________________
221
trouble from his stepmother; he was afraid that she might poison his food. He therefore made it a point never to eat his meals alone but invariably in the company of his father.
One day Rohaka went to the city of Ujjayini with his father. He admired the beauty of the city and when they were returning home the father of Rohaka found that he had forgotten some thing in the city and he decided to go back. He left Rohaka on the bank on the river Sipra where he played in the sand. To amuse himself, he drew a picture of the whole city of Ujjayini complete with its ramparts etc.
It so happened that the king of Ujjayini, who had gone out on his horse, came there to the river where Rohaka had drawn the picture of the whole city on the sand. As the king's horse came near, Rohaka asked him not to trample upon the royal palace in the picture. The king got off and with great curiosity looked at the whole picture and asked Rohaka how often he had seen the city before he made such a vivid graphic representation. Rohaka said that it was the first time that he had seen the city. The king was amazed, and was full of admiration for the comprehensive genius of the boy. He asked him his name and where he came from before he went back to his city. The king was wondering why he could not have such an intelligent person as his own minister but he decided to put Rohaka to some more test. He quizzed Rohaka on a number of occasions but Rohaka entirely satisfied the king before he was finally chosen to be his chief minsiter. The following stories are from the tests to which Rohaka was subjected:
A Boulder As A Canopy
One day the king told the people of the village where Rohaka and his father lived, that there was a huge boulder lying outside their village. "Now without removing it from its place you should make it a canopy of a hall worthy of a king's throne." The villagers felt terribly concerned over the king's order; they knew it was well nigh impossible to carry it out. However they met in an assembly and discussed various ways to carry out the king's order. As they went on discussing, they did not realise how late it was; it was already past the usual lunch hour and Rohaka who would not eat without his father came looking for his father to the place where the
Jain Education International
For Private & Personal Use Only
www.jainelibrary.org
