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the monk's container. He was happy that he could offer this to the monk even though nothing was left for him to eat. His good intentions & his pious action helped him earn good Karmas.
In his next life he was born as, Shalibhadra in a very rich family. His life was like being in heaven. His parents were Bhadra Shethani & Gobhadra Sheth. His father had renounced the world to become a monk when Shalibhadra was a young boy. His mother provided him all the comforts & luxury & never let him out of the palace for fear that he might become a monk like his father. It was said that even the heavenly beings were jealous of his lavish lifestyle. When he grew up, he was married to thirty two beautiful women.
One day, some merchants from Nepal came to town to sell some very exquisite diamond studded shawls. They went to King Shrenik's court where the king told them that he could not afford to buy such expensive shawls. The merchants returned from court in utter disappointment because they were hoping to sell some shawls to the king. The merchants also thought that since the king could not afford to buy any then none of his people would have enough wealth to buy their shawls in this city & decided to leave town.
When Bhadra Shethani heard this, she sent a messenger & requested the merchants to visit her. The merchants were reluctant to go because if the king could not buy a shawl, how could any of the residents buy such expensive shawls? When they reached the house, Bhadra Shethani asked, "How many shawls do you have?" They said they had sixteen shawls. She said, "Only sixteen? I need thirty-two shawls because I have thirtytwo daughter-in-laws." The merchants thought she was joking believing that she would not even buy one. She said, "Please take out those shawls." They took out the sixteen shawls. The merchants were surprised that without a second thought she bought all sixteen shawls. They were further astounded to see her tearing such precious shawls into two pieces in front of them & giving a piece to each of her daughters-in-law to wipe their feet. The merchants were stunned but left with joy. The daughter-in-laws used the pieces once & threw them away.
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One of the servants Shalibhadra's palace knew the queen so she took a piece of shawl for the queen. The queen was baffled but happy that such rich people lived in her kingdom. She told King Shrenik about the shawls & he was also very proud of such rich people upholding the good name of his kingdom. He invited Shalibhadra to
Stories During Bhagwan Mahavir's Life
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