Jain Stories 01

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

Page 86

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JAINA STORIES
"Having acquired the power, the two started back for their own city. Having crossed the great forest, they reached a pool where they stopped to take the test The king saw there a dead elephant With a desire to test the newly acquired power, he entrusted his own body to the minister and entered into the dead animal Soon the dead elephant stood up and merrily entered into the forest The minister now entered into the king's body, destroyed his own, and Teached the city A grand reception was organised and the minister, in the body of the king, had a ceremonial entrance into the city
"All were curious to know what had happened to the minister To stop the gossip, the minister in the person of the king made it known that as they were coming back after the acquisition of the power, they were chased by a lion, who would have killed him but for the timely intervention of the worthy minister The minister thus gave his life to save the life of his master. His was a devotion worth adoring and emulating
"As the king in the body of the elephant returned after some time, he saw neither his own body nor the minister He had his suspicion He now remembered the warning given by the queen He also remembered the Yogi's words to which he had paid no heed He had now no doubt that he would have difficult times ahead of him He took the way to the city He had not an 10ta of doubt that this was a conspiracy by the minister to get the queen
"Meanwhile, the minister in the body of the king visited the queen in herapartment She displayed great joy to receive him But having talked for a while with him, she realised that this was none other than the rogue, the minister, in the person of the king, and that the king had somehow been concealed or wiped out of existence But the wicked fellow must be duly exposed And to do this, she must