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The tale begins in the city of Potana, where King Aravinda and Queen Dharani reign. The King's advisor, Vigvabhnti, has a wife named Anuddhara, who gives birth to two sons, Kamatha and Marubhuti. Kamatha is wed to Varuna, while Marubhuti marries Vasumdhara. After Vigvabhnti's retirement, he passes away and is followed to heaven by his grieving widow, Anuddhara.
Left behind, Kamatha and Marubhuti mourn their parents' loss. A wise sage named Harigcandra imparts teachings, leading Marubhuti to renounce worldly desires and become his disciple. However, Kamatha remains entangled in his passions, unaffected by the sage's guidance.
Marubhuti's detachment causes his wife Vasumdhara to live in celibacy, leading to her infatuation. Although she initially resists Kamatha's advances, she eventually succumbs to his lust. Consumed by their forbidden love, they engage in an incestuous relationship. Varuna, Kamatha's wife, notices their affair and informs Marubhuti. In response, Marubhuti disguises himself as a holy beggar and seeks shelter in Kamatha's home. Pretending to sleep, he witnesses his brother's misconduct with his sister-in-law. Marubhuti reports the affair to King Aravinda.
The just but stern monarch orders Kamatha to be publicly humiliated and expelled from the city. Disgraced and alone, Kamatha wanders into the forest, nursing his revenge. He stumbles upon a hermitage, takes up asceticism on a mountain, and later becomes a monk.
Meanwhile, Marubhuti is haunted by guilt for the consequences his actions have brought upon his brother. Against King Aravinda's wishes, he ventures into the forest to reconcile with Kamatha. Marubhuti pleads for forgiveness, but Kamatha, consumed by anger, fatally strikes his brother's head with a stone, thereby shattering his own vows as a monk. As Marubhuti endures the pain of his mortal wound, his distressful thoughts contribute to his rebirth as a wild elephant, leading a herd in the Vindhya mountains. Varuna, Kamatha's wife, consumed by rage, also meets her demise and is reborn as a female elephant who becomes the mate of the elephant chief.
King Aravinda, once reveling in worldly pleasures, experiences a transformative realization during a storm, acknowledging the impermanence of all things. He decides to renounce his kingdom and takes on the teachings of a spiritual teacher, embarking on a solitary journey through towns and villages. During his travels, he converts Sagaradatta, a caravan leader, to the faith of the Jina Saints. As Sagaradatta's caravan camps near the lake where the elephant chief resides, the elephant attacks, causing havoc and dispersing the caravan. Aravinda senses it's time to enlighten the elephant's consciousness, understanding that fate has led him to this crucial moment.
In essence, the story narrates the intertwined fates of characters marked by their actions, highlighting themes of desire, remorse, transformation, and the impermanence of worldly existence.
