Trishasti Shalaka Purusa Caritra Part 6

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

Page 218

178
CHAPTER SEVEN low family?” So saying, the king at once married her whose body was perfect and made her chief-queen because of his great love.
One day the king played with dice with the queens; and in this game there was a wager that the winner should mount on the back of the loser like a horse. When any of the highborn queens defeated the king, they merely laid a cloth, indicating victory, on the king's back. One day the queen, who was a courtesan's daughter, defeated the king and she, hard-hearted, unhesitatingly mounted on his back. The king recalled the Blessed One's speech and laughed suddenly. She got down and asked him insistently about the reason for his laughter. The king told her the events described by the Master, beginning with her former birth and ending with the mounting on his back. When she heard that, she became disgusted with existence quickly and, having respectfully obtained her husband's permission, she became a mendicant at Śri Mahāvīra's feet.
Story of Ardrakakumāra (177-356) Now in the middle of the ocean there is a country, named Ardraka, which resembles a palace in Pātāla. In it there is a city, Ārdraka. The king there was named Ardraka, resplendent with beauty, delighting the eyes like the moon. His chief-queen was Ārdrakā. They had a son, Ardrakakumāra, gentle-minded, who, having reached manhood, was enjoying pleasures as he liked.
Between King Ardraka and Sreņika there was a traditional friendship that was like a bond for their hearts. One day Śreņika sent his minister to Ardraka to deliver numerous gifts—the pregnancy-whim of the plant of affection. The minister as soon as he arrived was treated by King Ardraka with respect like Sreņika's friendship embodied. The king accepted the gifts of various kinds—sochal salt, nimba-leaves, blankets, et cetera brought by the minister. King Ardraka honored him with great courtesy and asked, “How fares my