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OCTOBER, 1985
4. Renunciation on hearing the preaching 5. Enemies of previous lives disturb meditation 6. Attaining salvation by conquering affliction
The story of Nami Rajarsi is an important story of Uttarādhyayana Sūtra. It is not the whole story but the dialogue between Indra and Nami after his renunciation. It seems therefore that the story was so popular that only the preaching portion has been given in the Uttarādhyayana Sútra. The whole story is found in the commentaries which is as follows:
Padmaratha, king of Mithila, picks up the son of Madanarekha from the forest and named him Nami. After Padmaratha Nami became king of Mithila.
Once he fell ill with burning fever and the queens began to prepare sandal paste to cool his body. The sound arising due to the friction of bangles was unbearable to the king so he asked them to stop it. Out of consideration to his suffering the queens removed all the bangles except one and prepared paste as before. When Nami knew of it he took lesson from it and decided to live alone. At this juncture Indra came to him in the guise of a Brahmin to taste his determination. But even the news of burning of Mithila did not sway him from the path of renunciation.
In the Buddhist Mahājanaka Jātaka we get a similar story, 10 though the plot is some what different but the message is the same. Here are the points of similarities :
Uttarādhyayana Sutra
Mahajanaka Jataka
1. Reasons for renunciation : (a) lesson taken from the
collition of bangles
(a) The same
(b) lesson taken from denuding
of fruitful trees lesson taken from the illusion due to seeing from both
the eyes The same
2. Joy in living alone
• Jacobi, Hermann, Jaina Sutras, Part II, Delhi, 1980, Utta., Chap. IX, gatha 1-62. • US. Subodhika Tika on Chap. IX. 10 Mahajanaka Jataka (Hindi Trans.), No. 539.
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