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MUNIPATI
107"
was above all punishments as per the convention of the. state So the king ordered that so along as the fellow was in the monk's robe, he should not be touched, but that the moment he gave it up, the law would take its own course.
"This was a new situation for the gold-smith He did not really want to be in white clothes for all times, but had used them as an expediency to save himself from an imminent danger But now the position was that he could no longer give them up and he would do so at the cost of his own life Thus wavering between attachment and renunciation, he at least threw his lot in favour of the latter He came to the monks and joined their order He developed a taste for this new life, lived it successfully and was in the end liberated like Metarya"
On the completion of his account, Kunchika said,
"'I agree that Monk Metarya was a magnificent personality and he was free from all greed, But you are a different type. I have my reservations about you and I have a feeling that you are a wretch like Sukumala".
Who was this Sukumala ? I am curious to know all about her's
Kunchika started again
"In the city of Champa, there reigned King Jitasatru. Sukumala was the name of his queen The king was immensely fond of her This affection developed into a lust and the king never moved apart from her presence. He stopped attending the colIt or Icoking after the affairs of the state This made the minister extremely anxious about the future of the kingdom. One day, he sought an audience with the king and tried his best to make him realise the situation, but all was in vain The king asked the minister to disturb him no more, and, in turn, gave the minister the full authority to run the affairs of the state as. best as he could.
