The Thief Rohineya

Rohineya was the son of a notorious thief. On his deathbed, his father gave him strict advice: 'Never listen to the discourses of Lord Mahavira. His words are magic. If you hear them, you will lose your desire to steal and our family tradition will be ruined.'

Rohineya promised. Whenever he passed near Mahavira's assembly, he would plug his ears with his fingers or thorns. One day, while fleeing from the royal guards after a major heist, a thorn in his foot caused him to stumble and remove his fingers from his ears for just a few seconds.

In those brief seconds, he heard Mahavira say: 'The heavenly beings (Devas) do not blink their eyes, their feet do not touch the ground, and their flower garlands never fade.' Rohineya quickly plugged his ears and ran away.

Later, King Shrenik's brilliant minister, Abhay Kumar, captured Rohineya but had no solid proof. To force a confession, Abhay Kumar got Rohineya completely drunk and placed him in a lavish room decorated like heaven, surrounded by beautiful women acting as celestial nymphs.

The 'nymphs' told the dizzy Rohineya, 'Welcome to heaven, Lord! To stay here, you must confess your past earthly sins.' Rohineya was about to confess his thefts when he remembered Mahavira's words. He looked closely: the women were blinking, their feet touched the floor, and their flowers were wilting.

Realizing it was a trap, he firmly stated, 'I have committed no sins.' He was released due to lack of evidence. Overwhelmed that just a few words of the Tirthankara saved his life, Rohineya voluntarily went to Mahavira, confessed all his crimes, returned his stolen wealth, and became a monk.