Tale of Shree Nabhakraj

Author(s): Merutungacharya, Gunsundarvijay
Publisher: Divya Darshan Trust

Page 37

continuous 30 days' fasting. This was a great auspicious omen (good luck indication). But, where was any capacity with this sinner to appreciate or realize this? He attacked this muni thrice with a stick and smashed the muni on the ground. The muni left the body and his soul left for the other world. (i.e. next birth). When this robber was running away, the guards of that village caught him. However, the Jain-followers, who were worshiping the Teerthankar God who is the ultimate source and authority of kindness to each & every life, who has endless mercy and the source of fearlessness (from violence) who is like the sun of the three worlds - got him released from those guards out of pity. IT IS NOT POSSIBLE TO ESCAPE FROM RESULT OF SINS
He could get, thus, released and freed, but is it possible to escape from the sin? The great fire at the forest burnt him to ashes. After his death his soul reached the 7th Hell to suffer the most dreadful and extreme pains, sorrows and torturings. The sin of murdering a rishi - a sage - a monk - a saint is one out of the four great sins. Normally, it gives its' fruit, in terms of pains and torturings, immediately. He sufferred terrible tortures and pains for a very very long period of 33 sãgaropam.(i.e. a very very much long period which is beyond count.)
After coming out therefrom, his soul wanderred in dense sansar (Mortal-world) and became a farmer using plough to dig land. His name was Kaushik. He used to serve all the farmers by staying at the house of a leader of the village named Amber. Once, he was passing on a path with a tiffin (of eatables) and met on his way a Jain monk (muni/sãdhu) with fasting of one month. He became pleased on 'darshan'- sight of this saint, and urged and appealed the saint to accept food from him.
Q. : He was a great sinner, who had killed a muni (Jain monk), how did he ever get a desire to serve a muni or to offer food with devotion?
A.: This Kaushik had helped the King Samudrapãl in his birth as a Vyanterdev. Thereafter, he had demanded the religious metits of two visit to pilgrimage, to the great and holy Shree Shatrunjaya mountain every year from the King. This was 31...***