Nobility of Savchand and Somchand

 

The Shatrunjay hill is a very sacred place of pilgrimage for Jains. It is located near the town of Palitänä, about 140 miles southwest of Amdäväd, Gujarat. There are nine temple complexes on the hill. They are popularly known as nine Tuks. One of them is Chaumukhaji Tuk, located on the peak of the hill. Here is an interesting story of the construction of the temple complex there.

 

During the latter part of the 16th century when King Akbar, the great Moghul king, was ruling over India there was a businessman named Savchand Jeram in the town of Vanthali in the Saurashtra region of Gujarat state. He owned a very large business. He had many ships that used to export goods to Indonesia and other countries. During these voyages, they would buy merchandise at one place and sell it at another for profit.

 

Once a fleet of 12 ships set sail with valuable merchandise. After selling all their goods at a foreign port, they were returning with valuable foreign merchandise. On the way back, the fleet encountered a heavy storm and had to wait on an island. Meanwhile, monsoons set in and the fleet was stranded on the island for a couple of months. Because the ships did not come back for a long time, Savchand’s shipping agents made all possible efforts to locate them. Since they did not find any trace of the fleet, they reported to Savchand that the ships were lost.

 

This was a heavy loss to Savchand. He had invested a significant amount of money on the voyage and was expecting a handsome return by selling the merchandise that the ships were expected to bring back. With the loss of his ships, he faced an acute shortage of funds and it was hard for him to pay back his creditors. As the news about the lost ships spread, people started talking about how Savchand had lost everything and his creditors would have to write off their dues.

 

That set off a panic among his creditors. In order to realize their dues, they began to present their claims. Savchand was a highly religious and honest person. He tried to pay back his creditors as much as he could with the resources he had left. One of the creditors was the prince of Mängrol, a place not far from Vanthali. He had deposited Rs. 100,000 in Savchand’s firm. That was a substantial amount because one rupee of that time would be worth about Rs. 250 today.

 

When the prince learned about the loss of Savchand’s ships, he also became impatient and called for the repayment of his deposit. Savchand could not raise such a large amount so quickly. He requested the prince to wait while he tried to raise the money. The prince, however, insisted on getting the amount
immediately. Savchand’s name and credit were at stake. In order to maintain his credit, he had to find a way to pay the prince.

 

At that time, there was a businessman named Somchand Amichand in the city of Amdäväd. Savchand did not have any trade connection with him, but he had heard about Somchand’s firm and knew Somchand to be a very noble gentleman. An idea occurred to him – he thought of satisfying the prince by giving him a promissory note which would be honored by Somchand’s firm. The prince agreed to that form of payment. Savchand wrote a promissory note payable to the prince by Somchand’s firm without Somchand’s permission. Since he had no right to write this, he was overcome with sadness and guilt while preparing it and tears began to roll down his face. A few drops of his tears fell on the document and smeared the promissory note. Then, with a heavy heart Savchand handed the note to the prince and requested him to cash it with Somchand’s firm.

 

The prince did not lose any time. He immediately proceeded towards Amdäväd and upon arriving presented the promissory note to Somchand’s firm. The accountant took the note in his hand and asked his men to look for Savchand’s account. The men searched their books, but they did not find any account in the name of Savchand. The men reported that Savchand had no trade connections with their firm. The accountant went to Somchand and informed him that he had received a promissory note of exchange from Savchand of Vanthali which, being unduly drawn, could not be honored.

 

Somchand was puzzled to learn that. He knew Savchand’s firm by name and was aware that it was a well reputed business organization of Vanthali. He could not make out why Savchand would have drawn the note for such a large amount when Somchand did not have any trade links with his firm. He looked at
the note again and noticed the letters smeared by Savchand’s tears. He could make out from the water spots that Savchand must have been in a very embarrassing position and must have drawn the note out of sheer desperation.

 

It was clear to Somchand that Savchand had reposed trust in him by writing the note. It was now his turn to reciprocate. What good was his wealth if he could not extend a helping hand to a noble man in distress? He, therefore, decided to oblige and asked the accountant to honor the note. The accountant was confused and asked, “Which account should the amount be debited from?” Somchand instructed the accountant to debit it to his personal account.

The note was accordingly accepted, and the amount was paid to the prince. The prince did not actually need the money and had asked for payment because of his doubt about the financial stability of Savchand. When the note was honored, he felt reassured about Savchand’s credibility and repented for insisting upon the return of his deposit. On his way home, he went to Savchand and told him that he had received the amount from Amdäväd. Savchand heartily thanked Somchand for that act of grace.

 

At the end of the monsoon, the ships resumed their return journey and safely returned with the merchandise. Savchand was very pleased and relieved. He made a huge fortune by selling the merchandise, and his prestige rose even higher than it was before the loss of his ships. It was now time for him to pay back Somchand. For that purpose, he personally went to Amdäväd and offered the amount of Rs. 100,000 with interest. Somchand, however, declined to accept it on the grounds that his books did not show any amount due from Savchand.

 

Savchand would not accept that. How could he go home without repaying the debt? He therefore pressed Somchand to accept the amount and said that he was willing to pay any amount that Somchand asked. Savchand added that if he failed to repay, he would feel guilty for drawing the undue promissory note. Somchand, however, replied that he had purchased the promissory note for the drops of tears. Those two drops of tears of a respectable man were worth Rs. 200,000 to him. Of that, he had paid only Rs. 100,000 to the prince and another Rs. 100,000 were still due to be paid. Saying this, he offered Rs. 100,000 to Savchand.

 

But how could Savchand accept that? He was indebted to Somchand for his graciousness in honoring the bill. For that grace Savchand was willing to pay any amount to Somchand. Instead of accepting the amount, Somchand was offering another Rs. 100,000 to him! As Savchand repeatedly insisted on repaying the amount of his promissory note, Somchand explained that he was unable to accept the amount because his books did not show any amount due from Savchand. In a way, he was right because the payment to the prince of Rs. 100,000 was debited to his personal account and not to Savchand’s account.

 

In Rämäyan, there is an interesting event when neither Räm nor Bharat were willing to accept the throne, and they each asked the other to accept it. A similar dispute arose between Savchand and

Somchand.Both of them offered a high payment to the other but neither of them was willing to accept the other’s offer. Savchand continued to insist that Somchand accept the amount of his bill, but the latter would not only decline, but insisted on Savchand accepting another Rs. 100,000. At last, it was decided that they would refer the matter to the mediation of the Jain community (Sangha).

 

The executive committee of the Amdäväd Jain Sangha got together with both of them. After hearing them patiently, the Sangha concluded that since neither of them was ready to accept the amount offered by the other, the amount should be used for a noble cause. Both of them agreed and after making a

substantial addition to the said amount, they decided to spend the money to construct a temple complex on Shatrunjay Hill. Accordingly, construction was undertaken in earnest. After completion, the opening ceremony of the complex was performed with great fanfare in 1619 A.D. In commemoration of their names, the complex is still known as Savä-Som Tuk.

 

Honesty in life as well as in business always pays off. The generosity of Somchand is praiseworthy. He did not take undue advantage of a person in distress; instead he helped an unknown person. Moreover, he did not expect anything in return.