________________
29. THE STORY OF MRGĀPUTRA
There was a city Mrgāgrāma. Outside it there was a garden Chandanapadapa which abounded in flowers and fruits of all seasons. In the garden stood a temple of Yaksa (Sudharman). The king of Mrgāgrāma was Vijaya and his queen was named Mrgā a beautiful and shapely lady. Her son Mrgāputra by name was born blind, dumb, deaf, lame, deformed and paralytic. The boy was merely a shapeless lump. He had neither hands nor feet nor ears nor eyes nor nose. His mother queen Mrga took great care to attend on the boy and looked after his food and drink. She had hidden him in a secret underground cell and took care to see that the boy was not seen by any body else.
One day, Mahävira arrived there in the city of Mrgāgrāma with his large entourage. He held his discourses in the town and almost every one attended these discourses. Even king Vijaya did not fail to attend.
One day Mahävira's favourite disciple Gautama saw a man who was blind from birth, being led by a man who managed to hobble with the help of a stick. He overheard the conversation between the two of them. The blind man wanted to know why such a great clamour of the crowd was being heard all around and wanted to know whether the town was holding a festival in honour of Indra or the occasion was some thing else. The other man told
blind fellow that there was no festival of any kind but that the people were all rushing out of their houses towards the park to hear the great ascetic Mahăvira. Even king Vijaya attended the discourses. The blind man expressed his desire to go there and the
Jain Education International
For Private & Personal Use Only
www.jainelibrary.org
