Jainism For Beginners Level 02

Author(s): Sayampurnashreeji
Publisher: Sayampurnashreeji

Page 94

treasure, but Shaktal refused to provide any information about the whereabouts of this treasure. The king then forced him to retire & the administration was entrusted to the other ministers.
Acharya STHULIBHADRA
Shaktal was a wise, knowledgeable, & highly respected person in the kingdom. Many scholars & high ranking officials admired him & were eager to consult him on important matters. However, they avoided communicating with him because they feared that the king would not approve of this.
he kingdom of Magadha, in
the state of Bihar, possesed a long and rich history. During Bhagwan Mahavir's time it was ruled by King Shrenik of the Shishunag dynasty. This dynasty ended with the death of Shrenik's great grandson Udayi. Magadha then passed into the hands of the Nanda dynasty, where Dhananand succeeded nine generations of his family's rule. This was around 300 BC or about two hundred years after Lord Mahavir's Nirvana.
GANDHARS ACHARYAS
Shaktal had seven daughters & two sons, Sthulibhadra & Shriyak. Sthulibhadra was smart, brilliant, & handsome, but not very ambitious. In Patliputra, the capital city of Magadha, there lived a beautiful young dancer named Kosha. From a very young age, Sthulibhadra would watch her perform. They fell in love with each other. His family disapproved of the relationship. However, Sthulibhadra was deeply in love. He left home at the young age of 18 & started living with Kosha. He was infatuated with Kosha & abandoned all interest in his career & other family members. King Dhananand intended to appoint him to a high position in the court but Sthulibhadra declined the offer. The king therefore appointed his younger brother, Shriyak, to the position.
Dhananand was far from being a just & noble ruler as he was very greedy. He had heard alegendabout some hidden treasure that belonged to one of his predecessors & was desperate to get his hands on it, Unfortunately, he had no idea where this treasure was hidden. However, he knew that his old Prime Minister Shaktal, who had served his father, had knowledge of the treasure's whereabouts. Dhananand tried everything he could to locate the
As time passed, things began to look grim for Dhananand's reign. The
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