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SULASA
D uring the reign of King Shrenik of Magadha, there
lived Nagarasarthi with his wife Sulasa in Rajagrihi. They had unfortunately no children and so he felt very unhappy.
One day Lord Indra happened to hear from the people high praises of Sulasa. But the Commander-in-Chief of Lord Indra, named Harinaigamesi doubted her character. So he descended on the earth, assuming the form of two monks. They stood before Sulasa's house. They asked for medicinal oil that had been boiled a hundred times, for massaging one of their fellow-monks. But as she was about to offer the bottle of this oil, it slipped from her hands and fell down, spilling all the oil. Hence she went to fetch another bottle and that too broke down. In this way all the seven bottles that she brought dropped and broke. So she was very sorry.
The gods revealed to her their real identity and blessed her with children if she swallowed thirty-two pills. These pills would help give birth to thirty-two children. But she took all the pills together and she gave birth to 32 children at the same time. These children grew up and began to serve King Shrenik as his body guards.
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