Bhagvana Mahavira

Author(s): Tulsi Acharya
Publisher: Jain Vishva Bharati

Page 19

Thirty Years of Family Life
11
(monarch of half of the world), who was the overlord of King Prajāpati. The prince was put to silence. When the envoy was about to return, the prince accosted him and said, "Mind you, don't disturb such functions in the future. This time I pardon you”. The envoy pocketed the insult for the time being. But when he presented himself to his Sovereign to report on his mission, he complained against how he had been insulted by the prince. Aśvagrīva was enraged and despatched another envoy to Potanpur to order Prajāpati to guard the rice fields. This put Prajāpati in a dilemma. He told the prince that the envoy had avenged himself for the insult meted out to him by the prince and as a result of which he had been ordered to guard the rice fields out of turn. The prince asked his father not to worry and promised to meet the situation himself. He requested his father to depute him to the rice field.
Both the princes arrived at the rice fields with a few soldiers. The officer-in-charge of the fields told them that a lion was at large stalking the valley and en treated them to protect the farmers. Thinking it to be a long drawn out affair, Prince Triprştha decided to locate the lion immediately. Helped by the local people he arrived at the lion's den. A beat by the soldiers forced the lion out. Prince Triprştha was a dare-devil and preferred to meet the lion bare-handed. He jumped down from his chariot and threw away his weapons. The frantic lion rushed at Triprştha. The prince caught the jaws of the lion with both his hands and tore the beast into two like a worn out piece of cloth to the amazement of the onlookers. Then he called the officer of the forest and asked him to inform Ašvagrīva that the lion had been slain and that he was now returning home.
This very Triprstha, after having gone through several cycles of births and rebirths, was born as the son of Siddhār. tha. His valour now found new fields of operation. It was now oriented towards spiritual achievements. Now it was