Journey Into Jainism

Author(s): Smitpragyashreeji, Vishrutvibhashreeji
Publisher: B Jain Publishers Pvt Ltd

Page 62

The Value of Renunciation (2)
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compress Metaarya's skull, he still acknowledged no pain and felt no malice or ill-will towards the goldsmith. He was fee from emotions. When the leather dried completely and Muni Metaarya fell dead, he was filled only with peacefulness and so became free from the cycle of birth and death.
Meanwhile, the heron still sitting on a tree and trying to digest its too rich a meal became restless. How, after all, could it possibly be able to digest the gold barleys? The moment that Muni Metaarya fell to the ground for the final time, the bird passed excreta and the golden grains dropped to the earth before the goldsmith's shocked eyes.
At first though relieved to have found the precious pieces, the goldsmith soon realized his horrible mistake in killing the man who probably was a muni after all. He then realized that it had not been insolence but serenity that explained the muni's silence and tranquillity even in the face of death. He bent down to check if the muni was really dead and at the closer range recognized the man as the former son-in-law of the king.
The goldsmith was now very worried indeed. The first idea to come into his head was to seek the refuge of the muni: he bowed down by the side of the muni and put on the clothes of the dead muni. News of the return and death of Muni Metaarya quickly spread throughout the village and justice was demanded. The people condemned the goldsmith and demanded that he should be punished. Upon hearing the news, King Shrenik was very sorry; he felt as if he had been twice struck in losing both his former sonin-law, a muni, and his best artisan. Nevertheless, he knew