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Following the Old Ones
an earthen pot is subjected to the heat of furnace, it becomes strong enough to hold water. Similarly bearing capability enables a person to face the hardships patiently; he does not easily break down. The bearing capacity gives him the strength to undertake twelve types of austerities stipulated by Jainism.
King Janak once dreamt that he had lost his kingdom as well as all other possessions and had turned a beggar. While moving with the begging bowl from home to home, he received some bread. As he was going to eat the same, two bulls came there fighting and overturned his begging bowl. While he was thinking where to go for begging, he heard a roaring sound and woke up; he saw that he was lying on a costly bed in the palace.
While contemplating over the two situations he could not decide which one was really true. When he went to the court, he asked the pundits about it, but they could not give satisfactory replies. Meanwhile young Ashtävakra (One with eight crooked limbs) came there. On seeing his crooked limbs everyone in the court began to laugh. Ashtävakra also laughed in return. Thereupon the king said, “We laughed to see your crooked body, but what made you laugh?”
Ashtävakra: I laughed to notice that there are all skinners in this court.
King: What do you mean? How can you call these pundits skinners?
Ashtävakra: If a person merely looks at the body, he obviously overlooks the illuminating soul lying within it. Those, who laughed at my body, must therefore be skinners. You thus happen to be the king of skinners and still you call yourself as Janakvidehi (One who stays above embodiment), and that made me laugh.
The, king realized that the young boy was highly enlightened. He asked the question that was perturbing him since the dream. Ashtävakra was highly enlightened, he replied, “Neither of the situations is true. The situation of the dream disappears on opening
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