Trishasti Shalaka Purusa Caritra Part 4

Author(s): Hemchandracharya, Helen M Johnson
Publisher: Oriental Research Institute Vadodra

Page 340

THE ABANDONMENT OF SĪTĀ
305 log split carefully, pull him out, and protect him, sir!' After hearing his words, the king, bewildered, went and had the log split and was astonished to see the serpent inside.
When the king wished to become a mendicant, the Brähman Srutirati said: "This religion of yours is not according to the Vedas. But if you persist, initiation should be taken in the last period of life. Why are you troubled now?' The king's resolution to take initiation was broken a little by that speech and he remained thinking, 'What must I do in this matter?' His queen Śrīdāmā, who was always attached to the family-priest, evil-minded, was terrified at the thought, 'Now he has found out about me. I shall kill him so he can not kill us.' With the approval of the family-priest she gave poison to Kulankara and killed him.
In course of time Śrutirati died and again both of them wandered through existence for a long time, falling into various kinds of birth-nuclei. One time they were born as twin sons, Vinoda and Ramaņa, of the Brāhman Kapila by Savitri in the city Rājagțha. Ramana went to a foreign country to study the Vedas. In time, when he had completed his study of the Vedas, he went to RājagȚha at night. With the thought, This is an unseasonable hour,' he remained outside and slept in a Vakşatemple open to the public. Vinoda's wife, Sākhā, went there to keep an assignation with the Brāhman Datta and Vinoda went after her. She aroused Ramana with the idea that he was Datta and embraced him. Then Vinoda drew a sword and killed him without hesitation. Then Vinoda was killed by Sakhā with Ramaņa's sword.
After he had wandered through births for a long time he became a rich man's son, Dhạna. Ramaņa also wandered through births and became the son of Dhana himself by his wife Lakşmi, named Bhūşaņa. Instructed by Dhana, he married thirty-two rich maidens. One time he was on the top of his house at night sporting with them. In