Jinamanjari 2001 09 No 24

Author(s): Jinamanjari
Publisher: Canada Bramhi Jain Society Publication

Page 65

husband, the great and good Yaşodhara.
Meanwhile, the she-goat, after her death, was reborn as a buffalo. Purchased by the owner of a caravan the animal came in course of time to Ujjain, and used to swim in the Siprā river. One day the buffalo happened to meet Yaşomati's horse and immediately made a murderous attack on the latter, owing to the innate mutual hostility of the two species of animals. As a punishment, under the orders of the king the buffalo was tortured to death. The young goat, too, was killed for the table of Amrtamati, who was inordinately fond of meat.
e) Yasodhara and his mother were next reborn as a rooster and a hen. But there is a prelude to this part of the story.
A sage named Manmathamathana was engaged in deep meditation on the Vijayardha Mountain. A Vidyadhara named Kandalavilāsa, who was going over the mountain in his aerial car, was ashamed to find that the motion of the vehicle was checked by the mystic force of the sage. By way of retaliation, the Vidyādhara decided to exercise his own magical powers to interrupt the meditation of the sage. He conjured up a scene of terror by producing torrential rain, hailstones and hurricanes, and a crowd of goblins decked with serpents.
At this very same time the king of the Vidyādharas, who was coming to worship the sage, was enraged to see the evil action of Kandalavilāsa, and cursed him, saying that as a result of his offence he would become a hangman in the city of Ujjain. Implored by the Vidyādhara for mercy the king of the Vidyādharas decreed that he would regain his former state and powers if he ever had an opportunity of meeting the great sage Sudatta, and received religious instruction from him.
Incidentally, the king of the Vidyādharas added some background information about Sudatta. He related that Sudatta was once the mighty king of Kalinga. One day a thief was produced before his court and accused of having murdered and robbed a barber while the barber was asleep. The judges, consulted by the king, opined that the culprit should be subjected to various kinds of torture and maltreatment in such a way that he might expire in ten to twelve days. Hearing this verdict, Sudatta pondered over the dilemma of kings: if they
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