Jain Lesson II

Author(s): JAINA Education Committee
Publisher: Diwakar Prakashan

Page 67

Kapil now started taking his food at Manorama's place. Now he could devote enough time for his education. But the relationship of the two slowly developed into intimacy. With the passage of time Manorama became pregnant. She started worrying about how to meet the expenses of delivery and how to maintain the baby. Kapil knew that the king gave two gold coins to the person who first bestows benedictions on him every morning. He decided to go to the palace early in the morning to get the gold. The next day Kapil reached the palace in the morning, but some other Brahmin had already reached the palace. The next day too Kapil was late. He tried for eight days, but every time he was late.
Kapil became displeased with himself. He decided to sleep in the garden so that he could be the first at the palace. Soon he noticed the moon in the horizon. He mistakenly took it as sunrise and started running towards the palace. A policeman, who was patrolling the street, saw Kapil running towards the palace. He suspected him to be a thief and arrested him. Kapil tried to explain his position to the security guard but he simply said, “You may tell your story to his Majesty in the morning."
In the morning Kapil was brought to the royal court. He was trembling, because he had never been in the court before. The king noticed the fear in his face and thought he could not be a thief. The king asked him, “Who are you? What were you doing at midnight?
Kapil humbly replied, "Your Majesty, I am a brahmin and I was running to get to the palace to confer blessings upon
you."
The king asked, “Why so early ?"
Kapil said, “Your Majesty, I have been trying to confer my blessings upon you for the last eight days to earn two gold
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