Jain Stories 02

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

Page 94

JAINA STORIES
greedy of flesh, may piek up and drop us up in the Land of Gold. That will make our task very easy"
The plan did not, however, appeal much to Charudatta. So he said,
"We passed through the dense forest on the back of these goats Should we now kill them ? Life is as much dear to them as to us These animals too have a feeling of paip So we should give up the idea of killing them's
Rudradatta_"Well, I do not understand your mind These goats are neither our parents nor our brothers In fact, they are none to us. They are meant for our use and we need give priority to our own requirements without brothering about what happens to them” Charudatta protested again, but Rudradatta said with a firmness
"'I am decided to kill my goat"
No sooner had he said it than he did it. Then he took out its hide
Now, turning to Charudatta he said, "You cannot do it. So let me do it for you." On hearing this, Charudatta came to the goat and said,
"Poor animal ! In your previous birth, you must have killed some animal and so you are going to be slaughtered DOW Tbis is time for you not to renounce the asravas that tie the soul and take refuge unto the arıhantas the siddhas, the monks and the religion You seek forgiveness of all living beings, give up anger and cultivate a feeling of fraternity to all's
So saying he uttered the holy namokara into his ears
Rudradatta killed the goat and used the two bides to prepare two Icather bags He entered into one of them and made Charudatta to enter into the other Thus they lay on the grouod taking their chance
Now, cverything went as expected. (Two bharunda birds dcscended there and picked up the two goat skins in their