ABSTRACT
In the ninth chapter of the Uttarajjhāyā (‘Later Chapters’), one of the scriptures of the Śvetāmbara Jains, we find the story of a king called Nami. Having recalled a past life,1 Nami decides to renounce and so places his son on the throne before abandoning his kingdom for the solitary life. Indra (called Śakra or, in Prākrit, Sakka), disguised as a brahmin, approaches Nami to test his resolve. In an exchange of verses about the propriety of renunciation he tells Nami that his palace is on fire and exhorts him to look after his household. Nami replies:
suhaṃ vasāmo jīvāmo jesi mo natthi kiṃcaṇa mihilāe ḍajjhamāṇīe na me ḍajjhai kiṃcaṇa
We live happily, we who have nothing. Though Mihilā may be on fire, nothing of mine is burning.2
