________________
340
N. M. Kansara
Jambū-jyoti
arrived there to join his beloved in her water-sport, and on seeing her in such a situation challenged the prince and his friends. In the end all of them died in a battle. The prince and his friends were thus consigned to the sixth hell, where he suffered for a very long time. After that their souls wandered from birth to birth in the species like fish, serpent, lion, falcon etc. At last, when his sins were exhausted, he was born as prince Mahāpadma, the son of king Ghanaratha and his queen Prabhāvatī in the city of Vārāṇasī. There he made friendship with Sāgaraka, the son of Rāgakesarī, and was educated in a number of arts and crafts. Then, prince Vicaksana, the son of king Subhodaya and queen Nijacărutā, too, happened to be his friend. This latter prince was married to a princess named Buddhi, the daughter of king Kalmasaksaya and queen Sundaratā, by way of her own choice. Her father was much worried and sent his son Vimarsa to inquire about her well being. And, Vimarsa stayed for long with his sister. In due course Buddhi gave birth to a son who was named Prakarsa.
Then once both Mahāpadma and Vicaksana went to a forest named Vadanakoțara. There they saw a beautiful young maiden. Mahāpadma was spellbound, but Vicaksana led him away. Seeing them go away, her maidservant cried that her mistress was dying for want of a resort and a master. Having heard this, Mahāpadma returned and Vicaksana followed him due to his insistence. On seeing them the maiden regained consciousness and welcomed them. They asked for her identity, and the maid-servant replied that she is the famous Rasanā and she herself was named Lalitā. Mahāpadma was happy at this and took the maiden along with her maidservant to his residence, while Vicaksana pretended that both these ladies were alone in the forest. The prince presented her to king Subhodaya. The king consulted his family and then asked Vicaksana to test her nature. The latter suggested that his brother-in-law Vimarśa should do it, and he was allowed a period of a year to accomplish the task. When Vimarśa started to go, his nephew Prakarsa, too, was sent with him due to the latter's insistence to go with his maternal uncle. Both of them went to Campā, Srāvasti, Vinatā, Rājagrha, etc., and roamed for six months but could not find her purity; hence they entered the city named Rājasa-citta, which they found almost empty. They enquired of a soldier named Mithyābhimana why it was empty. He replied that since you are born in the island you should pursue this matter. They replied that since they were just travellers he should not be
Jain Education International
For Private & Personal Use Only
www.jainelibrary.org
