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## The Sutra Kritanga Sutra
**Commentary:** What is given to a needy person or a petitioner for the benefit of oneself and others is called charity. Charity is of many kinds. Abhaya-dana (gift of fearlessness) is the best because it saves the lives of living beings who desire life. It is said that if a dying person is offered a choice between crores of rupees and life, he will choose life, because all beings in the world have an inherent desire to live. To explain this, an example is given using cowherds and women, as they understand things quickly. Therefore, to illustrate the superiority of Abhaya-dana, a story is presented here:
There was a city called Basantpur. Aridaman was the king there. He was sitting in a window with his four queens, enjoying himself. Then he saw a thief. He was wearing a garland of red oleander flowers around his neck. He was wearing red clothes, and his body was smeared with red sandalwood. Behind him, a Dindibha drum was being played, signifying his death sentence. The Chandala people were taking him along the royal road. The king, along with his queens, saw the thief. The queens asked him what crime he had committed. Then a royal official told them that he had stolen the property of another, which is against the king's order. Hearing this, one of the queens requested the king, "You had promised me a boon earlier, please grant it today, so that I can do some good for this thief, help him." The king agreed to the queen's request. That queen had the thief bathed, adorned him with fine ornaments, and spent a thousand gold coins to provide him with the enjoyment of the five senses for a day. Then the next day, the second queen spent a lakh gold coins to provide him with all kinds of pleasures and comforts. The third queen spent a crore gold coins on the third day to provide him with all kinds of happiness, joy, and respect. The fourth queen, having received the king's order, protected him from death. She gave him Abhaya-dana. Then the three queens began to mock the fourth queen, saying, "She didn't even give him anything." The fourth queen said, "I have done the greatest favor to him. I have given him life." Thus, a dispute arose among the queens about who had done the greatest favor to the thief. Then the king called the thief and asked him, "Who has done you the greatest favor?" Hearing this, the thief said, "I was extremely afraid of the fear of death. Therefore, I could not experience the pleasures of bathing, etc. But when I heard the sound that I had been given Abhaya-dana, I felt as if I had been reborn. Therefore, Abhaya-dana is the best of all charities." This is true. Among truthful statements, the statement that does not cause pain to others is considered the best. But that which causes pain to others is not truly truthful, because truth is that which is beneficial to good people. It is said in the world that Kaushik Muni, by speaking a truth mixed with violence, fell into a severe, painful hell. It is also said that one should not call a blind person blind, a eunuch a eunuch, or a thief a thief. In austerity, celibacy with nine secrets is the best. Similarly, in wealth, power, knowledge, vision, and conduct, the Shraman Bhagwan Mahavira is the best.
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Om Om Om