Jain Legend Vol 1

Author(s): Hastimal Maharaj, Shuganchand Jain, P S Surana
Publisher: Hastimal Maharaj Shugan C Jain P S Surana
Catalog link: https://jainqq.org/explore/007594/1

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Jain Legend
Jain Dharma k Maulika Itih sa
Author c rya r Hast Mala J M.S आचार्याश्री हस्तीमल जी माहाराज साहब
Editors Shugan C. Jain
P. S. Surana
VOLUME 1 ABRIDGED
Era of ford-maker Relating to T rthamkaras

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Editorial
Jain Legend is the verbatim English translation of series of four volumes Jain Dharma k Maulika Itih sa (abridged) in Hindi edited by Sh. Gajsingh Rathod. The original voluminous Jain Dharma k Maulika Itih sa was authored by venerable c rya r Hast mala J M.S., the foremost crya of Sthanakavasi tradition of Jain congregation.
We have been extremely careful in maintaining the content of Jain Dharma k Maulika Itih sa (abridged) as it is without any changes / or adding comments by us so as to retain the authentic writings of crya r Hast mala J M.S. Thus the English translation carries his scholarship and research over an extended period of over twenty years.
In this English edition, we have tried to keep some of the definitive terms of Jainism as they are and give their English equivalent (as much representative as possible) on the first occurrence and also listed at the end of this note. To appreciate their understanding and pronunciation, we have used diacritical marks for legendary names of persons / texts/ places and the definitive Jain terms e.g. amga meaning the limb or part and commonly written as anga, etc.
We express my thanks to following translators and other support staff members for their contribution to bring out Jain Legend
Dr.(Ms.) Uma Maheshwari Mrs. Prasanna Kumari Dr. Shugan C. Jain Mrs. Niti Jain Ms. Chanchal Jain Mr. Sushil Jana
Translation Volume I Translation Volume II & IV Translation Volume III Diacritical marks editing Word Processing, Composing Word Processing, Composing
We request you, the august reader of this series Jain Legend, to please bring out any errors (spelling and the texts) and suggestions for improvement in language and choice of words to our notice for improving the next edition of this book.
Given below are the abbreviation, diacritical marks and some Jain definitive terms used in the books to enable the reader understand and enjoy the content and comprehend the same better.

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Abbreviation:
V.N.
M.S.
Vira Nirvana: Calendar, starting after the liberation of Lord Mahavira. Maharaja Sahib: Suffix used by Jains after the name of their preceptor / monk as a sign of respect / veneration.
Diacritical marks used
'Vk
bZ *Å
'a' 'ee' or 'ii' ‘uu' or 'oo' 'Sh'
"
MP
D'
like in dark like in steel like in school or you like in Shine like in band like in hand Short n, nasal like in tea like in shut like in Rishi like in Vigyan like in kshama
ka vuçokj' "V2
% fol xl
'h'
Jain definitive words used frequently
Crya
Preceptor monk and leader/head of a Jain congregation / group
gama
Scripture
Avasarpi i
Half time cycle in which the happiness keeps on decreasing; the other half, Utsarpini has happiness increasing
Bharaka
Administrator monk; Yati and r pujya are other words used by Svetambara Jains.
Caityav s
Temple dweller

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Caitya
A place / thing having venerable sign/ representation, e.g. footprint, name, idol, photo, auspicious sign like flag etc. generally a holy emblem/place.
Dw das mgi
Twelve limbs of the scriptures bead on Lord Mahavira's sermons and composed by his chief disciples (Ga adharas)
Ek da mg
Eleven limbs of above accept the 12th called Dtv da (very voluminous and comprehensive).
Ga a
Group. A group of monks and sub division of congregation
Gaccha
Sub group. Sub division of Ga a.
Keval
Omniscient
Kaly
aka
Auspicious event in the life of a ford maker (five in number namely conception, birth, renunciation / initiation, omniscience and liberation)
Lok ntika deva
A type of celestial beings who will attain liberation after one more birth, i.e. whose worldly existence is almost at the end
Mok a
Salvation / liberation; Pure soul without any material karmas and body
Nirva
Liberation / salvation; Attainment of bliss
Prvas
Fourteen in numbers; Canons prior to Lord Mahavira; Contained in the 12th limb as well.
r vaka
Votary (male); Believer and practitioner of Jain ethical-spiritual code; Householder / laity are other synonyms used.

