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Ch. 18: Taamali of Tamralipti --Extreme Penance
“Taamali was a very rich and prosperous businessman in the city of Tamralipti(6). He was brilliant, gracious, and noble. One early morning, he was thinking about his riches and his good fortune.
'I am so lucky!' he thought. I have everything! I have so much wealth - gold, silver, diamonds, jewels, a variety of precious stones, and pearls. I own plenty of land, several magnificent buildings, thousands of cattle. Above all, I have bright children, a loving wife and my health is good. Certainly, all this fortune must be due to my past karma. I am enjoying this happy life because in my past lives I must have accumulated much good karma.
What am I doing to preserve and improve my good fortune?" thought Taamali, “How long would this last? Am I not depleting my stock of good karma by living like this? Soon this stock will all be finished and I will run out of this good life, good luck, and happiness. Will I not then be miserable in this and in future lives? Certainly, I must now change my wasteful lifestyle and start accumulating good karma.'
Taamali then remembered a monk who would stand up on the top of a near by hill for two continuous days, without food. All day long he would face the bright-hot sun and would endure the bitter night's cold. He would then come down the hill and beg for food. On his way down, he would bow politely in front of every living being - humans, animals, birds, insects, or plants. After a single meal, he would return to the hill-top for two more days of penance."
“In Mahavir's time, Tamralipti was well-known as a capital city of Vanga kingdom. It is now a village in the Midnapur district near Calcutta in West Bengal,
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