अहिंसाकी हिंसापर विजय

अर्जुनमाली बड़ी श्रद्धापूर्वक एक यक्षकी नित्य | 1 पूजा करता था। एक दिन उसने जैसे ही पूजा समाप्त की, छः डाकू आ धमके। उन दुर्जनोंने अर्जुनको रस्सियोंसे बाँध दिया और उसके घरको लूट लिया।। उसकी पत्नीके साथ भी वे दुर्व्यवहार करने लगे ।

अब अर्जुनमालीको क्रोध आया। वह बँधा – बँधा दाँत पीसने लगा और मन ही मन कहने लगा- ‘मैंने इतने दिनों व्यर्थ इस यक्षकी पूजा की। इसके सामने ही मेरी तथा मेरी पत्नीकी यह दुर्गति हो रही है। मैं जानता कि यह इतना कापुरुष तथा असमर्थ है तो इसकी प्रतिमा यहाँसे उठा फेंकता।’

अर्जुन क्रोधमें भी सच्चे भावसे मान रहा था कि प्रतिमा जड़ नहीं है, उसमें सचमुच यक्ष है। उसके इस भावसे यक्ष संतुष्ट हो गया। अर्जुनके शरीरमें ही यक्षका आवेश हुआ। अब तो आवेशमें अर्जुनने अपने बन्धन तोड़ डाले और मूर्तिके पास रखा एक लोहेका मुद्गर उठा लिया। अर्जुनमें यक्षका बल था, उसने छः डाकुओं तथा अपनी स्त्रीको भी तत्काल मार दिया। परंतु इसके पश्चात् यक्षके आवेशमें अर्जुनमाली जैसे उन्मत्त हो गया। वह प्रतिदिन सात मनुष्योंको मारने लगा। राजगृहमें हाहाकार मच गया। लोगोंने घरोंसे निकलना बंद कर दिया।

उन्हीं दिनों भगवान् महावीर राजगृहके समीप उद्यानमें पधारे। उनके आगमनका समाचार सेठ सुदर्शनकोमिला। तीर्थंकरका दिव्योपदेश श्रवण करने उन्हें अवश्य जाना था। घरके लोगोंने उन्हें मना किया कि अर्जुन राजपथपर मुद्गर लिये घूम रहा है, तो वे बोले-‘ वह भी तो मनुष्य ही है, मैं उसे समझाऊँगा।’

सेठ सुदर्शन राजपथपर पहुँचे। अर्जुन आज छः व्यक्तियोंका वध कर चुका था और सातवेंकी खोजमें था। सेठको देखते ही वह मुद्गर उठाकर दौड़ा; किंतु सेठ स्थिर खड़े रहे। प्रहारके लिये उसने मुद्गर उठाया तो मुद्गरके साथ स्वयं भूमिपर गिर पड़ा। उसके शरीरमें आविष्ट यक्ष एक नैष्ठिक आचारवान् अहिंसकका तेज सहन नहीं कर सका था, इसलिये वह भाग गया था।

सेठ सुदर्शनने पुकारा- ‘उठो अर्जुन! मेरी ओर क्या देख रहे हो भाई! आओ! हम दोनों साथ चलकर आज तीर्थंकरकी पवित्र वाणी श्रवण करें।’

सेठने हाथ पकड़कर उसे उठाया और सचमुच उठा लिया जीवनके पाप-पंकसे; क्योंकि तीर्थंकरके सम्मुख पहुँचते ही अर्जुन उनके चरणोंमें नत हो गया। वह दीक्षित हो गया नगरवासी उसे मुनिवेशमें देखकर भी उसके द्वारा मारे गये अपने स्वजनोंका बदला लेनेके लिये उसे पत्थरोंसे मारते थे, उसपर दण्डप्रहार करते थे; किंतु वह अब शान्त रहता था। उसे आदेश जो मिला था – मा हतो ।

Arjunmali is a Yaksha’s daily with great devotion. 1 used to worship. One day as soon as he finished the worship, six dacoits came. Those rascals tied Arjuna with ropes and looted his house. They started misbehaving with his wife also.
Now Arjun Mali got angry. He started grinding his teeth and started saying in his mind – ‘ I worshiped this Yaksha for so many days in vain. This misery of me and my wife is happening in front of this. If I knew that he is such a malevolent and incapable person, I would have thrown his statue away from here.’
Even in anger, Arjun was sincerely believing that the statue is not inert, it is actually a Yaksha. The Yaksha was satisfied with his gesture. Yaksha’s obsession happened in Arjuna’s body itself. Now Arjun broke his bonds in a fit of rage and picked up an iron ring kept near the idol. Arjuna had the strength of a Yaksha, he killed six dacoits and his wife at once. But after this Arjuna became mad like a gardener in the passion of Yaksha. He started killing seven humans everyday. There was hue and cry in the palace. People stopped coming out of their houses.
In those days, Lord Mahavir came to the garden near Rajgriha. Seth Sudarshan got the news of his arrival. He had to go to listen to the divine sermon of Tirthankar. The people of the house told him that Arjun is roaming on the highway with a ring, so he said – ‘He is also a human being, I will explain to him.’
Seth Sudarshan reached Rajpath. Arjuna had killed six persons today and was in search of the seventh. As soon as he saw Seth, he ran picking up the mudgar; But Seth stood firm. When he raised the hammer to strike, he himself fell on the ground with the hammer. The possessed Yaksha in his body could not bear the glory of Ahimsa, a moralist, so he ran away.
Seth Sudarshan called out – ‘Get up Arjun! What are you looking at me brother! Come! Let us both go together and listen to the holy speech of the Tirthankar today.’
Seth lifted him by holding his hand and literally lifted him from the sins of life; Because as soon as he reached in front of the Tirthankara, Arjuna bowed down at his feet. He became Dixit, the townspeople used to stone him, punish him with stones to take revenge of their relatives killed by him even after seeing him in Munivesh; But he remained calm now. The order he had received was – Ma Hato.