Jain Story Book

Author(s): Manu Doshi
Publisher: Manu Doshi

Page 51

applied red and white sandalwood, but to the king that seemed to be blood and pus due to illusion. The king then inquired about the mysterious utterances. The Lord said that the guy wished Him death, because he desired Him to gain liberation as early as possible. He wished Abhayakumar either of the life or death because Abhayakumar was happily observing strict religious life and was to gain heaven in the succeeding life. Kalsauric's life here was undesirable because he was leading heinous life by undertaking much violence. His next life too was undesirable because he was destined to go to hell. The guy therefore wished him neither life nor death. The king then asked why the guy wished him long life. The Lord replied that the king was destined to go to hell in the next life. Therefore the guy wished him long life here.
The king was very perturbed to listen that. He asked how he, being the devotee of the Lord, could be destined for the life in hell. The Lord pointed out the following incident by which he had acquired that type of Karma.
During his youth Shrenik had once been for hunting. He spotted a fleeing deer. The king spurred his horse and pursued it. Ultimately he located it under the shelter of a tree. He wielded his arrow with all his might and what happened was a pleasant surprise for him. The arrow had not only pierced the body of the deer but it had also pierced the trunk of the tree and had come out on its other side. The deer of course died. Instead of getting pained for the violence, the king got proud and felt highly elated at his prowess. That feeling of too much arrogance for the gross violence had acquired for him the Karma of leading the infernal life.
The king remembered the incident. He felt very sorry for what had happened at that time. He was anxious to wipe out that Karma and asked the Lord what he could do in the matter. The Lord pointed out that his Karma was indelible and was bound to get operative at the right time. Such Karmas cannot be erased without bearing the consequences. Rule of Karma is supreme and no one has any authority over its operation. Shrenik could not reconcile to the fate. He repeatedly asked the Lord for some way to avert the hell. The lord said that there are ways to avert, but the king could not successfully exercise any of them because of the indelible nature of his Karma. As the king insisted to know about the ways, the Lord suggested to him the following alternatives.
There was a highly religious house holder in Räjgruhi. He had given up all the expectations and was leading purely spiritual life. For his livelihood too he depended upon the innocent occupation of making slivers out of cotton. The Indian word for sliver is Puni. He was therefore known as Punia Shravak. He earned very little out of that but felt contented with whatever he could get. He used to spend most of the time in Samayika. The Lord suggested the king to obtain the merit of one Samayika from Punia. The king thought that it was very simple. He approached the man and requested for the merit of only one Samayika. Punia said that he had no objection, but how could he do that since the merits as well as demerits happen to be non-transferable? The king had to go back.
The king had a maid servant named Kapila. She never gave alms to anyone. The Lord suggested to the king to manage her to give alms. The king therefore asked her to do accordingly. She however replied that she would not hold anything in her hand for giving alms. The king therefore arranged to tie a scoop to her hand and made her to give alms. While doing so, the maid servant murmured that the king's scoop is giving the alms, not me. That plan thus failed.
The Lord then suggested the king to prevent the butcher Kalsauric from slaughtering on at least one day. This seemed very easy to the king. He called Kalsauric and ordered him to avoid killing the next day. The butcher replied that he was so conditioned to kill that he could not stay without killing. The king therefore ordered his men to hang him upside down in a well so that he could not undertake any slaughter. Kalsauric was however so conditioned that he fancied the animals on the wall of the well and slaughtered them. That effort too thus failed.