Monks and Acharyas
Arjun Mali
अर्जुन माली · અર્જુન માળી
The gardener lost to rage, and the merchant who walked out to meet him
- 4 min full story
- 3 min children's telling
- Best shared with a grown-up
- Shvetambar telling
A gentle flower gardener is overtaken by anger and becomes the terror of Rajgruhi. When Bhagwan Mahavir arrives, one lay follower dares to leave the city to see him.
What it teaches Forgiveness Fearlessness Transformation
The opening of the children's telling
Outside the city of Rajgruhi, a gardener named Arjun looked after a lovely flower garden with his wife, Bandhumati. Every morning he offered his best flowers at a little shrine to a guardian spirit called Mudgarpani, who held a heavy iron mace.
One day, six rough young men were hiding at the shrine. They tied Arjun up and were very cruel to him and his wife. Arjun's heart burned with anger. It is said that the spirit then entered his body. The ropes broke, Arjun took up the mace, and in his rage he took the lives of the six men, and of Bandhumati too.
Read the whole story See plans
To carry into the day
Anger can carry us far from ourselves, but forgiveness can bring even the most lost soul home.
To talk about together
Sudarshan did not run and did not fight. What gave him the courage to stand still?
Retold for JainStory from the traditional narrative and checked against published Jain sources. Details vary between tellings.