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JAINA STORIES
· though such words are unbecoming of a monk, he had to use them perforce to meet the situation. Now, as everybody looked on, the child pierced her belly and came out, and in intense pain, the woman fell senseless on the ground Thus the monk was honorably acquitted, and the people's respect for him reached the highest mark When the lady recovered, the king took her to task and ordered her to tell -the truth about the whole conspiracy The woman, who was trembling with fear, gave out the names of all those who were involved in it They too were present in the assembly to witness the discomfiture of the monk and were jubilant over the lady's performance But as the whole thing took a very adverse turn, they looked small, and now fell victim to the king's wrath. They fell at the feet of the monk and begged for their own lives The monk was pacified and withdrew his fiery forces He pleaded on behalf of the guilty and requested the king to withdraw his order, which the latter did" As the story came to its end, Monk Munipati said
"Oh merchant! There's a clear demand in your words --that I too mobilise my fiery forces, as Katha did, to establish my innocence Although such a thing is not desirable for a monk, maybe once in his life-time he has to do it when the situation so demands May I still expect thats good sense will dawn on you and I am spared from taking an extreme step !"
At this moment, the merchant's son joined with them, and he got alarmed for the sake of his own safety. So he said to his father, 'Site ! You have wrongly charged a monk who is free from all bonds This monk, you should know, is no ordinary person and he did not give up his whole kingdom to steal your little treasure He must be in possession of great powers, and if perchance he unleashes them we may stand nowhere as it happened to - poor Namuchi
