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26: śramana, Vol 64, No. III, July-Sept. 2013
Filled with sympathy and compassion, he asked the elephant driver why the animals and birds were being kept? He inormed him that the creatures were collected to be butchered for meat to be served to the gests attending his marriage. Nemi Kumar was filled with despair and a feeling of detachment. He said to the elephant driver, 'If I agree to be the cause of the butchering of so many living beings, my life and the one to come will be filled with pain and misery. Therefore, I will not marry. Immediately arrange for the release of all these creatures. Return home to Dwarka.' The driver opened the gates of the cages. The animals ran away into the jungle. The driver came back and turned the elephant towards Dwarka. On the way Nemi Kumar took off all the valuables and ornaments on his body and handed them over to the elephant driver. The news spread panic in the marriage procession. All the seniors of the Yadav clan tried to change the mind of Nemi Kumar, but in vain. Nemi Kumar said to them, “As these animals were prisoners in iron cages, we all are prisoners in the cages of karma which is much stronger. See the feeling of joy evident in the animals released from the cages. Know that happiness is in freedom, not in bondage. I want to tread the path of breaking this bondage of karma and embrace eternal bliss.' One day, not long afterwards, he stood under an Ashoka tree before many onlookers. There he removed his clothes and pulled out five fistfuls of hair, initiating himself as an ascetic. He spent the next 54 days in deep spiritual practices, meditating and fasting without any attachment to his body. On the fifteenth day of the dark half of the month of Ashvin, while observing a two day fast and meditating, he became an omniscient. He became the twenty-second Tīrthankara, known as Arhat Neminath.""
Here is the diaspora version: “The Prince was sitting calmly in his chariot, which his charioteer was driving. Suddenly Prince Nemi Kumar heard animal noises which got louder as they got nearer. They soon saw where the noises were coming from. Prince Nemi Kumar asked the procession to stop and listen. Hundreds of animals and birds were packed tightly in cages. There were fish in large tanks. The animals seemed frightened and restless. Their eyes were pleading. The Prince asked his friends why these animals and birds were captured. He was told they were for his wedding feast. This saddened the Prince, who was very kind and sensitive. The frightened sheep seemed to say, 'We will be slaughtered for this prince's feast.' A beautiful deer had his eyes full of tears, as if he was pleading, 'I don't want to be killed, I want to go back to the forest and roam free.' Beautiful green parrots were flying here and there in their cages trying to find a way out. A wise bull seemed to be saying, 'These men are cruel. They cry when their children die, but how can they kill our children? Why can't they eat only plants and fruits, as we do? How can they claim to be superior to us when they kill us all the time?' The kind Prince could bear it no longer. His heart was crying at the pain and fear the poor animals were suffering. He climbed down from his chariot and walked towards the cages. The animals quietened down, seeing such a stately but kind and loving figure walking towards them. They knew that they need no longer be frightened. The Prince opened the cages and let the animals and birds out. He told his men to return the fish to the sea without harming them. The birds flew out happy and free. The animals ran into the forest. They all seemed to be thanking the Prince for saving them. Just then
