Jaine, Stories, Preceptor, , ,

The city of Pataliputra where Nanda ruled had a long history. In the distant past the city was called Ksitipratisthita. When this city fell into ruin, there rose in its place another city called Canakapura. After this there came up Rsabhapura, then Rajagrha followed by Campa. When the king's minister at Pataliputra died, the king asked one of the sons of the minister, Sriyaka by name to accept the father's post. Sriyaka suggested that his elder brother Sthulabhadra should be offered the post and when asked where the elder brother was, Sriyaka disclosed that he had been living in a courtesan's house for the last twelve years.

Sthulabhadra however would not readily agree when asked by the king. He said he needed some time to think over the matter but finally he told the king that he would not like such a lucrative and tempting position through which his way to hell was paved. He plucked out his hair in five hand fuls, tore away his excellent garments and smeared himself with dust and declared his intention to go away into a religious order. "Very well," said the king but he was not sure of Sthulabhadra's final intention. He went to the terrace of his palace to watch whether Sthulabhadra was going back to the courtesan's house but what he saw there convinced him that Sthulabhadra had really renounced the world. A dead body was lying on the road near the courtesan's house and people who walked that way passed from a distance with their noses covered but Sthulabhadra went quite near it and passed it without being in any way disturbed by its smell.

Sthulabhadra practised severe austerity at the feet of a famous sage Sambhutavijaya who also had two other disciples. As a part of their way of life, they went out travelling and in the process they came to Pataliputra where simple letters (running) Sambhutavijaya administered monk's oaths to Sthulabhadra and the other two of the disciples. One of them chose a lion's cave as his abode and the other entered a hole where a huge poisonous snake lived. When the two animals saw the monks, they felt greatly pacified and allowed them residence with themselves. Sthulabhadra however chose to go back to the house of the courtesan with whom he had lived in the past. She was very happy to receive Sthulabhadra back home. She asked what she could do for him. He said that he would be happy to have a small place for himself in her garden house. In the night however she came to Sthulabhadra all decked up and started making amorous overtures to him but Sthulabhadra remained unmoved like a rock. She realised his inner strength and hereafter approached him with no such intentions. In time to come, he passed on moral instruction to her and she was prepared to receive his doctrine. Finally she became a sravika (a lay follower of the Jain faith). She said she would not hereafter yield to any of the pleasures of the world unless commanded by the king.

After a successful completion of a four month fast, the three monks came back to their teacher Sambhutavijaya who received them with proper appreciation but when he saw Sthulabhadra, he showed his respect for him by rising from his seat and the other two felt sad that the teacher was showing preferential treatment to Sthulabhadra who after all was a minister's son.

In the next season when another fast of four months was to be observed, in a secluded place the monk who had first chosen lion's den declared his intention to spend his time in the courtesan's place where Sthulabhadra had lived. His teacher tried to dissuade him but he was firm and when he went to the courtesan's place, she gave him shelter but he could not resist himself and felt greatly attracted by her charms, and started making approaches to her but she would not respond. Finally, in order to get rid of him she made an impossible condition that he should give her a huge amount of money to win her consent. The monk wishing to satisfy her wandered out in search of money. He was told that in Nepal there was a lay follower of Jain faith who offered a blanket to his guest and the blanket cost the same huge amount of money that the courtesan had demanded. He accordingly went to Nepal and obtained the blanket. As he was rushing back to Pataliputra he was attacked by a gang of robbers who spared his life as well as his precious possession, the blanket. He subsequently gave it to the courtesan who threw it away as worthless as much as he himself was worthless for her. He came back to his teacher who scolded him and explained how firm Sthulabhadra really was in his vow and asked whether he did not deserve the respect that he had shown him.