A History of Indian Literature v2.c20.s2.107

v2.c20.s2.107

The eleventh Aṅga, Vivāgasuyam, *i.e.*, "the text of the ripening (of actions), "³ contains legends on the retribution of good and evil deeds after the manner of the Buddhist Karman stories in the Avadāna-Śataka and Karma-Śataka. Goyama Indabhūti, the oldest pupil of Mahāvīra, sees various unhappy people, and at his request Mahāvīra explains by what actions in a former birth the person has deserved such misfortune, through what bad rebirths the person has already passed, what is still in store for him, and by what means he may finally attain to a good rebirth again. There is, for instance, a certain Umbaradatta, who is afflicted with all manner of horrible diseases. Why? Because when he was a doctor, in a previous existence, he had prescribed meat diet to a patient, thus causing the killing of numerous living creatures. He will still be born again in worse incarnations, as a dog, etc., but finally he will nevertheless be born again as a merchant.