Jain Story Book

Author(s): Manu Doshi
Publisher: Manu Doshi

Page 40

Abhaykumar had therefore to make a plan for getting confession of Rohineya regarding the burglaries. He came to know that Rohineya was fond of drinks. He therefore arranged for serving too much wine to the accused to the extent of making him unconscious. In that state, Rohineya was neatly cleaned, dressed in extravagantly perfumed royal garments and was adorned with valuable jewelry. He was then placed on a luxurious velvet bed on a sandalwood cot on the top floor of a palatial building. As Rohineya regained his senses, he saw himself in heavenly surroundings. There was breath taking view all around; walls, ceiling and floor were crystalline; beautiful maidens were waving scented air with diamond studded fans; slow sweet music was flowing from the background; fairylike damsels were dancing in tune with that music and apparently divine musicians were getting ready for a musical concert.
Rohineya could not make out where he was. He asked one of the girls where he was and why all of them were serving him so well. The girl replied that he was their Lord in the heaven that he had attained; all the divine comforts now belonged to him; he could live like Indra, the king of heaven and enjoy with the heavenly damsels the way he liked. Could this be true for a burglar like him?' he asked himself. But he then remembered that he was helpful to the poor and needy and he was sure that God must have been just. 'Or could this be the plan of Abhaykumar?' he thought again. It was real hard for him to decide what was truth. He therefore thought it fit to wait and see.
After a while, a luxuriously clad person entered with a golden staff and book in his hand. 'Is your new Lord awake?' he asked one of the damsels. The girl replied that their new lord had just been awake and they had been getting ready to celebrate his arrival in the heaven by presenting the divine concert. 'Let me make sure that all preliminaries pertaining to his arrival have been finished, before you start your concert; and let me also get from him some information that the heavenly realm needs to know.' So saying, he came to Rohineya. Opening his book, he asked Rohineya to narrate his deeds in the previous life, before he could start enjoying the amenities of heaven.
Meanwhile, Rohineya was watching all around. He remembered what he had happened to hear from Lord Mahavir about heavenly beings, at the time thorn had pricked his foot. He minutely observed the movements of the so called heavenly beings in front of him. He noticed that their feet were touching the ground and their bodies were not shadowless and their eyes were blinking like human beings. He immediately made out that the heaven was a fake and it was only a trick of Abhaykumar to gain evidence of his burglaries. He therefore replied that in the previous life he had given donations for all worthy causes; he had constructed temples; he had been for pilgrimage to holy places and had rendered service to the deserving entities. That person took note of his statement and asked him to narrate any wrong deeds that he might have indulged in. Rohineya said that he had scrupulously avoided misdeeds and therefore he was born in heaven. The plan of Abhaykumar thus came to nothing and Rohineya was set free as being the innocent farmer that he pretended to be.
Rohineya was released; but what had happened, set in a train of thoughts in his mind. He could see that what he had accidently heard from Lord Mahavir, had saved his life. Then how his father could be right in the advice that he had given? That Lord must have been a real grateful entity. 'If those accidentally heard words were so helpful, how much helpful His whole teachings could be?' he asked himself. Did he not waste his years avoiding sermons of the Lord? After pondering at length, he decided to go to the Lord and to serve at His feet. He went to the assembly and humbly requested the Lord to accept him as His pupil. He also offered to become a monk, if the Lord considered him fit for renouncement. As the Lord thought him worthy to become His pupil, he sought His permission to make confession to the king before he renounced. He then disclosed his real identity to the king who was present in the assembly and offered to accept any punishment. He also requested Abhaykumar to depute some of his official to take back all the valuables that he had stored. That way the stolen materials were recovered and handed over to the respective owners.