________________
NAYAKUMĀRACARIU
In the meantime, the king, during his water-sports, discovered her absence and, on learning the facts from a servant, went in search of her, first to the temple and then to the palace. The queen had already forgotten her woes in the hopes aroused by the prophecy of the sage about which she now informed the king. Both of them then revisited the sage in order to get themselves reassured. On this occasion the sage told something more about their would-be son, i. e. the steelgate of the temple would give way at the touch of his too and he would fall in a well and be protected by a Nāga and fondled by the Nāginis. In due course, the child was born. When it grew up a little the parents went out with it to the Jina temple which, to their great disappointment, they found strongly closed. Eventually the king remembered the prophecy of the sage and the gate was opened by the touch of the child's toe. While the king was engaged in worshipping the Jina and the nurses were indulging in sports in the garden, the child slipped from their hands and fell down in a well. An alarm was raised and the parents rushed to the spot. The mother even threw herself into the well. But the Nāgas prevented all injury to the child and the mother. The child was named Prajābandhura by its father and Nāgakumara by the Nāga who adopted it. The prophecy of the sage was, thus, fulfilled. When the child grew up, the Nāga took him to his home.
III.
The Näga taught the prince various arts and sciences including politics. After his education he returned to his father. One Pañcasugandhini arrived at the palace in search of a divine lute-player who could tell the respective ages of her two daughters, Kinnari and Manohari, by observing their performance with the lute. Nāgakumāra satisfied her curiosity and won the hearts of the two girls by his skill. He later on married them by the advice of his father who said "a gem of a woman should be acquired even though stockless."
One day, Nāgak., with his wives, went to a lake for water-sports. His mother went forth to present him with garments for wearing after the bath. Her rival, Visālanetrā, saw her opportunity. Drawing the attention of the king she said “Look, my lord, your dear wife is going to her paramour." The king continued to watch the movements of the queen and when he saw her joining her son, he reprimanded Viśālanetrā for speaking ill of the virtuous lady. He, however, understood their jealousy and fearing danger to the life of Nāgak., he instructed Pethvidev' not to allow her son to make any more rambles in the town. This the queen took as an insult, and, in a spirit of defiance, directly asked her son to have an elephant-ride round the capital. The king discovered the effrontery of his wife and punished her by the seizure of all her valuables. On his return Nāgak saw his mother without ornaments "like a story told by a bad poet ”, and, on learning the cause of it, protested strongly in his mind and then went to the gambling house from where he returned to present his mother with a quantity of gold and jewels.
-- XXXVIII --
Jain Education International
For Private & Personal Use Only
www.jainelibrary.org
