________________
159
Satyaçrí saw it, she cried out : "Ah! you must be a Rákshasí, to eat with such large mouthfuls.” When the daughter-inlaw heard this, she was grieved in her heart. One day Chandasena said to his master, named Kshemankara : “I am going to meet my relations.” He, being angry, said: “May you not succeed in meeting your relations !" One day Kshemankara and Satyaçrí entertained a hermit with pure food. Chandasena also was standing by, and approving what they did. When the hermit had gone, a flash of lightning fell on all three of them. Then hey all three went to Saudharma. When they fell from tl. t heaven, the soul of Kshemankara was born as yourself, Amaradatta ; the soul of Satyaçrí was born as Ratnamanjarí, and the soul of Chandasena was born as Mitránanda. Then Mitránanda, because he spoke an evil speech, was hanged on a branch of a banyan-tree. Because Satyaçrí in a former birth spake an evil speech in denouncing her daughter-inlaw as a Rákshasí, she, in this birth as Ratnamanjarí, was disgraced by the imputation of being a Lamia. Because you in a former birth expressed a wish to your servant that he might not meet his relations, you have in this birth been separated from your relations.'
When they heard these circumstances of a former birth, they all took the vows of lav disciples. Amaradatta addressed another question to the holy hermit : Reverend sir, does a corpse speak ?' The hermit said: "The soul of the pilgrim after he had died became a demon; so, on account of his enmity to Mitránanda in a former birth, he entered into the mouth of the corpse and spoke to Mitránanda.' When they had heard this, they all went away to their own places. The king continued to rule his kingdom with Ratnamanjari for his consort. One day Ratnamanjarí gave birth to a son. She gave him the name of Kamalagupta. Prince Kamalagupta was instructed in the Çástras, and in course of time he attained adolescence. One day King Amaradatta, having placed his son on his throne, went with Ratnamanjari and took a vow before that very same
Jain Education International
For Private & Personal Use Only
www.jainelibrary.org