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"Monk You look very young. How did you court monkhood in such a tender age when one is supposed to be enjoying the pleasures of life"?
"Oh King"! replied the monk, "I was anātha (helpless)".
The King - "Oh Monk! A man of such unusual fortune calling himself anātha ! I shall be a parent unto thee. I request you to come back to wordly life and enjoy pleasures of life".
The Monk - "But, Oh King of Magadha, you are yourself anatha (helpless). How can you be a succour unto me'?
The King - "You say I myself am helpless? What do you mean"?
The monk started the account.
"There was a city named Kausāmbi. There lived my father Prabhūta-dhana-sancaya who justified his name by the accumulation of a vast fortune. Beside, I was fortunate to have the pleasant company of my mother, wife and friends. Once I was severely affected by eye sore, and I ran high temperature with burning all over the body. It was terrific and unbearable, Top physicians and reputed charmers were called in, but they failed to give me any relief. Oh King ! Believe me, my father was prepared to give away his all for my sake, but still he could not relieve me of my pain. Such was the state of my helplessness. My mother looked at me with tearful eyes, but could not free me from the clutches of pain. Such was the state of my helplessness. No more effective were my own brothers and sisters to relieve me from pain. Such was the state of my helplessness My wife stood by me all the while shedding tears on my chest, but even this was of no use. Such was the state of my helplessness".
Continuing, the great monk said to the King of Magadha,
spects,
"Oh King! Finding myself helpless in all I placed myself under the protection of rel
