The Tirthankaras
Life of Bhagwan Sumatinath
भगवान सुमतिनाथ का जीवन · ભગવાન સુમતિનાથનું જીવન
Two mothers, one child, and a queen's wise judgement
- 4 min full story
- 2 min children's telling
- For all ages
- Shvetambar telling
Two women stand before the king of Ayodhya, each insisting that the same little boy is her son, and no one can tell who is telling the truth. The queen, who is carrying the future fifth Tirthankar, offers to settle it.
What it teaches Wisdom Truth A mother's love Non-possessiveness
The opening of the children's telling
Long ago, in the city of Ayodhya, there lived a good king named Megh and a kind queen named Mangala. The queen was going to have a baby.
One day, two women came to the king. They had one little boy with them. The first woman said, 'He is my son!' The second woman said, 'No, he is my son!' The little boy loved them both, so he could not say who his real mother was. The king did not know what to do.
Read the whole story See plans
To carry into the day
Greed can wait for what it wants; love lets go of everything to stay close.
To talk about together
How did the queen know who the real mother was?
Retold for JainStory from the traditional narrative and checked against published Jain sources. Details vary between tellings.