________________
90. FIVE GRAINS OF PADDY
(The four young women and what they do on the basis of trie talents and mental inclinations that they have should persuade readers to look on the Varna organization in Indian sociology sympathetically.
Rohini, however, is a young lady that appears so frequently in Jain literature that one can easily make out a case for Jain support to Feminism.)
-GSB In the city of Rajagrha there lived a rich and prosperous merchant named Dhanya. Once in the night he kept on thinking about some thing that made him uneasy. "I am the head of this family; no one here nor in the whole community does anything without consulting me. But if by any chance anything happens to me, when I am not at home or when I am travelling out, when there is a calamity like illness or even death, what will happen to my family? Who will take care of them ? Whom will they consult ? Who will guide them in the hour of their need ?"
Next morning, he woke up with a certain well made decision. He had four daughters-in-law named Ujjhitā, Bhogavati. Raksită and Rohini. He told them all to make preparations for a great feast to which all relatives and friends of the family were to be invited. He would be going out on a long journey, and the feast should be memorable indeed. He instructed his daughters-in-law accordingly. Expert cooks were engaged to prepare special dishes. The house was cleaned and decorated with fragrant flowers. Colourful garlands hung every where and the smell of incense spread all over
Jain Education International
For Private & Personal Use Only
www.jainelibrary.org
