Jain Stories 01

Author(s): Mahendramuni, K C Lalwani
Publisher: A B Jain Shwetambar Terapanth Samaj

Page 28

JAIXA STORIES
shiding. She had a large retinue of female attendants preceading and following her elephant When the procession had passed, the old lady said, 'Are you Amrada Kshatriya? I knew of your arrival for a very long time Come with me to my house and I shall give reply to your query
"Amvada gathered courage and reached the lady's resi dince. It was a huge mansion full of unimagioable wealth As be reached the courtyard he saw a young lady, the very cambodiment of beauty and grace, the like of which be bad never seen before The lady was playing with balls, asmany as four at a time, none touching the ground even once And they were no ordinary balls, but the heavenly bodies, the sun, the moon and two planets, and as they were burled into the sky, they displayed, respectively, rays, beams and dark shadows which were visible from the ground Amvada wassurprised all the more and he had now many more queries to ask - But before he could open his lips, the old lady said to him, 'Amrada : You are on your way to fetch the fruits of the sato sarkara tree at the bidding of Gorakh Yogioi ; is that right Till you get'em, you are free to have a nice time with my daughter Charidravati.'
"This increased Amvada's confusion all the more. He knew not what to make of it Suddenly, Chandravati turned to him and said, 'Don't you worry I'm looking for a playmate like you You're welcome For this game, the only sule is that the ball touches not tbe ground If it does, you are defeated, and the defeated party rubs tbe feet of the victor.' Amvada agreed The lady displayed unusual skill of her hands and the balls didn't touch tbe ground even once Now, it was Amvada's turn and tbe lady extended towards bim all the four exceptional balls Amvada picked up the sua first, but he was so much scorched by its rays that be fell down unconscious Chandravati then burled the sun in the sky, and with him, her playmate to, and she fixed the sun in the sky