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15. THE STORY OF
PRASANNACANDRA AND
VALKALACIRIN
King Srenika heard that the great Mahavira had arrived in the shrine of Gunasi la in Rajagṛha and decided to visit him. On his way there he saw an ascetic practising hard penance by the side of the road; he was standing only on one leg and his arms stretched full length above his head. One of the men around there admired the severity of the penance and the tenacity of the ascetic who was also facing the sun. The man said he was sure that he would go easily to heaven or even attain salvation. Another man recognised who the ascetic was. He said he was none else but king Somacandra who could in no way be considered religious. He explained that the king had installed his young son on the throne before he took to the life of an ascetic but the ministers dethroned him. The king thus destroyed his lineage and nobody knew what happened to the large bevy of women he had in his harem.
The ascetic overheard this bit of conversation and felt extremely angry with his ministers to whose care he had entrusted the young prince. "O vile ministers! I always honoured you but you have waged a war against my son. If I were there, and had you behaved in such a manner, I would have punished you." The whole episode of the palace affair appeared visibly before his eyes and he started fighting his battle in his mind against the ministers.
By the time King Srenika reached the place where the ascetic
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