Monks and Acharyas
Madanrekha and Nami Rajarshi
Madanrekha and Nami Rajarshi is a Jain story from the Monks and Acharyas collection about forgiveness, courage, peace at death, detachment and self-conquest. When a king's desire for his brother's wife ends in a sword stroke, Madanrekha has only a few moments to decide what her husband will carry out of this world, and only one night to save herself and the child she is expecting. Years later, a sick king lying in a room full of ringing bangles hears something in the silence. A long read on courage after violence and a king's awakening, told from the Uttaradhyayana and its old commentary.
| Teaches | Forgiveness, Courage, Peace at death, Detachment, Self-conquest |
|---|---|
| Collection | Monks and Acharyas |
| Tellings | The full story (20 min) |
| Who it suits | For grown-ups |
| Tradition | Shvetambar telling |
| Thought to keep | One bangle makes no sound: the less we cling to, the quieter the soul. |
Read the opening of Madanrekha and Nami Rajarshi
The opening of the story
In the land of Avanti, in the city of Sudarshanpur, there ruled a king named Manirath. His younger brother Yugbahu was the crown prince, and Yugbahu's wife was Madanrekha. People who saw her spoke first of her beauty. People who knew her spoke of something else: she kept her vows without fuss, she honoured the elders of the house, and the teaching of the Jinas was not a duty to her but a joy. She and Yugbahu had a young son, Chandrayasha.
The trouble began quietly. King Manirath, looking at his brother's wife, let a wish into his heart that he should have turned away at the door, and instead he fed it. He began to send her presents: flowers and betel from the royal gardens, fine cloth, ornaments. Madanrekha accepted them as a younger woman of the family accepts gifts from the head of the house, with thanks and without a second thought.
Read the whole story of Madanrekha and Nami Rajarshi See plans
What Madanrekha and Nami Rajarshi teaches
Values Forgiveness Courage Peace at death Detachment Self-conquest
To carry into the day
One bangle makes no sound: the less we cling to, the quieter the soul.
To talk about together
Madanrekha chose not to go to the palace to see her baby. Was that strength, sorrow, or both, and what would you have done?
Sources
Retold for JainStory from the traditional story and checked against 3 published sources:
- archive.org
- neonvagabond.xyz
- Jain eLibrary (2 pages)