SAMRADITYA SAGA Part 2 - TANGLES OF HATRED

Victory of truth

I was presented before King Chandshasan. However, I was not scared at all. I was relaxed because the king knew me personally. I used to often visit him with my father. He was aware of my ethics. The king kept looking at me affectionately as if he was thinking, ‘This man cannot commit the sin of theft.’
He said, "Chakradev, I know what a virtuous life you are living. I am an admirer of your ethics. You are well-aware of the ultimate destination and a great believer of Dharm. I do not believe that you will steal. You very well know what is the result of such a sin in this as well as the future lives. I want you to tell me what is the mystery behind this entire incident.”
Seeing his trust and immense affection towards me, I could not control myself. My eyes started watering. I burst into tears. I started thinking, ‘What should I do? If I reveal the secret, then my friend’s death is certain. And if I don’t, then it’ll break the king’s trust. He will feel extremely disappointed.’ I was in a dilemma. I could not utter anything, as if my power of speech had died.
The king thought, ‘This young man is the son of Apratihat who is a businessman of my city. I have a personal relation with him. I should punish him in such a way that his reputation is not harmed.’ The king neither scolded nor insulted me. He kept his nature balanced and acted wisely.
Calling the chief officer close, he ordered, “I give Chakradev the punishment of deportation. You yourself go to drop him in the garden outside the city. Treat him courteously. Don’t put shackles in his hands and go with him alone.”
The chief officer’s eyes turned moist. He held my hand and got me to the garden outside the city from the shortest route. He didn’t say anything. I greeted him with joined hands.
He also greeted me and said in a heavy voice, "Shreshthikumar, what shall I say? My tongue is not ready to say, but I am the king’s servant. So I have to follow his orders. The king has deported you as punishment."
Wiping his tears, the chief officer left.
I sat on a stone under a dense tree in the garden. My head was spinning. My heart ached in the memory of my parents. My father had remained silent throughout this incident. He had unparalleled faith in me. Though the goods stolen from Chandan Shresthi were found in our mansion, yet his faith remained unchanged. Having gone through a number of good and bad experiences, my father could estimate all kinds of possibilities. ‘Stolen goods can be found from the house even if my son hasn’t stolen them. My son will accept death but he will not even think of stealing.’ It was his 100% belief. He believed that ‘Ultimately, the truth will win. Chakradev will have to pass through a test now, let him experience difficulties and humiliation.’
My mother was very emotional. Her heart was shattered, she was drenched with tears. Still, she was sure, ‘My son will never steal. Someone might’ve definitely trapped him. O Lord! Please protect my beloved, please save my son.’ She didn't even taunt my father saying, ‘What kind of a father are you? Why are you sitting silently? Have you become an audience in the backseat? Our son has been considered a thief and taken to the Rajya Sabha. The king will punish him. What will happen to my beloved son?’ Nothing of this kind, no complaints!
I started recollecting the words of my father. ‘Sometimes, what man finds just, may seem unjust to the judge. Sometimes, what seems fair to the judge may appear unfair to the Almighty. This is what I have seen and experienced. Therefore one should have faith in the divine power."
An storm of thoughts flooded in my mind. ‘I have completed the work of protecting my friend. However, I am now convinced that he had committed the theft. But due to the fear of getting caught, he came early in the morning and gave me the stolen goods to be hidden. Well, he shouldn’t have committed the sin of robbery. He has done a great harm to his soul by stealing. Still, I have fulfilled my duty. He has been saved. Now, I should not wish to live with such a disgusting accusation. I have lost reputation in my house, family, town and royal palace. I am not worth showing my face to anyone. There is no reason for me to live, I should end the journey of life.’
I became blank and made a firm decision to die. I went to the temple of the city’s deity and prayed, “O Devta, with the witness of the Almighty, I say that I have not committed theft. To protect my friend, Yagyadutt, and save him from death sentence, I have taken the charge of theft on me.
If it seems appropriate, then tell this secret to my parents. Let them be assured that their son was not a black sheep!"
I burst into tears. Tears started flowing at the feet of the idol.
I stood up and went under the banyan tree behind the temple. I had a scarf on my shoulder. I thought of committing suicide by tying the scarf on the branch and hanging from it. I started climbing the tree.
***
The city’s deity heard my prayer. The guardian deity was awake. He used Avdhi Gyan. In the light of knowledge, he saw Yagyadutt :
1. entering Chandan Shresthi’s house to steal
2. tying the stolen goods in a bundle
3. coming to my mansion with the bundle
He also heard the conversation Yagyadutt had with me and then with the king where he accused me of theft.
Each and every incident after that was seen by him through Avdhi Gyan.
He immediately entered the body of the king’s mother.
The king’s mother roared, “Where is Chandshasan? Come here right now!”
She began to jump on the ground. Her face expressed anger, disappointment and worry.
The king came running. The queen and the entire royal family were tensed.
"What happened to her?” Everyone got scared.
The king said to his mother, "What happened, mother? Why did you call me all of a sudden?"
"Son, I, the city’s deity, have come to tell you that Chakradev is absolutely innocent. You have made a big mistake by punishing him! He didn’t steal. The theft was done by Yagyadutt, the evil son of the Purohit. Yagyadutt has trapped his friend Chakradev due to jealousy and malice. But you should first do the task of saving Chakradev. That innocent boy is trying to commit suicide by hanging from the banyan tree behind my temple. Hurry up and save him!”
Fire began to spark from one eye of the king and humidity of affection in the other eye.
He ordered the commander, "Catch the evil Yagyadutt and present him before me in the court."
