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12. AMBIKA
Tırthankar Arhat Aristanemi attained supreme knowledge on the top of Mount Ujjayanta. The great occasion was celebrated by men as well as gods A congregation was held and the Arbat gave his sermon
Io the assembly, Sakrendra, the Indra of the gods, looked around. His eyes fell on a goddess who had been a new arrival in heaven With the Tırthankara, he raised a question about her previous life Ordained the Arhat,
"Sakrendra ! The event is quite recent To the south of this Ujjayanta mountain, there's a city named Kuvera (Kodinagar) The king of that city was named Somabhatta. He was a remarkable combination of piety and justice His wife's name was Ambika She was a highly accomplished lady, being a support and strength to her husband. They had two sons---Ambar and Sambar
“Somabhatta's own father was a devout Jaina and this had its impact on the family But after his death, the Jaina influence started wading, because his wife, the queen-mother, was a Saivait, and she discouraged the Jaiba practices at the palace
"One day, two sramana monks came to the palace They had just completed severe penances and came to beg to break their fast. The queen-mother was not there at that time Ambika bowed before them, welcomed them and humbly begged them to accept food The monks accepted food and left.
“A dissident never fails to turn a pious deed into a vile ope by his behaviour. One of the palace-women who was patronised by the queen-mother saw Ambika offering food to the monks and made a long barangue.
"What have you done? What were you after with these tonsured men ? This is inconsistent with the digoity and honour
