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CHAPTER SIX
'In your birth as Agnibhuti and Vāyubhuti your father was the Brāhman Somadeva and your mother was Agnilă. After his death, your father became a king, Jitaśatru, in Sankhapura in this same Bharata, always lusting after other men's wives. After her death, Agnilā was born in the same city, Sarkhapura, as Rukmiņi, wife of the Brāhman Somabhūti. One day King Jitaśatru, as he was passing, saw her in the court of her house and at once became infatuated. The king invented some crime on the part of Somabhūti and put her in his harem. The Brāhman miserable from separation from her, remained immersed in fire, as it were.
After enjoying himself with her for a thousand years, Jitaśatru died, and had a life in hell for three palyas. Then he became a deer and, being killed, became again a young deer. He was born a merchant's son, deceitful, and, after death, he became an elephant. By fate he remembered former births, fasted, died on the eighteenth day and became a Vaimanika-god with a life of three palyas. Then he fell and became a candāla, but Rukmiņi became a bitch, after wandering through existence. For this reason there was affection for them on your part.'
After hearing this, Pūrņabhadra and Māṇibhadra, enlightened the caņņāla and the bitch by means of the recollection of former births which they had attained. Then the caņdāla, disgusted with existence, fasted for a month, died, and became a god in Nandiśvaradvipa. The bitch, enlightened, died after a fast and became a princess, Sudarśanā, in the same Sankhapura.
The sage Mahendra came there again and, questioned by Arhaddāsa's two sons, told the good status of the bitch and candāla. The princess, enlightened by them again, became a mendicant, and went to heaven. Pūrņabhadra and Māņibhadra, after observing lay-dharma and dying, became Sāmānikas in Saudharma. When they fell, they both became sons, named Madhu and Kaitabha, of King Vişvaksena in Hastinapura. The god in Nandiśvara fell, wandered through existence for a long time, and became a king in Vațapura,
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