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LAKSMIPUNJA
At Hastinapur, there lived a merchant named Sudharma. A devout Jaina, the merchant was very poor and ran a petty business His wife's name was Dhanna. One night, as she was fast asleep, she saw in a dream the Goddess Shree (the goddess of prosperity) in the Lotus Lake Dressed in the best of her robes and ornaments, she was seated on a lotus Dhanna woke up after this good dream, and when she apprised her husband of this, he said, "Now our days of woe must be nearing their end Indications are that a boy will be born in the family and his fame will go far and near."
With this sweet thought in her mind, Dhanna could not sleep for the rest of the night
The arrival of a pious soul becomes a turning point in the life of a family From the day Dhanna had dreamt the dream, there was a turn for the better in Sudharma's material condition The profit from business also looked up But Sudharma's depression was not yet over The anxiety about how best to accord a welcome to the in-coming pious soul always haunted him One day, as he was standing in the courtyard with this thought up in his mind, a portion of the earth slipped from beneath his feet and peeped through it a jar full of gold and gems This was a major turning point Henceforth, fortune smiled on him and he was living in a mansion of his own served by many servants and attendants
At the right moment, a male child was born to Dhanna On the third day, he was exposed to the sun and the moon On the sixth night, the mother kept awake to worship the diety of Birth and on the eleventh day, the house was cleaned in the customary manner. On the twelfth day, relations and friends were invited to dinner and the boy's naming ceremony was performed He was to be henceforth called Laksmipunja.
