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120
JAINA STORIES
"The prince was lifted up by somc unknown power cven before he touched the water and placed in a hermit's compound where he was married with the hermit's daughter named Rupavati. The hermit gave him a magic blanket and a flying cot The prince came with his bride to this very city, Kusumpur, where the cot landed in the park. As the lady became thirsty, the prince went to fetch some water from the well, but as ill-luck would bare it, he suffered from a snake bite"
So saying, he sighed a deep sigh and became silent. Now, Rupavati broke the silence and said,
"Sir! It is painful to me that you have stopped at this point I am interested to know what happened next."
The hunchback said nothing. He picked up his book and looked at the king who had promised, as per proclamation, to give the princess in marriage to one who would make the ladies speak. He had fulfilled it
This was an unequal match and was disliked by the members of the king's household But the king did not budge and celebrated the marriage at once
The insuspicious karma of Prince Singhal were noty on its way to move out and his life was to take a major tura. A god, the very one who had saved him at the sea, appeared and cured the prince of his physical defect, aod the prince was his original self agaio Thus it became an occasion of of great joy, a happy union of so many, for the three ladies, and for the king in particular who had such a dice young man as the husband of his daughter. The four cowives embraced each other very cordially as sisters
As the god revealed now, he was the prince's elder brother in the previous birth He attained a divine life for offering food to a monk His younger brother then, non Prince Singhal, had also offered cane juice to the mook, but he was not very steadfast in faith and so he suffered so much in his life-separation from his wives, shipwreck, physical defect, etc. He also revealed that it was he who had saved him at the sea when his life was at stake Oo hearing these, the prince regained his long memory and saw his previous birth.
