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THE WAY OF LIFE
his feet did not touch the earth. There was around his neck a garland of fragrant flowers. After him many radiant angelic beings, and goddesses alighted from the airship and followed him. They came singing and dancing towards the great Muni, Manichud. This sight amazed Madanrekha because she had not seen such a sight before in her life. The sight was not new to King Maniprabh because he was a Vidyadhar ( demi-god) and because he had visited the island of Nandishwardweep earlier. The island of Nandishwardweep was a place of pilgrimage for heavenly beings. They used to come there on festival days and regarded the devotion for the Paramatma, a supreme austerity or jubilation.
Maniprabh had seen such gods and goddesses; and so he was not amazed by this sight; but even he noticed something, new which amazed him. That god approached the great Muni but first of all, with great devotion he saluted Madanrekha and performed three circumambulations around her. Then he prostrated before the Muniraj and sat near him with great politeness. The goddesses did what the god had done. They stood behind the god. Maniprabh wondered why the heavenly beings had behaved in such an impolite manner. He could not contain himself; so he asked, “If even gods commit such an indiscretion, to whom shall we complain ? Ignoring a Mahamuni who possesses four kinds of vision these gods and goddesses first honoured and saluted a woman !” Maniprabh gave expression to his displeasure. The gods were about to give a reply to his question but the great Muni intervened and said to Maniprabh, "Maniprabh, do not say so. You do not know who these great beings are. What they have done is absolutely right."
Maniprabh was greatly astonished. He said, “Bhagwan ! how is it right ?",
The great Muni said, “Madanrekha's husband was Yuga. bahu. He was a prince. His elder brother Manirath became infatuated with Madanrekha, fascinated by her bewildering beauty. In order to secure Madanrekha for his wife, he killed Yugabahu. But at the time of Yugabahu's death, in his last
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