Sadhvi Vishrut Vibha
Long long ago, Chandpradyotan reigned in Ujjaini. One day, he sent a threatening message to King Shrenik, "If you wish for the welfare of your kingdom, send the Bunkchanda necklace, the royal elephant, Prince Abhaykumar and the Queen Chelna at once to me as offerings."
On receiving the message, King Shrenik became furious and shouted 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 the Queen Shivadur."
When King Chandpradyotan received this message, he, accompanied by his huge army, immediately set forth to wage a war against King Shrenik. King Shrenik was also in readiness for war. However, Abhaykumar, the prince, advised his father King Shrenik in a very polite manner, saying, "Oh King! This is not the right time to start the war. I shall devise a plan whereby Chandpradyotan and his army will retreat and at the same time, our soldiers will also not suffer." Shrenik had full confidence in his son and he readily accepted his advice.
At night, Abhaykumar buried a large amount of gold and money under the ground behind the camps of Chandpradyotan. He raised his voice and said, "Oh King! You are dreaming of conquering Rajgriha while your own superior officers have deserted you. They have accepted bribes from King Shrenik and in the morning, they will capture you. You are my uncle so I don't want you to be deceived in such a nasty way". Chandpradyotan did not believe Abhaykumar and asked him to prove his statement. Abhaykumar took the king to the place where the money was buried.
Abhaykumar showing Chandpradyotan the buried money by his officers.
After seeing the money, Chandpradyotan was convinced of the treachery of his officers and so without saying a word to anyone, he at once left for Ujjaini.
The next morning, when the chief commander did not find Chandpradyotan and his horse, he was perplexed. They could not wage a war without the king and so they too returned to Ujjaini. When they reached Ujjaini, they wanted to know the reason for the sudden retreat of the king in the night. The king refused to meet whom he believed was a traitor. 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 Abhaykumar to save his father and the kingdom." When Chandpradyotan realized this fact, he declared that the person, who would arrest Abhaykumar would be given reward.
On hearing this announcement, a prostitute devised a plan to capture Abhaykumar. She began to stay in Rajgriha and within a few days she was recognized as one of the respectable citizens. One day, she invited Abhaykumar to her house for dinner and mixed some intoxicants in the food. As soon as Abhaykumar ate the food, he became unconscious. At once, she put him in a chariot and sent him to King Chandpradyotan. The king was pleased to see him and gave reward to the prostitute.
When Abhaykumar 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 to take you to Rajgriha in a chariot in full consciousness." The king accepted the challenge. After a few days, Abhaykumar thought of an idea. He found a man whose voice resembled that of the king's voice. Abhaykumar promised to pay him good reward and familiarized him with the plot. The next day, Abhaykumar put him in a chariot and took him to the city market and started beating the latter before everyone. The man shouted for help. Hearing the king's voice, the passers -by ran to rescue him. When both of them saw the people coming towards them, they started laughing. This went on for five days and people stopped reacting to it, thinking that it was Abhaykumar's tomfoolery.
Abhaykumar beating the king with a shoe and nobody came forward to help the king.
On the sixth day, Abhaykumar managed to tie the king himself and put him in the chariot. While passing through the market place, Abhaykumar 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, King Shrenik at once, embraced him and sent him to Ujjaini with full royal grace.
