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PRINCE MEHA
115
hot weather, in the month of Jyeshtha when the forest-skirts were ablaze with the flames of the forest-conflagration produced by a dreadful fire that was caused by the friction of trees, and kindled by the contact of wind, dry grass and leaves, there came towards your enclosure many other lions, tigers, panthers, bears, leopards, jackals and hares, and being strioken with terrror of fire, lived together like animals living in the same hole. You also, Meha, lived in that very enclosure along with those many lions (down to) hares, like animals living in the same hole.
61.. Then you, Meha, raised ! your foot to scratch your body therewith. In the meantime, a hare that was pushed aside by other more powerful animals, entered that vacancy left by your foot. After scratching your body, as you wanted to replace your foot on the ground, 0 Meha, you saw that hare occupyiug the gap. Through meroy' for lives, through mercy for creatures, you kept your foot raised in the air, and did not place it on the ground.
Then through your mercy for lives, Meha, you acquired karman to be re-born as a human being.
Then after burning the forest for two and a half days, that forest-conflagration ended, stopped, died and was extinguished.
62. Then those many lions (uown to) hares, seeing that forest-conflagration dead and extinguish
1. gfau The whole chapter is named so after
incident
this
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