Mahavir Prince Of Peace

Author(s): Ranchor Prime
Publisher: Mandala Publishing

Page 66

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Acharya Shri Kallassagarsuri Gyanmandir
"Whatever you give us, we will gratefully accept. Merely to receive generosity from so noble a hand as yours is itself reward enough," they would say.
After receiving charity they would be sumptuously fed and cared for as guests of the royal palace, so that when they left for their homes and families they were full of happiness and pleasure, feeling genuinely loved and cared for. As they traveled to their homes all over the kingdom, they told others of their happy experiences, and so the effect of Vardhamana's kindness radiated through the whole land, giving inspiration and hope to all the citizens. This went on for one year, until no one could be found throughout the length and breadth of the land who was in want.
As a raincloud, when it has distributed all its water upon the land, grows light and rises upward into the skies, so the prince, relieved of his worldly possessions, floated free from sorrows or burdens, filled only with joy.
In contrast to his own happiness, his family was weighed down with sorrow because they knew that soon they would lose him, the light of their lives. Words could not express their feelings, and they were too noble to show their emotions to him. They understood that his destiny was greater than merely to serve one family-his service would be to the whole of humanity
"May you go forth to victory, dear husband," said Yashoda, hiding her tears. "I pray for your safety." And as a wife whose husband goes off to war marks his forehead with saffron, so she decorated his forehead and called upon the gods to protect him.