Jain Story Book

Author(s): Manu Doshi
Publisher: Manu Doshi

Page 18

Once there was a royal procession in which Shripäl was seated on an elephant along with the king. During the procession someone pointing a finger at Shripäl, asked a relative who he was. The man replied that he was the son in law of the king. Shripäl heard it. He got sad that he was getting identified by his relationship with the father in law. It came to his mind that the most prestigious are those who are known by their own names; less prestigious are those who are known by their parents; those known by their brothers are so so and those who are known by their in laws are disgraceful. He thereupon decided to seek power and prestige on his own. He therefore secured permission from Mayana and the king and set off all alone on an auspicious day.
He travelled far and wide, visited many places and boldly faced the adversities that came across. During that period too he did not forsake his devotion to Navapada. Consequently, he successfully came out of all the ordeals. As was the custom that time, he could marry many girls and acquired much wealth and lot of followers. Equipped with that he came back and camped outside Ujjayini. His army was so large that it virtually surrounded the city. King Prajapal thought that some enemy had come with a large force to conquer Ujjayaini. He came to the camp at the instance of Shripäl and was pleased to recognize his son in law. Then Shripal entered the city where he was given a hero's welcome. His mother and Mayana were anxiously awaiting his arrival and were very happy to see him.
Shripäl happily spent some time with Mayana who was dearest to him. Then he decided to get back his original kingdom of Champanagar. He sent a message to his uncle Ajitsen to leave the throne that he had seized. Ajitsen was however too proud to give up. So Shripäl invaded Champanagar with his vast army. Ajitsen gave a tough fight. His army was however not a match for Shripal's. In a tough fight Ajitsen was captured and Champanagar was taken over by Shripäl. He then gracefully released his uncle from the captivity. Ajitsen now felt that his days were over and he decided to renounce the worldly life. Thereafter Shripäl happily passed the rest of life as king of Champanagar.
(8)
Lord Neminäth and Räjimati
By the time of Mahabharat socio-political and religious conditions in India had deteriorated. Standards of restraints, monogamy etc. set up during Ramayana period had given way. Polygamy was almost the order of the day. Rulers and men of means used to marry as many wives as they could afford. Even the old people with grown up sons did not hesitate to marry young girls. There were also cases of polyandry. Rulers were getting powerful. They were maintaining large armies and used to wage wars for expanding their territories. Jarasangha, the king of Magadha was the most powerful. He was aspiring to become the lord of the entire India which was then known as Bharatkhanda. Most of the other rulers vied with each other for his favor. There were also tyrant kings like Kansa who could show utmost cruelty to the persons suspected of being against his interests. Hunting was the favorite pastime of warrior class and gambling was considered respectable game. Animals were sacrificed on the alter of religious rites and non-vegetarianism had become popular. It was the right time for a great saint to come forth and teach religion afresh.
Yadava clan had mostly settled on the bank of Yamuna. Mathura and Shauripuri in the present western U.P. were their major centers of concentration. Yadav prince Samudravijay was ruling over Shauripuri. His wife's name was Shivadevi. Lord Neminäth was born to them sometime before Mahabharat and was named Nemikumar. When he was in the womb of his mother, she had dreamt of series of black jewels called Arishta. He is therefore also known as Arishtanemi.