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r vika
Votary (female); Similar as votary
Samgha
Congregation
Samava ara a
Religious congregation / assembly of a ford maker
Trthamkara
Ford maker, Rejuvenator of the Jain creed 24 in present time cycle' Mah v ra is the 24th T rthamkara.
Up dhy ya
Holy teacher, Monk, teaches scriptures to fellow monks.
Var a
Year /Annual
P.S.Surana President Samyakj na Prac raka Ma dala Email: pss@lawindia.com
Shugan C. Jain, Ph.D Director International School for Jain Studies Email:svana@vsnl.com
Date: January 18th 2011 (Birth centenary of c rya r Hastimala J )

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INDEX
Page. no
8
30 31
36
S. No
Subject From Publisher's Desk 2.
Between us ( c rya r Hast malaj Mah r ja) Benefits of the History of Jain Religion T rthamkara (ford maker) and Keval s (omniscient)
Introduction to the book 16. | Klacakra and Kulakaras 7. Lord V abhan tha
Means of attaining Trthamkara Status 8. The first world emperor (Cakravart ) Bharata 9. Lord r Ajitan tha 10. Cakravart Sagara 11. Lord r Sambhavan tha 12. Lord r Abhinandana 13. Lord r Sumatin tha 14. Lord r Padmaprabha 15. Lord r Sup r van tha 16. Lord r Candraprabha Sw m 17. Lord r Suvidhin tha 18. Lord r talan tha 19. Lord r rey msan tha 20. Lord r V sup iya 21. Lord r Vimalan tha 22. Lord rAnantan tha 23. Lord r Dharman tha 24. Cakravart Maghav 25. Cakravart Sanatkum ra 26. Lord r mtin tha 27. Lord r Kumthun tha 28. Lord r Aran tha 29. Lord r Mallin tha
65 83 93 95
98 1100 1105
107 1109
111 1113 1115
118 120 122
124 | 126 1128
130 134
136
138

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30. 31. 32. 33. 34. 35. 36. 37. 38. 39.
Cakravart Subh ma Lord Munisuvratan tha Cakravart Mah padma Lord r Namin tha Cakravart Hari e a Cakravart Jayasena Lord r Ari anemi Brahmadatta Cakravart Lord r P r van tha Lord r Mah v ra
152 156 158 161 163 164 165 213 233 261

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From Publisher's Desk
Unique Decision
History is primarily a mirror to perceive and understand the antiquity of a nation, religion, culture, society or race. History is the systematic and chronological compilation and record of the process of the origin and development, rise and fall and rebuilding of any religious order, nation or race; and of the life-histories of leaders instrumental in the attainment of spiritualexcellence and decadence. Since history is a repository of the context of the emergence, rise and fall and of events responsible for excellence and decay, it is considered as the path-finder and guide for future generations of mankind. Every individual, race, or nation can find appropriate guidance in history through up-to-date facts presented therein, from the ancient past to the present, of individuals, nations or race that ascended the path of constant progress and established themselves on the peaks of excellence and; at the same time, of those who slid into the abyss of decadence by following the wrong path, adversely affecting the fate of their nation, race or religion. History gives guidance to people to walk on the path of progress towards all-round welfare through instances such as these.
History is in fact the beacon light to evaluate the past
It wouldn't be an overstatement to say that a person who is ignorant of the history of his civilization, culture, nation or society, is as good as blind. In the same way as a blind person, unaware of the right or path, faces hurdles at every step, a person totally ignorant of his / her history can neither establish himself / herself on the path of excellence nor lead the society, or nation towards progress. All these facts lead one to conclude that an exhaustive, systematic history (historical account) is indispensable and important for the all-round progress of a society, culture, race or nation.
Jain c ryas (preceptors) whose knowledge transcended the knowledge of stras (scriptures) were well-aware of this fact since the early times.
hey preserved the comprehensive Jain history texts such a expositions of world history (Pratham nuyoga), Mathematical expositions (Ga dik nuyoga), Chronological listing of names or

