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JAINA STORIES
safe distance outside the house, Vidyullata thought that her husband had come back as a goat She started beating him mercilessly and repeated the following words,
“You villain ! You were eager to go to those unfaithful wives leaving behind a faithful wife like me to save your skin, you gave up Chanda once and took shelter with Prachanda. Then you fled Prachanda and took shelter with me. Now you want to go back to the same ladies. An inconsistent wretch ! You have no balance Now you are rightly served,"
When it was half-dead on account of beating, the neighbours rushed in and saved him Vidyullata then sprinkled some enchanted water on the goat and it turned into a monk The Deighbours remained speechless at this sight. At last, they said,
"Holy sir | How did you step in in such a contingency ?"
The monk described the whole incident Vidyullata was trembling with fear. She thought, "If the monk curses me, I shall be undone' So she fell at his feet and begged to be forgiven
This incident cast a deep shadow on Madan's mind. He turned his steps towards Hasantipur There was a park outside the city Madan sat down there to take some rest in the temple of Lord Adinath Once again, the future was clouded with uncertainty. Just then a young man came to the same temple and sat down He introduced bimself as Dhanadeva He asked Madan why he looked so sad and depressed Without reservation, Madan gave him his full account. When Madan had stopped, Dhanadeva said,
“My friend ! Such a trifle has made you so sad. You won't as much be able to imagine the amount of woe that has befallen on me.”
When two grief-stricken persons meet, they readily open their heart to each other At a request from Madan, Dhanadeva gave the following account of himself :
"In this very city, there lived a merchant named Dhana
