Lay Followers
Kumarpal's Puja
कुमारपाल की पूजा · કુમારપાળની પૂજા
A servant with a handful of coins, a few flowers, and a kingdom that followed
- 4 min full story
- 2 min children's telling
- Best shared with a grown-up
- Shvetambar telling
Long before he became the great Jain king of Gujarat, Kumarpal's soul lived as Jaitra, a robber chief who lost everything and ended up as a poor servant. One festival day at a Jain temple, he makes a small offering with everything he has.
What it teaches Devotion Ahimsa Transformation
The opening of the children's telling
Long, long ago there lived a man named Jaitra. Once he had done bad things, but then he lost everything. He became a poor helper in the house of a kind merchant. He felt lonely and sad, but the merchant was kind to him.
The merchant took Jaitra to hear a wise monk. Jaitra listened, and his heart began to change. He made a promise: I will never hurt an innocent creature. I will never tell a lie.
Read the whole story See plans
To carry into the day
No offering is too small when it is given with the whole heart.
To talk about together
Jaitra gave everything he had, even though it was only a little. What small thing could you give with your whole heart?
Retold for JainStory from the traditional narrative and checked against published Jain sources. Details vary between tellings.