Jain Journal 1968 01

Author(s): Jain Bhawan Publication
Publisher: Jain Bhawan Publication

Page 14

104
powerful king who surpassed all known kings of the past in valour and prowess. He ascended the throne at a very young age and was renowned for his adventurous activities which included fights with wild animals and even spirits in the cremation grounds at the dead of night. He relished the company of women of diverse nationalities, was an adict and yet he considered himself at par with the gods.
JAIN JOURNAL
One day a tantric teacher Virabhairava came to the king's court. He told the king that if he could propitiate the goddess Candamari by offering all sorts of sacrifices including a couple of human beings, he would obtain a miraculous sword with which he would be able to conquer the realm of the Vidyadharas. This was a very attractive proposal for the king. So, although it was not the proper time for it, the king ordered the worship of the goddess, personally went to the temple and ordered the guards to bring two human beings of requisite traits whom the king was to sacrifice with his own hands.
The temple of the goddess Candamari was situated in the capital city. It was a most horrid place in view of the inhuman self-torture practised by the devotees. The place was frequented by terrific female spirits called Mahāyoginis and also by the Kāpālikas selling their own flesh. Some of the devotees could be seen burning incense on their own heads; some were burning their own arteries and some drinking their own blood. In fact, this was no place for ordinary folks to visit. But at the instance of the tantric teacher, the sacrifice was arranged at this spot.
About this time, a Jaina sage, Sudatta, widely reputed for his austerities, was approaching the city of Rajapura with his vast retinue of disciples. When he heard about the impendng carnage in the city, he changed his course, turned eastward and reached a beautiful pleasure-garden. He would have used the place for his sojourn but when he saw that the place was being used by a number of young men and maidens for merry-making and fun, he discarded the place by saying to himself:
brahmastambanitambiniratikathāprārambhacandrodayah
kāmam kāmarasābatāraviṣayavyāpārapuṣpākarāh
prayah prāptasamādhiśuddhamanaso'pyete pradesāh kṣaṇāt sväntadhvāntatakṛto bhabanti tadih sthātum na yuktam yateh
So the Jaina sage went further bypassing the pleasure-garden and came across a crematorium where dead-bodies were burning on the