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85. A SRAVAKA
A certain man, who had become a srāvaka (a devout follower of Jainism) took a vow that he would not co-habit with any other woman except his wife. But once he saw his wife's friend, a very attractive young woman, and felt tremendously enamoured of her. His passion for the woman obviously made him so uneasy that his wife could not help noticing it. She thought to herself, "If my husband meets with his death while the lustful desire is still inflaming his mind, the poor fellow will go to hell and will be re-born in this world as a lower being. As his wife, it is my duty to save him from that misfortune. I must do something about it." Then she told her husband not to pine away like this in his misery. She would very much like to invite her friend so that he could meet her in the house itself, late in the evening.
When the evening came, the wife put on her friend's clothes, wore her jewellery and stealthily approached her husband who really mistook her to be her charming young friend. In the darkness of the night, he enjoyed making love to her. Next morning however he remembered his vow and felt miserable about the way he broke it. The wife however told him of what exactly had happened and comforted him that he after all had not broken his vow.
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