Jain Stories 03

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

Page 96

JAINA STORIES
but she knew not that the world had meanwhile changed for her When she opened her eyes, Mahesvaradatta was pot there. She called out his name but there was no response. She got up and looked for him, but he was no where to be found. She was now alarmed. In a helpless mood, with tears in her eyes, she was Dovy aimlessly wandering in the lone island Even animals shed tears for her, and expressed sympathy at her distress. Addressing her absent husband, she said,
"I placed my life into your charge which you gladly accepted Why then have you deceived me like this? If you did not like me, you could have easily kulled me. Even that would have been more bearable for me than this treachery. What harm did I do upto thee? How did I incur thy displeasure ?"
While bewailing like this, she turned her steps towards the sea She stood now on the sea beach But the ship was not there. She had no doubt that she had been conciously discarded. She fell down unconscious on the beach. When she regained her senses, she could no longer bear the burden of this life, and was gathering courage to put an end to it. She decided to enter into the sea Now, she stood beside the waves Suddenly, she had the realisation that escapism did not and could not end misery. One could very well put ap end to one's life, but that would not liberate one from the bondage of karma Till it was exbausted or uprooted, it pursued the soul from one life to another. Her inner voice asked her to concentrate all her energy to exhaust the roots of karma and strike it out So she gave up the idea of putting an end to ber life and came back to the beach
Seated on the shore, she cast a glance backward Uppermost in her mind was the question, "Why did my husband discard me? What karnia did I bind to see such an evil day ? Then she remembered the words of the nirgrantha monk, 'You shall be separated from your husband' Was the present situation the outcome of the monk's words ? She was by now largely reconciled to her position She realised that her own karma was at the root of all this misery. So she now blamed none except her owo luck.