Book Title: Jain Legend Vol 1
Author(s): Hastimal Maharaj, Shuganchand Jain, P S Surana
Publisher: Hastimal Maharaj Shugan C Jain P S Surana

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Page 220
________________ towards Magadhapur. The chariot, moving with the speed of the wind, reached the forests outside Kau mb. Brahmadatta reached R jag ha after facing difficulties such as fight with dacoits in the forest, crying over separation from Varadhanu, among others. Leaving Ratnavat at a hermitage outside R jag ha, Brahmadatta went into the city. There he married in the Gāndharva tradition the two sisters, Khaņdā and Vi kh , of the Vidy dhara N yonmatta and then he reached the house of the merchant Dhan vaha. Dhan vaha was very happy to see him and he got him married to R jag ha. Brahmadatta started staying with Ratnavat happily in R jag ha but he was very sad about the missing Varadhanu. He tried a lot to trace Varadhanu but when he did not get any positive results, thinking him to be dead; he performed his last rites, and called some Brahmins over for the death feast. Suddenly Varadhanu too arrived in the midst of the Brahmins and said, “The food being served to me will enter Varadhanu's stomach." Brahmadatta recognised Varadhanu's voice and embraced him. The sorrowful atmosphere turned into a breeze of joy. The two friends went to see a festival one day. The entire R jag ha was gathered to see the festival, decked in colourful attire and different kinds of invaluable ornaments. At that very moment, an elephant in rut, which was in the elephant stables, broke its chains and reaching the fair, started to blow its trumpet. People ran helter-skelter, many lost consciousness; the entire atmosphere was filled with cries of women and children. The mad elephant picked up a woman with his trunk. People had their hearts in their mouths. Like lightning Brahmadatta went and stood facing the elephant and started bellowing at it. Leaving the woman, the elephant leapt at Brahmadatta, shaking his long trunk and its tail. Brahmadatta was adept at fighting with elephants: hence in the end he tamed the elephant. He went and tied it up in the elephant stable. Hearing about the incident of the elephant's account and about its being tamed, the king of Magadha reached there. He was struck by the young handsome man with brilliance of the sun and strength of Indra. When the merchant Dhan vaha introduced Brahmadatta, the king was very happy. He married off his daughter Pu pamat to Brahmadatta in a grand ceremony. The woman whose life Brahmadatta had saved from the elephant was r mat, the daughter of a merchant of R jag ha named 220

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