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102
Life and Stories of Pārçvanātha
ing or mad, two gods, Candracūļa and Maņiprabha, told him that he was indeed a lucky mortal, whose courage was being acclaimed by Vāstospati (Indra) himself before the heaven-dwelling gods (1014). That his noble soul had regained for him his kingdom; that Vasubhūti, in the body of the parrot, had proved the purity of Sutārā by passing thru the ordeal of fire; and that Kuntala, in the body of the jackal, had by his shriek, foiled the Vidyādhari's sacrifice, and thus saved him. That, moreover, the entire episode of his life, beginning with the boar adventure, had been a drama of illusion (kūțanātakam). They then asked him to choose a gift, but all the king desired was, that his noble courage should continue with him. The two gods returned to heaven, and Hariçcandra continued to rule prosperously and piously (556-1033).
Frame Story: Conversion of Vajranābha and Kubera,
and death 'of Vajranābha
The text returns to the frame story at the beginning of this sarga. The infidel Kubera was converted by the Sage Lokacandra's elaborate exposition of the four * worldly virtues.' Kubera, furthermore, inquired after those virtues which reach beyond the world (lokottara). Lokacandra explained that the same worldly virtues, applied to the highest aims, constitute the virtues that reach beyond life (lokottarā guņāḥ). At the end of the Sage's sermon on this theme, Kubera asked him to be his Guru (1048), and to instruct him on the four following points: choice of divinity; manner of worship; essential right (tattva); and the fruit accruing therefrom. The Guru told him that the Jina was the highest divinity, and expounded the manner of his worship; the nine essential rights, and their fruit (1069).
