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PART V STORIES AFTER BHAGAWÄN MAHÄVIR
37 - Nobility of Savchand and Somchand
The Shatrunjay hill is a very sacred place of pilgrimage for Jains. It is located near the town of Pälitänä, about 140 miles southwest of Amdäväd, Gujarat. There are nine temple complexes on the hill. They are popularly known as nine Tuks. One of them is Chaumukhaji Tuk, located on the peak of the hill. Here is an interesting story of the construction of the temple complex there. During the latter part of the 16th century when King Akbar, the great Moghul King, was ruling over India, there was a businessman named Savchand Jeram in the town of Vanthali in the Saurashtra region of the Gujarat state. He owned a very large business. He had many ships that used to export goods to Indonesia and other countries. During these voyages, they would buy merchandise at one place and sell it at another for profit. Once a fleet of 12 ships set sail with valuable merchandise. After selling all their goods at a foreign port, they returned with valuable foreign merchandise. On the way back, the fleet encountered a heavy storm and had to wait on an island. Meanwhile, monsoons set in and the fleet was stranded on the island for a couple of months. When the ships did not come back for a long time, Savchand's shipping agents made all possible efforts to locate them. Since they did not find any trace of the fleet, they reported to Savchand that the ships were lost. This was a heavy loss to Savchand. He had invested a significant amount of money on the voyage and was expecting a handsome return by selling the merchandise that the ships were expected to bring back. With the loss of his ships, he faced an acute shortage of funds and it was hard for him to pay back his creditors. As the news about the lost ships spread, people started talking about how Savchand had lost everything and his creditors would have to write off their dues. That set off a panic among his creditors. In order to realize their dues, they began to present their claims. Savchand was a highly religious and honest person. He tried to pay back his creditors as much as he could with the resources he had left. One of the creditors was the prince of Mängrol, a place not far from Vanthali. He had deposited 100,000 Rupees in Savchand's firm. That was a substantial amount because one Rupee of that time would be worth about Rs. 250 today. When the prince learned about the loss of Savchand's ships, he also became impatient and called for the repayment of his deposit. Savchand could not raise such a large amount so quickly. He requested the prince to wait while he tried to raise the money. The prince, however, insisted on getting the amount immediately. Savchand's name and credit were at stake. In order to maintain his credit, he had to find a way to pay the prince. At that time, there was a businessman named Somchand Amichand in the city of Amdäväd. Savchand did not have any trade connection with him, but he had heard about Somchand's firm and knew Somchand to be a very noble gentleman. An idea occurred to him. He thought of satisfying the prince by giving him a promissory note which would be honored by Somchand's firm. The prince agreed to that form of payment. Savchand wrote a promissory note payable to the prince by Somchand's firm without Somchand's permission. Since he had no right to write this, he was overcome with sadness and guilt while preparing it and tears began to roll down his face. A few tear drops fell on the document and smeared the promissory note. Then, with a heavy heart, Savchand handed the note to the prince and requested him to cash it with Somchand's firm. The prince did not lose any time. He immediately proceeded towards Amdäväd, and upon arriving presented the promissory note to Somchand's firm. The accountant took the note in his hand and asked his men to look for Savchand's account. The men searched their books, but they did not find any account in the name of Savchand. The men reported that Savchand had no trade connections with their firm. The accountant went to Somchand and informed him that he had received a promissory note of exchange from Savchand of Vanthali which, being unduly drawn, could not be honored.
Somchand was puzzled to learn that. He knew Savchand's firm by name and was aware that it was a well reputed business organization of Vanthali. He could not make out why Savchand would have drawn the note for such a large amount when Somchand did not have any trade links with his firm. He looked at the note again and noticed the letters smeared by Savchand's tears. He could make out from the water spots that Savchand must have been in a very embarrassing position and must have drawn the note out of sheer desperation.
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JAIN STORY BOOK
