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Shali-Bhadra's Renunciation and Consecration,
of devotion suddenly sprang up in his heart. He told the hermit all about his caste and creed and called him to accept half of the Khira from his dish. But the Khira was liquid and as he lifted his dish to pour half of it into the pot of the hermit, the whole of it slipped and fell into the hermit's pot. When the boy saw this, he did not feel sad. Although he was too anxious to eat the Khira and he had not yet even tasted it, yet when he saw that a thing which was prepared for him was to be utilised by hermit, he was satisfied at heart, and began to praise his own good fortune. The only sorrow that he felt was that he could not serve the hermit in a better way. He said to himself, “This little quantity of Khira cannot satisfy the appetite of a hermit who has been keeping fast for one month. I cannot even ask more from my mother, because she is poor and knows it well how many difficulties she had to face when she prepared this Khira for me”.
No sooner did the hermit leave the house than the mother came to her son and saw him licking the dish with his tongue. The mother was not out for a long time after leaving the child alone with the Khira served to him, but even then, on her return, she found that the dish was empty. Then, very fondly she again served in his dish the Khira which was left in the pot and began to think that her dear little child, who was more precious to her than jewels, alway remained hungry in that way and that she was so unfortunate that she could not fill up his belly even”.
While mothar was thus cursing her own fate with a feeling of sorrow and fondness mixed together, the child suddenly felt an attack of acute stomachache. He began to weep bitterly and rolled like a fish on the ground in agony
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