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16. JAINA RELIGIOUS AND MORAL STORIES
X) The next story illustrates the advantage of abstention from wine. In the city of Valabhi, a gang of five notorious thieves went out one night during heavy rain, and stole a large quantity of treasure. They, however, fell out while dividing the booty, but soon ceased to quarrel and indulged in drinking bouts. But drink made them quarrel again, and a free fight ensued, resulting in the death of all of them except Dhūrtila. The latter was in the habit of taking a vow of abstention for one day whenever he happened to meet a pious ascetic, and that day he had taken a vow to abstain from wine. Dhurtila then felt disgusted with the world and shaved his head and became a monk.
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XI) The following story is meant to show that even the desire to eat flesh is a sin. Saurasena, the king of the city of Kakandi, had taken a Vow of abstention from flesh-eating, but gradually under the influence of the Brahminical faith he became greedy of meat, and secretly employed his cook Karmapriya to procure the flesh of all kinds of animals for his table. Preoccupation with his public duties did not, however, leave him sufficient leisure to satisfy his desire fully.
One day the cook Karmapriya, while in quest of game, died from snake-bite, and after death he became a huge whale in the ocean. The king, on his death, was reborn as a small fish living in the cavity of the whale's ear. The fish noticed that while the whale slept, opening his mouth, large numbers of aquatic animals used to enter the cavity of his throat and go out again. The fish pitied the whale for not being able to devour any of these animals, and said to himself that had he been as big as the whale he would have emptied the ocean of its animals. In the course of time the fish and the whale both died, and were reborn as denizens of hell with the power of remembering their past lives. While in hell the former whale said to the fish: "It was but natural that I should have come here as a result of my sins. But how came you who merely lived upon the filth of my ear?" The fish replied: "On account of my evil thought, more harmful than even the depredations of a whale!"
XII) The next story illustrates the merit of abstention from flesh. There was a Caṇḍāla named Canda in the town of Ekanasi in Avanti. One day in the outskirts of the town he put a jar of wine on one side and a plate of meat on the other, and standing in the middle, partook of both in quick succession, while he whirled round a leather thong and struck down birds flying over him. As a result, snake-poison attaching to the beaks of the birds dripped on to the wine, and contaminated the beverage.
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