Jain Stories 03

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

Page 14

JAINA STORIES
The couple led a very happy conjugal life They loved cach other very intensely After some time, Anarkumar decided to undertake a sea yoyage for business purposes Accordingly, he took his father's consent When Surasun. dari came to know of this plan, she also desired to go with him In fact, Amarkumar did not very much like this idea, but he could not bypass her pressing request. After taking the blessings of his parents and other senior members in the family, the couple started at an auspicious moment A few months' voyage took them to the island of Ceylon The ship was anchored for getting drinking water Just then an elderly and experienced sailor came and said,
"Wait for some time. At the hour of sunset, a terrible monster comes to this place and it is very difficult to cscape from his clutches If you want to save yourself you ought to leave your ship here and move away to a distance till it's dark"
All the passengers did as bade by the sailor They dispersed in small groups Amarhumar and Surasundari walked away to another direction They were immensely pleased at the beautiful landscape facing their eyes They strolled for quite some time on the sea-beach At last Surasundarı felt tired So she begged her husband to sit down somewhere and take rest. Amarkumar readily agreed They selected a nice lonely spot beneath a tree. Surasundari was so tired that she placed her head on the lap of her husband and soon fell fast asleep
Human memory is very alert. Sometimes words said long ago come up in memory quite amazingly, and fill the mind with unspeakable grief The same happened with the hero of the present story. The stillness of the atmosphere all around and the sleeping beauty lying in front of him aroused in his mind an episode that had happened long ago.