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Some Jain Versions of the 'Act of Truth' Theme
Vimala's previous births. He was originally a brahman, deeply preoccupied with the necessity of purity of food, who cut off his affectionate wife's hands on learning that she had been secretly mixing milk into his meals in order to increase his strength. Despite his remorse, he was subsequently reborn himself without hands in a poor family as Tumtaa ("Handless") 14. Then through acknowledging the power of the Jñanapañcami day he was reborn as Vimala in Benares (Väränasi) with magical healing power in his hands. The queen of the city became smitten with adulterous passion for him, but he did not respond to her advances, claiming that a secret wrong could not go unhidden in the world,15 since the five gods of the directions. would see it. In anger, the queen falsely told her husband the king that she had been raped by Vimala (v. 76), as a result of which he cut off Vimala's hands (v. 89). Vimala then in front of the onlookers fixed his thought on the Jina and "without his hands" (ujjhiyatumți) made an act of truth (vv. 93-4): "My fate is thus (?). If I have no fault with regard to what the king in his anger says about me, then let my hands grow as they were before". Then immediately the goddess who had been Vimala's wife in his existence as a brahman restored his hands, making them glow with shining light to awaken the assembled people to the Jain religion.
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The next two examples occur in the Bṛhatkathākośa (nos. 88-90) dealing with female chastity in illustration of Bhagavati Aradhana v. 999.
The first of these is the story of Rohini, the wife of Vasudeva, and is connected with the Kṛṣṇa cycle. The scene is the city of Sauri at the border of Śūrasena. Because of Rohini's great affection for her son, the ninth Baladeva, it is popularly but falsely (v. 6 satyena parivarjitām) assumed they are lovers. Vasudeva curses his wife and gets her to stand in the kayotsarga position in the middle of the river Yamuna when it is in spate. Rohini gets the river to stop its course and the people acknowledge her purity. She then makes an act of truth (v. 21), requesting the Yamuna, if she is indeed pure, to flow to the north of the city instead of the south". The river heard the voice of Rohini "which was endowed with truth and firmness" (satyadhairyasametäyäḥ) and flowed on the north side of the city, which because of her statement (väkya) it does even now. As a result of this miracle (prätihärya), many pure minded men and women became Jains.
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