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78
SHRAMAN MAHAVIR
If you are a sage you have to answer my questions I hold a straw in my hand Will it ever break or it shall remain intact?'.
The volley of questions failed to have an impact, howsoever little, on the profound meditation of the Lord
Siddhartha was a devotee of the Lord For sometime he had been craving his hallowed proximity He was a man of the highest wisdom He said, 'Achchhandak, why should his concentration be violated for such a petty question ? On the face of it, it merits a plain reply Let me attempt it The straw is inanimate It is devoid of an independent will If you will to break it, it will be broken, else it will remain inviolate'
The people present wondered what a man to master such wisdom
The people present there had to revise their opinion of the seemingly wise man that Achchhandak was Who would uphold such a man to be a paragon of intellectual attainments ? His reputation suffered a total set-back His plot was to belie whatever the Lord predict regarding the fate of the straw The defeat of his adversary could be easily brought about by this device However, the mischief recoiled upon the perpetrator himself before the body of the masses
Achchhandak still explored an occasion to redeem his honour One day he found Mahavira standing alone The latter was not self-absorbed then
He said, 'You are served everywhere, sire, vast is your glory I know great beings don t savour to dwarf the weaklings like me | bank hopes on your kindly patronage, My Lord'
No sooner had Achchhandak made for the village than the Lord left for Vachala His compassion did not allow him to stay there for a momenti
1 'Awashyakchurni 1 pt pp 275-277
