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Journey into Jainism
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situation worsened and Subhadra felt worse. Instead of fearing the blemish on her own name, though, she worried that the Jain religion and its practitioners were being condemned wrongly because of her. Feeling grievous, she once burst into tears, but no one was there to console her. She restrained herself a great deal and kept firm faith in her religion and in her chastity. Subhadra decided to abstain from food and drink until she cleared herself of the false charges, and then absorbed herself in chanting Namaskaar Mahaamantra.
On the fourth day of her fast, all four doors of Champanagari got jammed automatically and all efforts to open them were in vain. Because all the roads to go out from the city were blocked, the inhabitants were worried. All of a sudden, a divine voice exclaimed, "Citizens! Your efforts are in vain! Only if a chaste woman, having tied a sieve with a thin thread, draws water from the well, and. sprinkles it on the doors, she can open them."
The voice created much discussion and deliberation among the women of the city. Some women appeared to have confidence in their chastity but doubted whether their efforts would open the door. If a door didn't open, a woman was likely to be branded as unchaste. Though most women opted not to participate because of the dilemma, a few picked enough courage, went to the well, tied the sieve with a thread but could not draw any water.
When Subhadra heard of the city's problem and the suggested solution to it, she thought to herself, 'What an excellent opportunity for me to get rid of the blemish wrongly cast upon me'. She said to her mother-in-law, “If
