24. The previous births of Vidyadhara Meghavahana and Sahasranayana

[Full title: Didactic stories; (A) Religious cum Moral Stories; (24) The previous births of Vidyadhara Meghavahana and Sahasranayana or the story of Sasi and Avaliya]

Having listened to the preceding story, Cakravartin (Sagara), who had married the sister of Sahasranayana and had helped Sahasranayana, asked the Jina to narrate the previous births of the sons of Purnaghana and Sulocana (Meghavahana and Sahasranayana respectively). Then the Jina narrated the story (5. 93-111) explaining the consequences of instigating some one to commit murder. was Sasi and Avaliya were the pupils of Rambhaka of Padmapura. Once Avaliya purchased a cow from a cowherd. But immediately on being instigated by Sasi, the cowherd killed Avaliya and sold the same cow to Sasi. Avaliya was reborn as a Mleccha. He killed Sasi when the latter was proceeding to Tamraliptinagara. Sasi reborn as a bull. The bull on being killed again by that Mleccha was reborn as a cat. The Mleccha was reborn as a rat, The rat was killed by the cat. Thus killing each other they transmigrated as hellish beings, animals, slaves, and lords of demons. Sasi was reborn as Kulandhara and Avaliya as priest Pusyabhuti. The priest wanted to kill Kulandhara but being enlightened by a monk he accepted monkhood and was reborn in Sanatkumara heaven. Kulandhara was also reborn there. Both of them were further reborn as the servants of king Vrsabha of Arinjayapura in Dhatakikhanda. They renounced the world along with the king and became celestial beings in the Sahasrara heaven. From there Sasi was reborn as Meghavahana and Avaliya as Sahasranayana. According to the Paumacariya (5.113-133) Rambhaka is named as Sankhikorambha. He was a wealthy man. He caused disruption between his pupils, Sasi's journey to Tamraliptinagara is not mentioned. In place of Vrsabha, the king is named as Sahasrasira. The Paumacariu (5.7.10) refers to them but the story is not narrated. The Ramapurana of Bhattaraka Somasena. (ch. 3) calls Sankhika a brahmin. It agrees with the Paumacariya with minor changes in names and animal lives. The Trishashti Shalaka Purusha-caritra (II. p. 164) calls Rambhaka a wandering mendicant. It mentions the enmity between Sasi and Avaliya, but does not give details about their further births.