Book Title: Jain Stories 02
Author(s): Mahendramuni, K C Lalwani
Publisher: A B Jain Shwetambar Terapanth Samaj

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Page 171
________________ KULADHWAJA King Sankha was the king of Ajodhya. His queen was Dharini She gave birth to a son named Kuladhwaja who was highly obedient to his parents and bore a flawless conduct One day, as he went to the park, he saw there seated Acharya Manatunga, surrounded by fellow monks, under the shade of a leafy tree The prince paid him homage and obeisance and listened to his holy words wherein the Acharya revealed the virtue of a celibate life. When the sermon was over, the prince said, 'Holy sire ! A wholly celibate life is an impossibility for me; but I take the vow to remain contended with my own wife and never to touch another woman." As the prince was coming back, he met two ladies who were quarreling with each other. When the prince enquired about the source of trouble between them, said one, "I am the wife of a blacksmith and my name is Saubhagya-kandalı I came here to take water from this well. As I was going back, herein came this lady named Kanak-manjari, the wife of a carpenter, with an empty jar on the same errand It was a narrow lane and we stood face to face. Even though my jar was full and hers was empty, she didn't clear the way for me Hence, sir, this heated exchange." She didn't stop at that but added, "This lady should know how great a craftsman my man 1s in deference to which alone she should have given me precedence There is no art, on earth of which my husband as not a master >> The prince "Noble lady ! What's the field of thy husband's specialisation. I am curious to know about it."

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