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INTERVENING STORIES
183
Śrutirata having been reborn as an elephant trampled down the frog to death. The frog was reborn as a fish and then was reborn as a cock for three successive times. The cock was, all the three times, killed by a cat. The cat was nobody else but the elephant who got reborn as a cat for the same number of times. Then the cat and the cock were reborn as a fish and a crocodile respectively. Both of them were slaughtered by a fisherman and were reborn as two brothers Ramana and Vinoda, in the farnily of a Brahmin at Rājagļha Ramana once while returning home from his Vedic teacher stayed in a Yakşagsha. Sākhā, the wife of Vinoda entered that house to meet her paramour, Asokadatta, there as decided before. Unfortunately Ramana was caught with the suspicion of having illicit connection with her. He was seized by the policemen. Vinoda killed Ramana in a hurry without knowing the truth because it all happened in the pitch-dark night. Both the brothers then passing through the lives of he-buffaloes, bears, hunters and antelopes successively werereborn as two stags. King Svayambhū took them to his house. There they felt delighted on seeing a monk who was being offered alms by the king. After their death they became celestial beings and then passing through various subhuman existences, Vinoda becarne a very rich merchant namely, Dhanada in Kampilyapura and Ramaņa became his son, namely, Bhūşana. Bhūṣaṇa once proceeding to pay homage to the Jinas was bitten by a snake and was reborn first in the Mahendravimana and thereafter as Jagadyuti, the son of Madhavi and Prakāśayaśas of Candrādityapura in the Puşkaradvīpa. From there he was reborn In Devakuru and then in the iśāna Kalpa. Descending from there he was born as Vibhu of Dhārini and Cakravartin Acala of Ratnapura in the Aparavideha. Knowing his inclination towords asceticism his father forcibly wedded him to many beautiful girls, but he kept himself engaged in observing penances and after his death he was reborn in the Bramhottara Kalpa. Dhanada on the other hand after transmigrating through various births became Brahmin Mşdumati, the son of Sakunāgnimukha and Savitrī at Podanapura. On account of his vagabond nature he was expelled from the house. In due course he became a famous dice-player and master of various arts. He kept two courtezans, became very rich and ameliorated the miserable conditions of his parents. Once while attempting to commit burglary in the palace, he overheard king Nandivardhana (Srivardhana) of Sasankanagara praising before his queen the Jina-religion and he desired to become a monk. Being thus enlightened Mşdumati renounced the world and wandering from place to place, he reached a hill where lived a very famous monk namely Gunanidhi who was greatly revered
