________________
153
Mänavaka and (9) Sankha. Each one of them had a deity to guard it and lasted for a very long time, as long as a palyopama.
When the victory march of Bharata came to its end, the divine cakra re-emerged from the armoury of the king and moved towards the king's own capital of Vinita, the king realised that his conquests have now ended and the divine message was that he should return home. Accordingly he arrived home and was greatly felicitated by the bards of the court and the people. The king distributed rich gifts to his loyal subjects.
The king thus lived happily in his own palace at Vinitā but a thought kept recurring to his mind that since he had conquered the entire Bharatavarsa by his own valour and thirtytwo thousand kings of the conquered territory have chosen to follow his lead submissively, and since he possessed the nine well-known treasures why should not the people designate him the cakravartin. With this thought, he called a meeting of the royal council to which he invited sixteen thousand gods, thirtytwo thousand kings, his commander-in-chief, his purohita and three hundred and sixty bards of the court. He explained to them his new position and expressed his desire that a coronation ceremony to confer the title of cakravartin on him should be held.
On an auspicious day at an auspicious hour, the coronation was held in a grand and spectacular ceremony and the king was pleased to declare twelve years of festivity in the city. Bharata ruled for a long time and enjoyed every possible pleasure.
Once it so happened that the king after his bath entered the hall of mirrors and admired the beauty and lustre of his body. As he was absorbed in his appreciation of his own figure, he went into a trance which was the beginning of a deep meditation. His mind acquired purer and purer states and ultimately reached the highest stage where the king acquired kevalajñāna. In the hall of mirrors itself he cast off all the ornaments from his person, stripped it of his expensive garments, plucked his hair in five handfuls and walked out of the hall. He visited his harem but quickly came out and left the palace. Ten thousand of the kings collected around him and in their company he left the capital. He travelled to Kosala and stayed
Jain Education International
For Private & Personal Use Only
www.jainelibrary.org
