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JAINA STORIES
great suffocation, but he stood firm and calm He did not allow his mind to sway or swerve in any direction, and he cherished no ill-feeling towards the gold-smith But he could bear no more and fell down dead on the ground
"Meanwhile, the bird could not keep the necklace in its belly It was already having a great pain It could no longer remain on the branch of the tree and dropped down with a crash This evoked a pitiable sound and attracted the smith's attention By that time, the bird's belly had burst and came out from within it the golden necklace which had been missing This opened the smith's eyes, and he could see the reality He was not extremely sorry for all that he had done to the monk and he had only remorse in store for him He rushed back to the monk and as he observed him keenly, he saw that he was none other than Srenika's own son-in-law He was now not only sorry but nervous too, and he had non doubt that his own life on this earth was now only a question of time. The kings men would soon find the culprit and he would have to pay with his own life So he must get ready to quit He could see no way to save himself But, thought he, if the monk was generous enough to save the bid by not pointing to it as the real thief, he felt, his own safety too lay in the same hands, even though the monk was no more in bis mortal frame So he bowed before the monk's body, removed his robes and put them on himself
'The news of the monk's death took no time to spread all over the metropolis The people were shocked to hear of this mysterious tragedy and demanded a severe punishment for the wrong doer Particularly grieved was the lung who had lost such a worthy kin He ordered his men to produce the murderer before him The gold-smith in the garb of a monk was at once produced before the king But this was a dilemma A murderer but a monk! A monk
