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WORSHIPPED HERE. ARRESTED THERE
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Sangam led the following crowd to where the Lord meditated Said Sangam,' Here stands my master.' The people enquired of the Lord,' Are you a robber?' The Lord was speechless Then they repeated, 'Did you abet this man to steal ?' The Lord was still mute Seeing him unresponsive, they smelt something fishy They took him to the village, tied
Mahabhutil was the wizard well-known in the comtemporary world He happened to pass that way He observed that the bondage was trying to overpower deliverance He challenged the villagers from afar 'How stupid of you! What do you mean by it?'
The people saw that the speaker was no less than Mahabhutil They paused Bowing a little they said, 'Venerable sır! He is a robber. We are taking him to the village' In the meantime Mahabhutil had arrived near He prostrated at the feet of the Lord
The villagers were awestruck What could it mean? Have we mistook or it is Mahabhutil who is blundering? Is this man not an ordinary robber? They began to whisper amongst themselves Mahabhutil averred, 'He is not a thief He is Kumar Mahavira, the son of king Siddhartha Shall the one who renounced the princely estates commit thefts in your houses? You all seem to be mentally bankrupt'
'Pardon us, sir We are ashamed of our conduct We were stupid in behaving thus But it was never deliberate, our ignorance is to blame for it,' the villagers said simultaneously
The Lord was tranquil before the event, during the event and at the end of it Tranquillity was the crowning glory of his life 1 (9) The Lord left Tosli and reached Mosli Sangam repeated the same incident there The soldiers caught hold of the Lord and took him along to the royal palace Sumagadh was the ruler of the village He had been a friend of Siddhartha
1 'Awashyakchurni'l pt p 312 2. Eleventh year of the pursuits
