Truth Of Present - Stories From Jain Heritage: [28] The Mind Is Mightier Than The Sword

Published: 17.07.2008
Updated: 29.11.2012

The Mind Is Mighter Than The Sword

Long long ago, Chandpradyotan regained in Ujjaini. One day, he sent a threatening message to king Shrenik, “If you wish for this welfare of your kingdom, send the bunkchanda necklace, the royal elephant, Prince Abhaya Kumar and queen Chelna at once to me as offering.”

On receiving the message, King Shrenik become furious and screamed at the envoy of Chandpradyotan, “Go and tell your king that if he wants the welfare of his kingdom, he should send me the fire Chariot, the Anilgiri elephant, the Vajra Jhanga and queen Shivadur.”

When King Chandpradyotan received this message, he and his huge army immediately set forth to wage a war against King Shrenik. King Shrenik was also in reading for war. However, Abhaya Kumar, the prince advised his father in a polite manner saying, “Oh king, this is not the right to start the war. I shall devise a plan, Whereby Chandpradyotan and his army will retreat and at the same time, even our soldiers will not suffer.” Shrenik had full confidence in his son and he readily accepted his advice.

At night, Abhaya Kumar buried a large amount of gold and money under the ground, behind the camp of Chandpradyotan. He raised his voice and said, “Oh King! You are dreaming of conquering Rajgriha while your superior officers have deserted you. They have accepted brides from the King Shrenik and will capture you in the morning. Since you are my uncle, I do not want to be deceived in such a nasty way.” Chandpradyotan did not believe Abhaya Kumar and asked him to prove his statement. Abhaya Kumar took the king to the place where the money was buried.

After seeing the money, Chandpradyotan was convinced of the treachery of his officers and so, without a word to anyone, he left for Ujjaini at once.

Next morning, when the chief commander did not find Chandpradyotan, or his horse, he was perplexed. They could not attack without the king, so they too return to Ujjaini. When they reached Ujjaini, they wanted to know the reason for the sudden retreat of the king, in the middle of the night. The king refused to meet them, whom he believed were traitors. On listening to their repeated requests, the king relented. He met them and rebuked them for their treachery. The officers were stunned by these allegations and humbly replied, “We have been serving you since a long time. How can we deceive you in such a manner? This must be a trick played by the Abhaya Kumar, to save his father and kingdom.” When Chandpradyotan realized this fact, he declared that the person who would arrest Abhaya Kumar would be well rewarded.

On hearing this announcement, a prostitute devised a plan to capture Abhaya Kumar. She began to stay in Rajgriha and within a few days, she was recognized as one of the respectable citizens. One day, she invited Abhaya Kumar to her house for dinner and mixed some intoxicants in the food. As soon as Abhaya Kumar had the food, he became unconscious. At once, she put him in a chariot and sent him to Chandpradyotan. The king was pleased to see him and rewarded the prostitute.

When Abhaya Kumar regained consciousness, he was amazed to find himself in Ujjaini. Then he told Chandpradyotan, “You brought me here in an unconscious state but I challenge you, that I will take you to Rajgriha in a chariot in full consciousness.” The king accepted the challenge. After a few days, Abhaya Kumar thought of an idea. He found a man, promised to pay him a handsome amount and familiarized him with his plot. The next day, Abhaya Kumar put him in a chariot and took him to the city market, where he started beating the latter before everyone. The man shouted for help. Hearing the king’s voice, the passersby ran to rescue him. When both of them saw people coming towards them, they started laughing. This fared went on for five days and soon the people stooped reaching to it, thinking that it was Abhaya Kumar’s tomfoolery.

On the sixth day, Abhaya Kumar tied the king him self and put him in the chariot. While passing through the market place, Abhaya Kumar hit the king with a shoe. The king shouted for help but nobody came forward to help. Finally, the two of them reached Rajgriha and Chandpradyotan was presented before King Shrenik. When King Chandpradyotan apologized and praised Abhaya Kumar, King Shrenik at once embraced him and sent him to Ujjaini with full royal glory.

Fearlessness and intelligence can help overcome even the most difficult situations.

Sources
© & Publisher Jain Vishva Bharati
Translated & Edited by Sadhvi Vishrut Vibha
Share this page on:
Page glossary
Some texts contain  footnotes  and  glossary  entries. To distinguish between them, the links have different colors.
  1. Abhaya
  2. Consciousness
  3. Fearlessness
  4. Shrenik
Page statistics
This page has been viewed 1291 times.
© 1997-2024 HereNow4U, Version 4.56
Home
About
Contact us
Disclaimer
Social Networking

HN4U Deutsche Version
Today's Counter: