Court of Magadh
Abhaykumar and Chandapradyot
अभयकुमार और चंडप्रद्योत · અભયકુમાર અને ચંડપ્રદ્યોત
A battle won with no arrows, and a promise kept in broad daylight
- 4 min full story
- 2 min children's telling
- For all ages
- Shvetambar telling
The mighty King Chandapradyot of Ujjain marches on Rajgruhi, and young Abhaykumar promises his father there will be no war. What follows is a long contest of wits between the two.
What it teaches Wisdom Peace Keeping One's Word
The opening of the children's telling
Long ago, a proud king named Chandapradyot marched toward the city of Rajgruhi with a huge army. King Shrenik was worried. But his wise son, Abhaykumar, smiled and said, "Do not worry, Father. There will be no fighting."
Before the army came, Abhaykumar hid pots of gold under the ground where the soldiers would put their tents. Then he sent the king a note: "Your generals have been given gold to turn against you. Dig and see!" The king dug and found the gold. He was so frightened that he hurried home. Not one arrow was shot.
Read the whole story See plans
To carry into the day
A clever mind can end a quarrel that a thousand swords would only make worse.
To talk about together
Abhaykumar could have punished Chandapradyot. Why do you think he asked for friendship instead?
Retold for JainStory from the traditional narrative and checked against published Jain sources. Details vary between tellings.