The king then said to the minister who had come there, "I am going on an elephant to the deity’s temple outside the city right now! I shall save who has set out to commit suicide. All of you also reach there on horseback soon."
The king rode the elephant speedily. Within a few minutes, he reached under the banyan tree. I had put the scarf around my neck. The king quickly removed the sword from his waist, cut the scarf and lifted me. Kissing my head over and over again and shedding tears from his eyes, the king hugged me.
He said in a trembling voice, "Son, what were you doing here? If something would’ve happened, how would I face Apratihat? But I know, virtuous men prefer death rather than humiliation.
Son, be thankful to this city’s deity because of whom your life was saved. I am also indebted to the deity. Or else an unpardonable crime of punishing the innocent would get committed by my hands! Good he entered the body of my mother and told me everything immediately. You kept me unaware of the truth, didn’t you? The deity has told me everything. The real culprit is the evil Yagyadutt.
Son, I have troubled you unknowingly. I apologize to you for this. Forgive me!”
Keeping my hand on the king’s mouth, I said, “Don’t say that! You are like my father. It is your duty to protect the people. This is the duty of the king. You punished me only on the basis of evidence, and that was justifiable."
My mind was anxious thinking of Yagyadutt. ‘Poor Yagyadutt fell in great trouble! Now it will be difficult to save him from the fright of the king. Still, I should plead the king for his life!"
I said to the king, “Your Majesty, Yagyadutt is not such a sinful boy. There has surely been some misunderstanding.  You get it checked properly."
Holding my hand, the king said, “This isn’t Chakradev who is speaking, it’s Yagyadutt's friend. How wicked is that friend of yours! He cheated a genuine and virtuous boy like you. He trapped you and got you deported.
I will punish that sinner in such a way that he will not be able to forget even upto seven lives.”
The king made me sit with him on the elephant. We were entering the palace when the soldier brought Yagyadutt tied with a rope.
The king looked at Yagyadutt. His head was bowed in shame. He didn’t have the courage to face him. The king’s anger flared up. He told the solider, "Cut off the tongue of this wicked. Pluck out both his eyes.”
Yagyadutt was terrified. He started trembling like a leaf. He looked in front of me. I was deeply moved by the punishment given by the king. I fell at the king’s feet and pleaded, "Your Majesty, forgive him. Forgive his crime! Set him free!"
The king said in a bitter voice, “Chakradev, what you are doing isn’t right. So much affection towards a friend is not good. He’s corrupt and faulty, he can’t be forgiven! He must be punished. Forgiving such people boosts them to commit more such sins. They harass the people more. That’s why you don’t intervene in this matter. I will peel off the skin of this worthless man.
In anger, the King punched Yagyadutt hard on his face. Yagyadutt rolled down on the ground. The king raised his leg to kick him but I came in the middle.
I begged with teary eyes, "If you have affection for me, then please accept one request of mine. Leave him.”
The king looked at me and my eyes filled with tears. His anger vanished. 
He commanded the soldier, "Leave this evil, hand him over to Chakradev. Whatever Chakradev wants to do, he will. I cannot disrespect Chakradev’s wish."
"Your Majesty, you have done a great favor,” I said.
The king sent me to my house with great respect. I sent Yagyadutt to his house.
Many dignitaries of the city started coming to my house to greet me. Yagyadutt started being insulted on the streets of the city. However, my mind was distant from the mess of praise and criticism. I kept contemplating on Yagyadutt’s state of mind.
‘How pathetic is the condition of beings overruled by karma! Indeed, the game of karma is very strange! It is very difficult to test the mind of beings. I kept pouring blind affection on Yagyadutt. Not even in my dreams did I think of harming him. I kept considering him as my good friend and he never thought good for me. Truly, the domination of his karmas had made him lose his mind.
My mind got detached. A state of dispassion arose within me towards all the relations of the world. The friendship with Yagyadutt was now dead. All the external pleasures of the world seemed dull. The mind felt disinterested towards the external world! However, I never had any hatred or anger towards Yagyadutt.
In the same year, with my fortune, an Acharya named Agnibhuti came to the outskirts of the city. As soon as I got the news, I went to the park to visit him.
A lamp of respect lit in my heart towards the gentle saint. I bowed to him devotedly.
He gave blessings saying, “Dharmlabh.”
I humbly sat at his feet and asked, "Gurudev, can you oblige me by explaining the Dharm which can destroy all sorrows?”
Gurudev explained Samyaktv Dharm to me. After this, he gave information about Grihasth Dharm and Charitra Dharm.
A desire to accept vows of household life arose in my mind. But that day, I returned home simply after listening to his preachings.
I had given up all business affairs. There was no such need to do business anyways. I had a lot of wealth. I was free from household works. I was thinking about the household life and the saint life as described by Gurudev.
I started going to Acharyaji daily. The more I listened to his preachings, the more my detachment kept on increasing.
One day, in the silence of the night, a wish arose in my mind.
‘I don’t want to stay at home. Life of a householder is filled with several complications. I shall accept sainthood.’ That night was spent in contemplation of sainthood.
• My Charitra Mohaniya Karma had been shed off.
• My spiritual strength was increasing!
• A strong aspiration to adopt sainthood arose within me.
I went to Gurudev and prayed, "You have bestowed me with infinite favours. My mind has become detached from the illusions of this world. Can you guide me as to what should I do now?"
• The wise Gurudev blessed me by granting me sainthood.
• I practised Charitra Dharm sincerely.
• My life got over.
• My soul took birth as a heavenly god in heaven named Brahma.
• On the other hand, after spending a sinful life, Yagyadutt was born in 2nd hell named Sharkaraprabha.