Read the previous part here…
I am PadmaNidhi, and I represent the wealth that you earned in your previous lives. I will come to your house in the morning, in the same form as I am now. You must hit me on the head with a club, and I will instantly turn into gold, and this gold will be inexhaustible. You will never have to worry about money again.”
ManiBhadra woke up in the morning, and remembered what he had dreamt. Feeling apprehensive, he muttered to himself “I don’t think that the dream was real. After all, I keep thinking of money all the time, and so it may be that my brain is playing tricks on me. After all, it is said…
व्याधितेन स-शोकेन चिन्ता-ग्रस्तेन जन्तुना ।
कामार्तेनाथ मत्तेन दृष्टः स्वप्नो निरर्थकः ॥ ११ ॥
vyādhitena sa-śokena cintā-grastena jantunā |
kāmārtenātha mattena dṛṣṭaḥ svapno nirarthakaḥ || 11 ||
Dreams seen by those who are diseased, sad, worried, lustful or intoxicated, are always meaningless.
In the meanwhile, a barber named Keśava (the long-hair one) arrived at ManiBhadra’s house, to cut his wife’s hair. At around the same time, a sanyasi too came and stood at the gate. Seeing him. ManiBhadra remembered his dream, and without wasting a moment, grabbed a stick nearby and gleefully hit the sanyasi on the head with it. The sanyasi immediately turned into gold, and fell to the ground. ManiBhadra quickly hid the statue inside, and came out with some money, that he gave the barber and said “Here, keep this, but don’t breathe a word about it to anybody.”
Keśava reached home, deep in thought. “All these sanyasis who I drive away from my house, are worth much more than I ever imagined! They turn into gold when hit on the head…I wonder why I didn’t think of that before. Anyway, better late than never – let me invite a lot of them to my house, and beat them all with a stick. That way, I will have a lot of gold, and will not need to cut anyone’s hair anymore.”
Next morning, as soon as the sun appeared in the horizon, Keśava set out to a nearby ashram. He went around the statue of Jina three times, knelt before it, covered his mouth with a white cloth, and said…
जयन्ति ते जिना येषां केवल-ज्ञान-शालिनाम् ।
आ जन्मनः स्मरोत्पत्तौ मानसेनोषरायितम् ॥ १२ ॥
jayanti te jinā yeṣāṃ kevala-jñāna-śālinām |
ā janmanaḥ smarotpattau mānasenoṣarāyitam || 12 ||
Glory to the Jains sanyasis, who have filled their minds with pure knowledge, and made their minds infertile for lustfulness!
सा जिह्वा या जिनं स्तौति तच्-चित्तं यज् जिने रतम् ।
तौ एव तु करौ श्लाघ्यौ यौ तत्-पूजा-करौ करौ ॥ १३ ॥
sā jihvā yā jinaṃ stauti tac-cittaṃ yaj jine ratam |
tau eva tu karau ślāghyau yau tat-pūjā-karau karau || 13 ||
That alone is a tongue, that praises Jina, that alone is the mind that thinks of Jina, those alone are the hands which worship Jina.
ध्यान-व्याजम् उपेत्य चिन्तयसि काम् उन्मील्य चक्षुः क्षणं पश्यानङ्ग-शरातुरं जनम् इमं त्रातापि नो रक्षसि ।
मिथ्या-कारुणिको ऽसि निर्घृणतरस् त्वत्तः कुतो ऽन्यः पुमान् सेर्ष्यं मार-वधूभिर् इत्य् अभिहितो बौद्धो जिनः पातु वः ॥ १४ ॥
dhyāna-vyājam upetya cintayasi kām unmīlya cakṣuḥ kṣaṇaṃ paśyānaṅga-śarāturaṃ janam imaṃ trātāpi no rakṣasi |
mithyā-kāruṇiko ‘si nirghṛṇataras tvattaḥ kuto ‘nyaḥ pumān serṣyaṃ māra-vadhūbhir ity abhihito bauddho jinaḥ pātu vaḥ || 14 ||
Pretending to meditate, but which lady are you thinking about? Open your eyes and observe these men who are bound by lust. Why are you not protecting them, even though you are their savior? Are you really compassionate? Who can be more heartless than you? May Buddha protect all of us…
After a few more slokas, Keśava got up and walked up to the chief sanyasi, who was watching him intently. “I seek your blessings, o revered one”, he said as he fell at the sanyasi’s feet. “Please honor me by coming to my house first, when you set out to seek alms today.”
The sanyasi replied…
to be continued…