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Life and Stories of Pārçvanātha
dra in the Jina temple with an elaborate hymn (366). The ascetic pointed out that the merit of honoring (pūjā) the Jina with unhusked grain (akşata) produced imperishable (akşata) glory. When the parrot pair heard this, they decided to act accordingly. Thru the merit of that act they and their offspring attained to the abode of the gods (375).
After enjoying heavenly bliss the souls of the parrot pair fell, and were reborn as king Hemaprabha of Hemapura and his wife Jayasundarī. The soul of the co-wife parrot was reborn as Rati, the king's other favorite among hundreds. The king was taken with fever which could not be cured,23 even by resorting to the gods (397). A Rākşasa, Kelīkila by name, told the king by night that he might be cured thru the sacrifice of one of his wives. The king told his ministers, who pointed out the impropriety of such unkingly conduct. None the less the king decided to tell his wives, whereupon Rati begged him to allow her to sacrifice herself. As she leapt into the fire, the Rākşasa, delighted with her courage, caught her in his arms, and removed her to a distance (412). He then offered her a gift, which she accepted, asking that her husband should long remain sound. After granting this, he threw her into a golden lotus, whereupon the multitude acclaimed her, because she had given life to her husband (417). The king, out of gratitude, offered her a gift, but she pointed out that his life was the most desirable gift of all. When he insisted, she reserved the gift for a future occasion (421).24
* This is accompanied by a controversial description of fever and its cure.
* This turn is common in fiction: see my paper on Müladeva, Proceed. ings of the American Philosophical Society, vol. lii, p. 638 (note 47); Kathākoça, p. 48; Prabhandhacintamani, p. 129; Jatakas 6, 481, 528.
