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Life and Stories of Pārçvanātha
Parable of the pitcher that fell from an old woman's head
Pārçva's sermon goes on to show that diligent study of the Çāstras imparts refined judgment, as shown by the following parable: Two pupils, studying on the bank of a river, saw an old woman with a pitcher of water on her head. The granny, delighted with their sight, asked them whether her son, who had gone to foreign parts, would return safely. At the thought of her son, old as she was, her limbs began to shake; the pitcher fell from her head, and was smashed upon the ground (333). At the sight of this mishap, one of the pupils had a stupid intuition, and said, that was a sign that her son was dead. The other pupil told the first not to talk nonsense, and bade the old woman go home, she would find that her son had returned. The granny found her son at home. Delighted, she went to the house of the pupils' teacher, and got him to ask the wise pupil how he had read from the seemingly sinister omen of the broken pitcher the happy arrival of her son (338). The pupil said that he had read it out of the union of the water with the earth. The teacher praised him, and predicted that he would become a teacher of noble men (329-342).
Story of Bandhudatta, concluded After this instruction, Bandhudatta asked the Lord what would be the fate of himself and wife. Pārçva predicted that, after death, they would go to the Sahasrāra heaven; fall thence; become respectively emperor and empress in Videha; turn ascetics after having enjoyed the world; and then enter into perfection (siddhi). Thereupon Bandhu and his wife took the vow (347), and finally obtained mokşa (salvation) (349-357).
