Lord of Self : Lord of All

Summary

Emperor Śreṇika Bimbisāra of Magadha enjoys worldly power but feels an inner emptiness, symbolised by his quest to seize the elusive ‘deer‑navel.’ On a moonlit night he confides his longing to his queen Ceḷanā. They exchange metaphoric dialogue about losing and finding each other. She invites him to the Samyak garden and then to the cool waters of the Antarmānī lake, but his restlessness persists. During their stroll they see a young, handsome monk meditating under a tree. Śreṇika wonders why one so beautiful renounced worldly pleasures. The monk reveals he is the son of King Dhanasacāya of Kauśāmbī and tells his story: stricken with terrible pain in his youth, neither physicians nor the loving care of his wife and parents could relieve his suffering. Realising that worldly affection offered no true protection, he vowed that if his pain ceased by dawn he would renounce the world. Upon taking refuge in Lord Mahāvīra his pain vanished. He left his family, recognising that only self‑realisation gives security. When Śreṇika offers him protection at the palace, the monk replies that those who are themselves unprotected cannot protect others. He teaches that by becoming Lord of oneself—by realising the true self—one becomes Lord of the universe because nothing lies outside that inner reality. Convinced, Śreṇika and Ceḷanā bow to him. When they raise their heads the yogi has vanished, leaving a luminous glow among the trees. Returning home, the royal couple understand that their search for fulfilment must turn inward. The story poetically contrasts external splendour with inner sovereignty.