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One of the servants at Shälibhadra's palace knew the queen so she took a piece of shawl for the queen. The queen was baffled but happy that such rich people lived in her kingdom. She told King Shrenik about the shawls and he was also very proud of such rich people upholding the good name of his kingdom. He invited Shälibhadra to his court to honor him. When Bhadrä Shethäni found out, she went to the King and told him that her son was very shy and invited the King to come to their palace. King Shrenik accepted the invitation and went to Shälibhadra's palace. When King Shrenik reached there, he realized that his own palace was nothing compared to Shälibhadra's palace. Bhadrä Shethäni offered him a place to sit and asked Shälibhadra to come down to honor and respect the King. Shälibhadra did not know anything about the King or his kingdom and thought that there was some sort of
Bhadrä Shethäni buying very expensive shawls for her daughters-inlaw
SHÄLIBHADRA
merchandise that his mother wanted to show him. So he said, "I do not want to see it but you go ahead and buy it." His mother said, "This is not merchandise. He is our King, our master, and you need to come down to greet and honor him." The word "master" started ringing in his ears. He wondered, "Why should I have a master over me? I should be my own master." While thinking like this, he came down and paid his respect to the King, but he did not stay very long.
He kept thinking that he was not a free person because there was someone like a King and master over him. He started to think about his father, who had become a monk, and the real meaning of life. He decided at that very moment to become a monk and told his family about his decision. His mother and all his wives tried to convince him to spend some more time with them. However, he was determined to renounce the world. Instead of renouncing all his possessions at once, he decided to give them up over a period of a month and then become a monk.
Shälibhadra had a sister named Subhadrä. She was married to Dhannä. Dhannä had eight wives. One day Subhadrä was giving her husband Dhannä a bath and suddenly tears rolled down her face and fell on him. He asked her why she was crying. She told him that her brother had decided to become a monk. He was going to give up his possessions over a period of a month and then become a monk after that. Dhannä laughed and told Subhadrä, "Your brother is a coward. If he wants to become a monk, then why wait for a month?" Subhadra was upset to hear that, and told her husband, "It is easier said than done." This sparked awareness in Dhanna's mind and he told her, "I am giving up everything I have right now to become a monk." Subhadra was taken by surprise.
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