Jain Stories 03

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

Page 94

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JAINA STORIES
needed her no more, and he must cut off all connections with her. To him, she was no better than a poisonous creeper, and he must immediately uproot her and cast her aside The sooner he did it, the better for him. But he did not reveal his mind to his wife and kept waiting for a suitable plan and an appropriate chance.
The ship proceeded piercing through the water After a few days, they reached an island of man-eating monsters The ship cast anchor to collect water and fuel Mahesvaradatta alighted from the ship, and so did Narmada Sundari Both of them reached a forest of banana trees where they sat down to rest Narmada Sundari felt drowsy, and was soon fast asleep This was a good chance Ever since he felt bitter about her, he comdered various alternatives of discarding her. Sometimes he thought of administering poison to her. Sometimes he thought of pushing her into the water But he could not make up his mind. But now was the opportunity ready at hand He discarded her in the midst of a deep slumber in the banana forest and reached his ship He told his men with a feigned sorrow that his wife had been carried away by a monster and had been devoured and that he had managed to escape with great difficulty. He asked them to quit the place at once lest the monsters would follow them, in which case, none would remain alive So pretty early in the morning, the ship set sail
This was done, and in the morning, the ship started moving Mahesvaradatta heaved a sigh of relief at the ease with which he could get rid of her So goes the maxim, 'The snake has been killed, but the stick is in tact'
Mahesvaradatta visited many lands, earned much wealth and returned home His people were very happy to see him back. When they made enquiries about Narmada, he gave them a horrible account of how she had been taken away by a monster and killed. This created a spell of deep sorrow for all But time is the best healer and after some time, Mahesvaradatta took a new wife, and in the new joy of life, he forgot all about Narmada Sundari.
In her sweet slumber, Narmada enjoyed many a dream,