The Tirthankaras
Life of Bhagwan Dharmanath
भगवान धर्मनाथ का जीवन · ભગવાન ધર્મનાથનું જીવન
A palace that filled with prayer, and a teacher who named the four thieves of the heart
- 4 min full story
- 2 min children's telling
- For all ages
While she carries her child, a queen longs to spend her days in prayer and good deeds, and her son grows up to teach about the four passions that quietly steal our peace.
What it teaches Anger, pride, deceit and greed Devotion Self control
The opening of the children's telling
Long ago, in a city called Ratnapur, Queen Suvrata was going to have a baby. The king and queen were kind, and their palace was big and beautiful.
While she waited, the queen wanted to do good things all the time. She wanted to pray, to help poor people, and to listen to wise teachers. Soon everyone in the palace was doing good things too. The whole palace felt calm and happy.
Read the whole story See plans
To carry into the day
Forgiveness, humility, honesty and contentment keep the four thieves of the heart away.
To talk about together
Which of the four thieves, anger, pride, deceit or greed, is the hardest for you to keep out? What helps?
Retold for JainStory from the traditional narrative and checked against published Jain sources. Details vary between tellings.