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KING SAMPRATI
31 King Samprati
King Samprati was a great Jain king who lived during the second half of the third and the first half of the second century BC. He was the grandson of the great king Ashok and the son of king Kunäl.
Jain history provides some details of his life. Buddhist literature also mentions him by the Präkrit name Sampadi. His name occurs in some of the Hindu Puräns, wherein he is variously referred to as Samprati, Sampati, and Saptati, etc. Moreover, coins depicting a crescent and bearing his name have now been found. The sign of the crescent represents the Jain symbol of Siddhashilä and the three dots are symbolic of the Jain trio of Right Faith, Right Knowledge and Right Conduct. Some of the coins also show a Swastika below the three dots. This is conclusive evidence of him being a Jain king.
Samprati was raised and educated in Avanti and became the king of Avanti in 232 BC. While he was prince, he once saw a grand Jain procession led by Achärya Suhastigiri, who was the head of the Jain religious order. On seeing the Acharya, Samprati felt that he had seen him somewhere. While deeply pondering over it, he faintly remembered that the Ächärya was his Guru in an earlier life. Samprati bowed to the Acharya and asked whether he knew him. The Acharya thought for a while and remembered that Samprati was his disciple in the previous life.
Various incidences in King Samprati's life
There was a severe famine when Ächärya Suhastigiri was in the city of Kaushämbi. During the famine it was very difficult for Jain monks to get alms. Jain householders, however, made sure that the monks
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