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[ The Twenty-two Tirthankaras
insolence and contumely, appeared very sweet and timely to the sage. He began to feel the call of cupid and an itch for getting married at once. He went to king Jitasatru and asked him for the hand of his daughter in marriage. All the daughters refused one by one except Renuka, who agreed to this proposal, and, she was accordingly given in marriage to the sage, After her marriage, she followed the sage to his Ashrama (hermitage ) and began to live with him in happiness. . When the time of menstruation came, the sage gave her a pot which contained such things as, on being eaten, would have led her to produce a male child who should have been a Brahamana by nature and deeds. At this, Renuka asked her husband to prepare another pot of the same kind for her sister. The sage did prepare another pot; but, this time, he filled it with such things that could produce a child of the nature of a Kshatriya ( Warrior ). Renuka had a very keen desire to bring forth a warrior son; so she exchanged her pot with that of her sister, Bena, who was a wife to king Ananta Virya of Hastinapura. In due time, Renuka gave birth to a son; and he was named as “Rama'. Bena's son was named as 'Krita Virya’. Rama came out to be warrior. Once a Vidya-Dhara ( a semidivine being endowed with various miracles ) bestowed upon him a Parashu (a weapon of the shape of an axe), on account of which he was called as 'Parashu Rama' (Rama the 'Parashu-Wielder') or as ParashDhara ( the Wielder of Parasha ).
Once Renuka went to see her sister; but there, she unfortunately conceived after having had sexual intercourse with her sister's husband. As a consequence, she gave birth to a child in due time. When she returned to the cottage of
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