Jain Stories 01

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

Page 84

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JAINA STORIES
"The minister expressed eagerness about him, telling bim that in view of the stupendous problem they were in, no difficulty was big enongh to them. So the man started again 'At a distance of about 96 miles from my city, there's a dense forest, at the entrance of which there are two palm trees On one of them is sometimes perched a crow and on the other a swan As you enter into the forest and reach its end, you see a mountain named Lokagra, and on top of it is the seat of Yogi Sadananda who is always in the padmasana posture He has the power you are looking for If he favours you, you may get it'
"The minister was happy to get the clue and he informed the king about it The king said, 'But what's the city of the carpet-dealer ? Till we know that, we cannot reach there"
"The minister introduced the merchant to the king. Giving the geography of his city, the merchant said, 'Your Majesty' As you cross the boundary of your realm, you will pass through 12 villages, 9 metropolitan cities and 5 towns, before you reach my city,' Now the king understood the exact location He rewarded the man for the information The good news was revealed in time to queen Nivritti The lady was very intelligent She at once told the king that in no case should be take the minister with him, since the fellow was crafty, ungrateful and malicious. She went to the extent of telling him that his own life would be in danger in case the minister went with him For the rest, she wished him a good luck.
"The king too shared the queen's feeling and he agreed But the minister did not want to miss this chance and pursued him like his shadow The king tried his best to dissuade him, but he would by no means stay behind,
“The two started, full of enthusiasm, without caring for the fatigue, and they covered a very long distance of 5500