assembly.
Meanwhile, Sakra, the Indra of the gods, came to know about the arrogant intentions of the king. Thought he,
"Dasárṇabhadra has a profound respect for Mahāvira, but he should not be too proud".
He became ready to caution the king. He asked a god named Airayana to create a vast herd of 64, 000 brilliant and lofty elephants. Each elephant had 512 faces, each face had eight tusks, each tusk had eight holders, each holder had eight lotuses and each lotus had one lakh petals. On each petal were being performed 32 dramas. At the centre of each lotus, there stood a palace with openings on four sides. From all the palaces, the Indra witnessed the dramas in the company of his eight consorts. Thus attended by a great pomp, the Indra covered the entire firmament and arrived to pay his homage and obeisance to Mahavira, King Dasárnabhadra saw all this. At once, the king turned his gaze inward and thought,
"In vain did I boast of my riches. In comparison with this vast wealth of the Indra, my own pales into insignificance. Only a fool boasts of his riches. The only atonement for what I have done is to court monkhood and attain,liberation which is free from old age, death and diminution".
The king rose from his seat, came near Mahāvira and submitted,
"Bhante! I am tired of mundane life. Please oblige me by giving me a place in your order".
Sakra, the Indra of the gods, witnessed the king being initiated. He felt that he had been paid back in his own coins. He came to monk Dasarnabhadra and praised his act with an open heart. Thereafter the Indra returned to heaven and monk Dasárnabhadra became immersed in spiritual exertions in the holy order of Bhagavan Mahavira (25).