Page Text
________________
329
In accepting his condition, the king said,
"I don't mind what condition you set, but I insist that the Tathāgata must be brought to our city".
Acarya Katyayana agreed to undertake the commission. While making preparations to depart, he thought that in carrying this invitation, he should not be accompanied by a crowd. He took only seven persons with him and came to the Buddha. The Buddha gave sermons for them. All of them were enlightened and attained arhathood. The Buddha extended his hand to them and said, You are welcome".
"Bhiksus!
At once, all of them became tonsured, were equipped with begging bowls and clothes and looked like a -hundredyear old monks (sthaviras). After his initiation, Sthavira Katyayana did not sit idle. He extended invitation to the Buddha to come to Ujjaini. The Buddha gave him a patient hearing and said,
"The Buddha does not go to a place rendered unworthy even by a single cause. So, Bhiksu, you go yourself. The king will be happy to see you".
Katyayana reviewed the situation within himself: 'The Buddha never reconsiders'.
So he saluted the Tathagata and started back for Ujjaini with his seven companions. In the way, they came to a village named Telappanali in order to beg food. In that village, there lived two girls. One of them was born in a very poor family. She lost her parents in her infancy, and was brought up by a maid servant. She was extremely charming and possessed long hairs. The other girl was born in the family of a rich merchant, but she was without hair. She sent a proposal to the poor girl:
"If you give me your hairs, I shall pay you a thousand
coins.
But the poor girl refused to part with her hairs.
The poor girl saw Sthavira Katyayana moving in the village for the purpose of begging. The monk had received nothing in his bowl so far. Thought the girl,
| 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 |