Jain Ramayana Part 1

Author(s): Bhadraguptasuri
Publisher: Vishvakalyan Prakashan Trust Mehsana

Page 86

74
JAIN RAMAYAN
"Now, you give up all your worries. Everything will be all right. Lord Shantinath will always stand by us".
Kaikasi felt convinced of the truth of what her husband had said; and returned to her chamber.
Man always keeps running after the mirage of materialistic pleasures and enjoyments; but in his mad hunt for mundane happiness he gets so deeply caught in the vicious circle of emotional and intellectual confusions that he cannot even touch the periphery of happiness. This fine Sanskrit epigram is cent per cent true. Shraddhavan labhate sukham. He who has faith attains felicity. Faith is necessary to attain felicity. A genuine faith in the doctrines based on Punya (merit) and Pap (sin) enable one to attain felicity. The soul that believes in this doctrine gives a hint to others to pursue the path of felicity. In the present age human beings are being consumed by the wild flames of sorrow, anguish, oppression and desperation. The basic reason for this is the absence of faith in the doctrines relating to Punya (merit) and Pap (sin). When a person is experiencing sorrow and anguish, he tries to throw the blame upon others; and with or without reason, he treats them with contempt. In other words, man blames others for his misfortunes and miseries; but when he is in prosperity and happiness, he claims that it is all due to his intelligence and intellectual incisiveness, and he praises himself. The consequence of this propensity is that man when he is in sorrow or misery, develops contempt, hatred and dislike for others; and similarly, when he is in happiness and prosperity, he develops false pride, arrogance, and becomes a slave to many addictions. Such a man cannot experience real happiness in both the states; on the contrary, he who believes in the doctrine that our Punya (merit) and Papa (sin) determine our happiness or sorrow, experiences real happiness.
Dashmukh Ravan's destiny knocked on the doors of the city of Surasangit situated on the Vaithadhya mountain. Mayaraj, the Vidyadhar king of Surasangit was steeped in deep worry. He was plunged in the ocean of restlessness and worry. Hemavathi, the queen also was plunged in deep worry. Their daughter,