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Bhagawan Mahavir )
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picked flowers from the garden and sold them in the market. Thus they earned their daily living. Arjuna's wife was an extremely beautiful woman. One day, six rogues saw her walking in the garden. They were enamoured of her beauty, and wanted to rob her of her only wealth-her chastity. With this intention in their mind, they divided themselves into two groups and hid in the temple of Yaksha, on both sides of the idol, long before the gardener came with his wife to offer worship. As soon as husband and wife entered the temple and wanted to bow before the idol, the rascals took hold of the husband, tied him fast with a rope and began to commit rape on his wife. The gardener and his wife cried aloud but all was in vain. Then the gardener began to rebuke the idol of Yaksha and said, “O Yaksha now I have realised that you are simply a wooden idol. Had it not been so, we could not have met such a bad fate. No; never”. Hardly had the gardener spoken these words when the Yaksha possessed him. Now it was quite easy for the gardener to break loose of the bondage. He seized the mace from the idol and killed those six rascals and his wife as well with them. He then took a vow that he would kill seven persons in the above manner daily. He kept this vow for six months together. After that, when he came in contact with Sudarshanaji, he got an opportunity to see the Lord, and was changed completely. He was no longer a murderer of human beings. Truly, the company of the good is beyond all praise.
Arjuna now began to practise the Bela-Penance, that is, he kept fast for two days and then took food on the third day; again he kept fast for the next two days and then took food on the third day, and so on. The Parana days i. e. tho
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