In Pushpabhadra town there lived king Pushpaketu with his queen Pushpavati. She gave birth to twins named Pushpachul & Pushpachula. Pushpachul & Pushpachula grew up and couldn’t live without each other. The king thought that if I marry daughter Pushpachula then the twins will be separated. As such he called the meeting of his subjects & asked them, “If any precious stone comes into existence on my land then, where should it be related?”
The people replied that you have the authority to relate the precious stones produced on your land. Thus, the king declared, “I am relating both my precious stones i.e. my son & daughter by a nuptial knot.” Thus, the king deceitfully married his son & daughter with each other. Pushpavati became very much distressed seeing such unacceptable relationship and accepted asceticism. After some time she died & was born in the celestial world. King Pushpaketu also reached the other world after his death.
Pushpachul & his sister Pushpachula lived as husband & wife. Their mother’s soul saw them through clairvoyance. “This is totally immoral. For committing such a sin they will have to suffer in the hell.” In order to awaken them, she showed a dream of a hell to Pushapachula. Being afraid of the dream, she told the king about it in the morning. He called various ascetics to know about the nature of hell.
They said “O king! The sorrows that are to be suffered in hell are grief, seperation, sickness dependance etc.” Pushpachula told the King that the dream which she had seen was quite different from such miseries. Those sufferings didn’t account even a minute portion of what she had dreamt. Then, they asked Jainacharya Arnikaputra & he described it exactly according to her dream, regarding the sorrows to be suffered by a soul in all the seven hells.
Later on, her mother deity showed her a dream of the delightful celestial world. Pushpachula asked different ascetics regarding the nature of heaven but wasn’t satisfied with them. Hence, she asked the same to Jainacharya Arnikaputra. His description was similar to what she had seen in her dream. So, with the feeling of asceticism, she took vows & by confessing & atoning, she received the ultimate knowledge & attained salvation in the same birth.
It is worth noting that due to ill fate, Pushpachula and her brother were related as a husband & wife, but by confessing her sins, she attained salvation. We should also confess and purify ourselves as we haven’t committed sins similar to that of Pushpachula. Why should we be afraid? O soul! You were not afraid while committing the sins, why are you afraid confessing them.
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