________________
310
CHAPTER FIVE
Following the path of the cakra the Master went near the cave Tamisrā and quickly reduced to submission the god Krtamāla. At Sri Santi's command the general crossed the river Sindhu by the skin-jewel and conquered the southern division of the Sindhu. Then the general opened Tamisrā, striking the double doors with the staffjewel which had unerring power. Mounted on the elephant-jewel, his great power full-grown, the Master entered the cave with his army, like a lion. The son of Viśvasena set the gem-jewel on the elephant's right boss to destroy darkness, like the sun on the eastern mountain. Taking the cowrie in his hand the Lord advanced, drawing forty-nine circles on both sides (of the cave) in turn. Then the Master had the carpenter-jewel make a bridge across the rivers Unmagnā and Nimagnā which were on the road inside the cave. Säntinātha and his army crossed the rivers, though hard to cross, by the bridge. Everything is simple for the powerful. The north door of the cave opened immediately of its own accord by the Master's power, like a lotus-calyx at dawn from the sun. He left the cave by the door with his army. Everywhere the path of the powerful, like that of streams, is unstumbling.
When the Mlecchas had seen the Cakrin and his army issue from the cave, collected together, they said with laughter: "Ho! Who is this who has come now, seeker of the unsought, into our country, like an elephant into a forest controlled by prides of lions? Foot-soldiers, jumping up as they like, thinking themselves real soldiers, their bodies gray with dust like donkeys, who are they? Who are these mounted on elephants like monkeys in trees? And who are these on horses like water-birds on waves ? 862 And why are these men mounted in chariots, as if they were lame? And what is this piece of iron 888 that is like a portable fire-place on wheels? Alas for the unconsidered
362 176. Ați can also mean 'fish,' according to Apte. But birds ride the crest of waves rather than fish.
868 177. I.e., the Cakrin's cakra, which is rimmed with flames.
Jain Education International
For Private & Personal Use Only
www.jainelibrary.org
