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The selfish religious and the unselfish Pulindra 161
and commissioned him to do so in his behalf. Vanarāja accepted the order, but, when he went to execute it, was intercepted by Narasinha, who undertook the mission in his stead. Narasinha was thus killed by the sharp swords of the ambuscading Nişādas 34 (719). When the king found out the miscarriage of his horrible plot, he wailed bitterly, but, realizing the inevitable fatality of this chain of events, asked Vanarāja's pardon, made over his kingdom to him, and went into the forest (731). Vanarāja lived happily with his beloved Kamalā. A Muni, Nandana by name, arrived in the Nandana park. Vanarāja went out to greet him, and asked him how he came by so unusually successful a career. The Muni told him that his praises 35 of the Jina in a former birth were responsible for his happiness. Vanarāja then remembered his former birth, and devoted himself henceforth fervidly to Jaina duties (501-747).
Parable of the selfish religious, and the unselfish
Pulindra 36 The text rounds out its disquisition on pūjā with the claim that worship must be disinterested, otherwise it is futile, illustrating by the following parable: A certain religious, Mugdhaka by name, came from a distance to worship and make expensive and showy offerings to an
* See additional note 8, on p. 188. * This is the third way of honoring the Jina, as preached above, çloka 4.
* Benfey, Das Pañcatantra, vol. i, p. 389: 'In a South-Indian legend the sacrificer takes out his eyes and puts them into the eye-sockets of a statue (Mackenzie Collection ii. 5). This is a phase of the Çibi motif (see p. 192) which often involves loss of the eyes by way of self-sacrifice or contempt of life; see Subha, Theri-gātha, nr. 71; Jataka 499; Jatakamala nr. 2; Cariyāpitaka l. 8; Avadăna-çataka nr. 34; Avadana-kalpalată nr. 91; Chavannes, Cinq Cent Contes, nr. 197; Divyåvadana pp. 407-417; Pari. cistaparvan 9. 14-54; Kathås. 28. 18-24.
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