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16. JAINA RELIGIOUS AND MORAL STORIES
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I) The first story, in three sections, shows that without will-power, it is impossible to attain success in the practice of religion, and hints that ascetics of the Brahmanical faith lack in this essential quality. Two friends Dhanvantari, the son of a merchant, and Viśvānuloma, the son of a priest, were banished by the king of the city of Bhūmitilaka on account of various offences, and in the course of their wanderings they came to Hastināgapura. There Dhanvantari was initiated into the Jaina religion, and devoted himself to meditation under the Jaina discipline; while Viśvānuloma followed the Brahmanical faith and became an ascetic wearing a mass of matted hair. After their death they were reborn as gods under the names of Amitaprabha and Vidyutprabha respectively. One day the latter happened to boast about the superior status of Brāhmaṇa sages like Jamadagni, Mātanga and Kapiñjala, and both decided to descend to the earth to ascertain the truth. There in the Badarikā hermitage they saw the sage Jamadagni engrossed in rigorous austerities, his hair and beard white with age, and his body enveloped in a tangled mass of creepers, shrubs and ant-hills. Seeing him, the two gods assumed the form of a pair of birds, and having settled inside his beard, began to talk with each other. One of the birds said to his mate that he would have to go to attend the marriage of the bird-king Garuda, but wonld return without the least delay; if he spoke falsely, his sin would be as great as that of 'this' sinner of a sage. Jamadagni was angry to hear these words, squeezed his beard with a view to punishing the birds, but they flew away and perched on the top of an adjoining tree. The sage recognised the birds to be a couplc of gods in disguise, and asked them respectfully what sin he had committed. The birds cited two verses to the effect that one should renounce the world only after bringing children to the world. The sage was accordingly guilty of infringing the rule laid down in the Law-books, and should, therefore, marry and beget children. Jamadagni, on hearing this, exclaimed,
That is quite easy', and went off to marry Reņukā, the daughter of the king lof Benares, his uncle, and in the course of time became the father of Parasurāma.
With the fickle nature of Jamadagni is contrasted the steadfast purpose and resolution of two Jaina devotees. The two gods passed on to Magadha, and there saw Jinadatta, absorbed in meditation in a cremation ground on a dark Caturdaśī night. They commanded him to give up his meditation, and tried to intimidate him by conjuring up terrible scenes of a weritable war of the elements, with bursting rain-clouds, thunder and storm; and at the same time tried to cajole him out of his resolution by offering
o grant various boons. Jinadatta, however, remained unmoved, and the Bwo gods showed their appreciation of his courage and determination, by
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