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178
JAINA STORIES
door. She saw that he scribbled something on the wall. But she did not pay particular attention to it and returned to her room
No sooner was he outside the house than Punyasar came to the tree at a hurried pace He was in time, since the damsels had not yet come back, So he took his seat in the hollow After some time, the damsels came back and sat on the tree, and the tree started back at once It took no time to come back to its own place.
After sun-rise, Punyasar stepped out from the hollow of the tree. Purandar too had reached the same spot in search of him He was surprised to see his son in ceremonial robes When at last the two returned home, the stesthi's wife beaved a sigh of relief. When the parents heard the full account from their son, they were happy at his good luck.
Punyasar had now enough money to recover the king's ornament and return it to the king. The sresthi's prestige was thus saved Punyasar was now free from his gambling habit and devoted himself exclusively to his family line,
Elsewhere, the seven girls were waiting in the room for the return of their husband. But when 'he, did not come back for a long-time, they felt Testless? Gunasundari came to the door'where she had left him and looked around; but there was none. She came back and reported it to her sisters Thie was a great shock to the girls, the more so. since they had never enquired who the man was or wherefrom he came but blindly relied on the words of the god. And now ! The man had fled with many valuable things. They had now no doubt that this was a rogue who had come "With a motive
Gunasundari recollected that the man scribbled something on the wall There she saw written a couplet as follows.
