________________
PUNIYO PUNIYO, nourished on the pure fare of the wisdom of saintly men, was well known through the length and breadth of Magadha. He was without a peer in his simplicity, contentment, civility and equanimity of temperament. So intensely did he believe in the scriptural injunctions about the duty of the host towards the guest that to him it had become undistinguishable from religion. It was a custom with him, and his equally saintly wife, to eat on alternate days and feed the hungry wayfarer on the days they fasted.
It was the day of the full moon and Puniyo was fasting. Seeking shelter at his humble home, there came a very learned and religious man on his way to the holy city of Kashi. Puniyo extended him his usual hospitality with a special fervour.
· The guest, while eating his frugal meal, observed the room. It was clean, but absolutely bare. But for the plate and bowl he was using for his meal, there was nothing in the room. “What a generous man he is, despite his poverty !" thought he. “He does not hesitate to deniy himself food so that he may feed the hungry."
The holy man made up his mind to requite Puniyo for his hospitality; he had a secret means to do so.
Night fell and the household was hushed in sleep.
79
