Agam 19 Upang 08 Niryavalika Sutra English Translation

Author(s): Dipratnasagar, Deepratnasagar
Publisher: Deepratnasagar

Page 23

Nirayaavalika-Upang-8- Chapter-1
but the king was indisposed and the palace guard sent back the hermit without offering him food. Senak commenced his third month long fasting.
Sumangal again came and sought forgiveness. He once again beseeched Senak to come to the palace to break his third month long fast. Coincidentally this time also Sumangal fell ill on the day of fast-breaking. Senak came with the intention of seeking alms for breakfast. The guard thought that every time that hermit came the king fell sick, thus he was ominous. The irritated guards flogged the hermit and threw him out. The hermit got enraged and resolved"I will take revenge. I will make him suffer flogging and hunger."
After death hermit Senak reincarnated as a Vanavyantar (interstitial) god. Then Sumangal reincarnated as King Prasenjit's son Shrenik and the interstitial god that was hermit Senak reincarnated as Queen Chelana's son Kunik. The feelings of animosity from the earlier births surfaced and inspired Chelana to eat flesh from Shrenik's belly. Chelana considered her son as killer of his father from the very beginning.
Even when Shrenik became old he delayed transferring of power to his son and heir Kunik. At last, driven by his intense desire for power, Kunik conspired with his ten brothers including Kaal Kumar and imprisoned Shrenik, deprived him of food and water, and flogged him with a whip. According to the authors, this incident was caused by precipitation of the animosity from the past births.
According to Niryavalika Sutra Kunik fought a war for the great elephant Sechanak and the eighteen string necklace called Vankachula. These two things were priceless treasures of the state of Magadh. The story of their acquisition goes like this
In the forests around Rajagriha there was a hermitage. There a she-elephant secretly gave birth to a little elephant in a thick cluster of trees. Since the very beginning this baby elephant lived with the hermits. The hermits loved him very much and fed him bananas and other fruits. When the hermits brought water from the river to water the plants in the hermitage, the baby elephant would also imitate them by bringing water in his trunk. As he watered the plants the hermits named him Sechanak (one who waters plants). Sechanak grew to be a very strong bull elephant. He roamed around alone in the jungle. Some times he would fight other elephants and at others root out and toss around large trees. Once an old elephant crossed his path and Sechanak fought it bitterly and wounded it. This victory did not pacify his rage and when he came to the hermitage he was still mad. He entered the hermitage trumpeting angrily and trampled the banana trees and other plants. When the hermits saw all this they scolded Sechanak but this added fuel to the fire. Sechanak continued his trampling and destroying vegetation in the jungle. Fed up with this the hermits sought help from King Shrenik. The soldiers of the king trapped the elephant and brought it to the Kings elephant yard. When Abhaya Kumar saw Sechanak he informed that this was a rare elephant known as GandhHasti and was very auspicious. It deserved being made the chief elephant of state. King Shrenik followed Abhaya Kumar's advice and Sechanak became the chief elephant. A Gandh Hasti emits an aroma that draws she-elephants to it but male elephants get panicky and run away.
Sechanak elephant was endowed with the knowledge of his past birth and his sensory knowledge was also pristine. He was faithful to his master. In scriptures we find mention of two such great elephants of that era-Sechanak elephant of Magadh and Analgiri elephant of King Chandapradyot of Ujjayini.
King Shrenik was once returning after attending discourse of Bhagavan Mahavir. On the way in a jungle he saw an ascetic plucking raw fruits from trees and eating them. Shrenik advised him—"O muni ! Why do you indulge in an activity proscribed in the religious code ?"
The ascetic replied—"I am very hungry." The king said "Come with me. I will offer you food acceptable for an ascetic."
The ascetic argued—"What do you know ? All shramans (ascetic followers of Bhagavan Mahavir) secretly pluck fruits from trees and eat."
Aagam - 19 - Nirayaavalika
Compiled by - Deepratnasagar
[22]