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476
Śramaņa Bhagavāna Mahāvîra gave the above-named reply to the question of Indrabhūti Gautama publicly before the assembly. The meeting dispersed and the audience went to respective homes. At this time, Gośălaka was exposing himself to the rays of the Sun in a central place of the town near Kostaka Udyāna He overheard with his own ears, the explanation given by Sramaņa Bhagavåna Mahāvîra from the talks of citizens passing by, namely that Sramaņa Bhagavāna Mahavira says that Gosalaka is Mankalı-putra He is neither a Jina nor a Tirthankara. He is only a vowless human being.” Becoming enraged on he. aring the talk of the citizens Gośālaka hurriedly went to house of the potteress Hâlähala in Śrävasti, and sat in consultation with a number of his disciples
At that time an ascetic named Ananda -a disciple of Sramana Bhagavana Mahāvira- was passing by the resting-place of Go Salaka on an alms-taking tour. Instantly on seeing Ananda Apagara, Gośălaka stopped him on the way, and told him-0 Beloved of the gods, O Ananda ! Wait here. I am telling you a story. Listen 1
It is an old story. Some merchants started on a journey to a foreign country with bullock-carts filled with various commodities. On their way, they reached a terrible forest. The merchants went on moving onward, but the end of the forest was not visible. All the water that the merchants had with them was exhausted, and they went here and thers in search of drinking water in the fearful forest. At last, they found a localised spot full of green verdure. They did not get water there but they saw four small mud-hillocks (ant-hill) wet with water. They dug one mud-hillock and they got pure drinking-water undernearth it. All the merchants drank the water, and filled their empty vessels with it. Then, a wise old merchant told them:-Let us move on; our pupose is served. But the greedy inerchants said:From the first ant-hili, we have got water; from the second one we shall have gold and other costly materials'. With these words,
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