Sadhvi Vishrut Vibha
The Fruit Of Sacrifice
King Udaai was the ruler of the city of Sindhu Sauveer. Its capital was Veetbhay Nagar. Prabhavati, the daughter of Chetak was his queen. The queen belonged to the Sharaman tradition. After her demise, she was reborn as a goddness and preached Jainism to King Udaai. This led him to become a devoted Jain shravak.
King Udaai’s greatest wish was that Lord Mahavira should visit his city and if that desire was fulfilled, he resolved to spend his entire life in practicing monkhood. One day, his heartiest desire was fulfilled when Lord Mahavira visited his city. The king listened to his preaching’s with deep concentration and after a few days, he was ready to accept monkhood.
Prince Abhichi was supposed to succeed Udaai as the king. But Udaai thought, “Political power is just like hell and it will not be proper on my part to send my son to the same hell.” So he declared Keshi, the son of his sister as his successor. Prince Abhichi was very disappointed by this announcement. His friends advised him to assert his right to the throne with the help of the army as well as the public. He replied, “Whatever my father has decided is final. I do not want to stay as a subordinate to Keshi, so I bid adieu to all of you,” Saying so, he, along with his family, crossed the boundary of Veetbhay Nagar and settled in Champapuri.
On the other hand, Udaai, who had become a Jain monk, engrossed himself in meditation and the study of the Aagams. He experienced immense peace and tranquility from his meditations. One day, he requested the Lord to grant him the permission to visit Sindhu Sauveer and share his spiritual achievements with the people of his land. After covering a long distance, he reached Mrigavan garden, situated on the outskirts of Veetbhay Nagar.
News of the arrival of a Jain monk soon reached the city. People of all castes and creed went to the garden in order to pay their respects and listen to the preaching of the monk. When Keshi heard this news, his mind was replete with doubts. He thought, “Udaai has come here to take back his kingdom. The attraction of power and kingdom has made him forget his religious duties. Let Udaai not stay in the garden, nobody should offer him shelter and if anybody disobeys this order, he shall lose his property and shall be banished from the country.” When Udaai heard this announcement, he immediately left the garden. He wandered in the city in search of food and shelter but could not succeed. The devotees were helpless and could not do anything.
The monk reached the colony of the potters in the afternoon. He asked a potter’s wife for shelter who replied, “I will have to seek my husband’s permission. Munivar, please wait her while I am away.” She immediately went to the place where her husband was working, narrated the entire story and waited to seek his permission. The potter was afraid to offer shelter because of the royal announcement but had to bow before his wife’s firm decision. The monk stayed at the potter’s house that night. When Keshi came to know about this, he was enraged and decided to kill Udaai by offering him poisoned food. Although, Udaai knew that the food was poisoned, he ate it with great equanimity and attained omniscience.
When goddess Prabhavati came to know about this incident, she was extremely annoyed and set fire to the whole city. The fire spread all over the city but it did not even touch the potter’s house where Udaai had stayed overnight.
