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JAINA STORIES
have taken a fancy for you. You come with me. I shall lead you to the process apartment."
The woman led the way and Uttamkumar followed her. He was amazed at the splendour of the palace. They were now ipside a beautifully decorated room. Madalsa came forward to greet him. As Madalsa and Uttamkumar looked at each other, they fell in love at the very first sight The woman now made the formal proposal and the two gave a silent consent. The marriage was performed according to the Gandharva rites. The lady was very happy at the smooth fulfilment of her duty. Her long-cherished desire was at last fulfilled.
The prince, accompanied by Madalsa and the woman, came back to his ship. Everyone was surprised at the valour and good luck of the prince The couple was congratulated by all The ships sailed on their voyage.
Man's destiny is a curious mixture of extremes When one extreme gets the upperhand, the other goes down and through this process of imbalance, many evil results creep in. When Kuverdatta beheld the beautiful Madalsa, he was full of lust for her. He deviated from his path of honesty and all his efforts were now directed to getting her by hook or by crook He started calling on the prince very often and thus he got the chance of seeing Madalsa from very close quarters Madalsa comprehended soon bis ugly miod and said to the prince one day,
"This map in whom you have so much faith and trust appears to me to be a devil with a vile heart Be careful of his company."
The prince did not pay much beed to her words He said instead,
"No, you are wrong The merchant is an honest mar and he is honest to the core. Why do you doubt him for nothing?
A good man evaluates others by his owo standard and the outcome in most cases is disastrous. Uttamkumar had
