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NARRATIVE TALE IN JAIN LITERATURE
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which contains all manner of historical allusions, the significances of which is, however, not yet explained.
XV
THE TALE OF STHŪLABHADRA AND THE NUN KOSA as told in the Parisista-Parvan (VIII. 110-193) by Hemacandra :
Three monks each made a vow in the presence of the master. The first said that he would sit in front of a lion's den throughout the four months of the rainy season; the second said that he would sojourn for the same length of time in front of the hole of a snake, the mere sight of which is fatal; the third declared that he would sit on a wellwheel throughout the rainy season. Then the monk Sthūlabhadra comes along, and says he will spend the four months in the house of the courtesan Kośā (whose lover he had been before he became a monk), without violating his vow of chastity. He not only succeeds in this, but Kośā is also converted to the Jaina faith. At the end of the rainy season the four monks return to the master, who declares that Sthulabhadra has accomplished the greatest feat. The other monks are jealous at this, and the one who had sat in front of the lion's den, declares that, before the beginning of the next rainy season, he will perform the same feat as Sthūlabhadra. He repairs to Kośā, who sees through him : he falls an easy victim to her, but is at length brought back to repentance and to the monastic life by Kośä herself, who finally becomes a nun.
XVI
THE LEGEND OF PĀRŚVANATHA as told by Bhāvadeva Sūri in his Pārsvanāthacaritra:
Marubhūti and Kamatha are sons of a court priest. Marubhūti hears a pious sermon, and renounces the world and the pleasures of the senses. Kamatha commits adultery with the neglected wife of his brother. Marubhūti denounces him to the king, and causes the adulterer to be
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