Lay Followers
Mrugavati
मृगावती · મૃગાવતી
A clever queen saves her city with a wall of bricks, and a humble nun finds light in the dark
- 5 min full story
- 2 min children's telling
- Best shared with a grown-up
- Shvetambar telling
When a powerful king marches on Kaushambi to take its widowed queen, Mrugavati has no army strong enough to stop him, only her wits. Later, as a nun under Chandanbala, she faces a very different test one evening.
What it teaches Wisdom Humility Repentance
The opening of the children's telling
Queen Mrugavati lived in the city of Kaushambi. She was kind, clever and full of faith. She lived with her little son, Udayan, whom she loved very much.
One day a big, strong king called Pradyot came with his army. He wanted to take the queen away. Mrugavati did not have a big army. But she had a clever idea.
Read the whole story See plans
To carry into the day
A real sorry, with no excuses, can make the heart shine.
To talk about together
Mrugavati said sorry without making any excuses. Why is that sometimes hard to do?
Retold for JainStory from the traditional narrative and checked against published Jain sources. Details vary between tellings.