________________
14. WHAT SAILAKA LEARNT
...
In the city of Dvaravati, where Vasudeva Krsna ruled, there lived a lady named Sthāpatyā who was rich and well respected in society. She had a son by the name of Sthapatyaputra. His mother saw to it that he received the right type of education from a competent teacher and when he was old enough to marry, she found thirty two young women from rich families to be his brides. He was married to them all on one and the same day. His life was full of all the five-fold pleasures which his wives gave him.
Outside the city of Dvaravati, to the north east was a mountain named Raivataka. It was lofty and its peaks scraped the sky. It had all kinds of trees and all kinds of birds. It was a favourite haunt of the Vidyadharas as well as of the Dasarhas, the mighty warriors of Dväravati. At the foot of the mountain was a park named Nandanavana which was in fact a patch of paradise on earth. In that garden, there was a temple named surapriya. The great sage Aristanemi came to the city of Dvaravati, on his way to the mountain Raivataka. He set up his residence in the temple in the Nandanavana park. Almost every one from the city including Väsudeva Krsna went to listen to his learned discourses. Sthapatyaputra also attended these discourses and felt so tremendously impressed by their moral content that he begged of his mother to let him join the order. The mother would not easily agree but seeing the firm resolve of the son, she decided to seek the advice of Vasudeva Krsna. Krsna appreciated her son's desire to renounce material life and offered to preside over the renunciation ceremony. Even then, for the sake of the mother, Krsna
Jain Education International
For Private & Personal Use Only
www.jainelibrary.org
