Chakkammuvaeso

Author(s): Madhusudan Modi
Publisher: Oriental Institute

Page 68

Lix
(Sandhi : 7:]
(K. 1.) This section is in praise of the worship of the Jina with a lamp. A story is narrated in this connection.
There was a town called Meghapura in Bhārata where a king by name Meghanāda ruled. There lived a merchant named Suradatta. He had a wife named Silavati. [K. 2. ] They had a daughter by name Jinamati. She was a friend of Dhanasri, the daughter of Rudradatta and Nandā. Jinamati always worshipped the Jina with a lamp. Dhansri asked her once the merit of that worship. Jinamati advised her that it would give her great happiness in the next birth and that she should also worship the Jina with a lamp, adopting the Jaina faith. [K. 3.) Dhanaśri who regularly worshipped the Jina died after some time and was born a goddess in the Saudharma heaven. Jinamati also died and was born a goddess there. Both of them recognised each other in heaven. They used to come in the air-car to Meghapura and worshipped the Jina with a lamp as they did before. Afterwards, Dhanśrī was reborn in that very town as the queen of king Makaradhvaja (K. 4.] by name Ratnāvali. The king became enamoured of her. His other queen Vijayādevī died on account of the ill-treatment of the king and became a Vyantari ( = female hobgoblin ). This Vyantari came at night to kill Ratnāvalī. But finding her lustre difficult to be looked at, she felt ashamed and began to weep. Ratnāvali woke up; the Vyantarī requested her to save her. [K. 5.] Ratnāvali then touched her; and she told Ratnāvalī that she did that out of spite and that she would do then anything she would ask. Ratnāvali asked her to prepare a great palace overnight and went back to her bed-room. In the morning, when the king awoke, he was surprised. He lived there happily. When Jinamti who always came there to worship Jina, asked the Cäraņa-sage about the fate of Dhanśri. (K. 6.] Then having heard about her, Jinamati came to the window of her palace at midnight, took away her sleep and preached her, i.e. Ratnāvali. She thought who the person preaching her always at midnight in sweet tones was. She tried to see but could not find any one. In the meantime, a sage came in the outer garden. The king with Ratnāvali went to see him. Ratnāvali asked him about the above incident. (K. 7.) The sage told her the previous history of Jinamati and Dhanśri and that she was Dhanaśri reborn. He also told her that both of them would be reborn together in Acyuta Heaven and after several births obtain absolution. Ratnāvali, being satisfied in mind, came home. [K. 8.) Jinmati came again at mid-night and informed her that she would be born a daugther of Sāgaradatta in the same town. She was born by name Sudarśanā. When Sudarśanā was young, she went to the Jina-temple where Ratnāvali saw her and by the impressions of the past brith, they recognised each other. They together then worshipped the Jina always with a lamp and were reborn after death in the Acyuta heaven and after several births would obtain absolution.