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personalities (N m vali), etc. Although these texts went into oblivion with time, and not a single of these is extant today, yet texts such as Samav y mgaS tra, NandiS tra and Paumacariyam allude to historical facts which were expounded in those early texts. c ryas (preceptors) from the later periods in their respective times did not leave any effort in compiling and preserving Jain history in their works in the genres of Niryuktis, Cr is, Puras, Kalpas, biographies (Caritras) and chronologies of elders (Sthvir valis). Paumacariyam, Kah vali, Titthog 1 painnaya, Vasudevahi d, Cauvannamah purisa cariyam,
va yakac ri, Tri a i al k puru acaritra, Pari i aparva, Harivam apura, Mah pura, dipura, Mah kavi Pu padanta's Mahapura in Apabhram a language, Himavanta Sthvir vali, Prabh vakacaritra, Kalpas trySthvir vali, Nand s tr y Sthvir vali, Dussam sama asamghathayam, etc. are some of the significant ones. Besides these texts, important aspects of Jain history are scattered or are preserved in places such as the H th gumph inscriptions of Kh ravela, and inscriptions found in other places as well as in copper plate charters. These inscriptions were written not in popular languages but in Sanskrit, Pr k ta, Apabhram a, and regional languages such as old Kannada, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, etc. A selective study and analysis of the historical facts gleaned from the above mentioned texts and documents have brought to the fore important material in chronological order to reconstruct the Jain history of the period of the ford makers (Trthamkara). Fordmaker / T rthamkara bring forth the glorious period of Jainism during the period of T rthamkaras; however the latter period after T rthamkara, especially starting from Devardhiga i K am rama a till seventh century AD, the Jain history is so concealed, disorderly and in relative darkness or unclear that no scholar had the courage to bring that to light. Even those who did try to do so had to give up, after
ficant effort, disappointed and stating, that five to six hundred years of Jain history following Devardhiga i K am rama ais a period of unreliable information as authentic sources to bring to light this history are unavailable.
This reliable and chronological history of Jain religion has been long found wanting. At a conference of s dhus (monks) held in Ajmer from 5th to 29th April 1933, prominent Jain c ryas and r vakas (votaries) decided to initiate efforts towards the writing of Jain history. Jain Conference too, in its annual meetings, passed resolutions to fill this gap

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in Jain history but nobody showed courage to take this difficult task because this work called for undaunted labour and discipline.
Eventually, in 1965, the venerable c rya r Hast malaj M.S. of the famous Ratnavam a rama a tradition took up the extremely difficult task requiring time and labour akin to that of the churning of the ocean. In 1965, i.e., aka Samvata 1922, a History committee was set up at the B lotar rainy season retreat / halt (C turm sa) under the stewardship of
c rya r Hast malaj M.S. and in consultation with Justice r Indranath Modi, esteemed Jain scholarr Dalsukhbhai Malvaniya, Dr. Narendra Bhanavat, etc. Justice r Indranath Modi was elected as chairman, r Sohanlal Kothari as Secretary and r Punamchand Bader as treasurer of the committee by unanimous decision. On several occasions the History Committee sincerely invited many scholarly monks to actively support this difficult task of writing history.
Following the B lotar rainy season retreat c rya r Hast malaj M.S. left for Gujarat with a firm determination to complete this very heavy responsibility. While moving through the desert region and in Gujarat he delved deep into the study of ancient handwritten manuscripts and the Jain corpus and compiled the ancient and historical material available in P a a, Siddhapura, Palanpura, Khed , Khambh a, L mbad , Baroda, Ahmedabad, etc with untiring effort. These materials are preserved today in the Vinaychand J nabhamd ra and Research Institute, Lalbhavan in Jaipur. Writing of history began in 1966, aka 2023 during the Ahmedabad rainy season retreat. But the desired progress could not be made till June 1970. The main reason for this was that the History Committee could not find a scholar well-versed in Sanskrit, Pr k ta, Apabhram a and old Rajasthani (a mixture of Gujarati and Rajasthani languages) who would study the available literature in those languages with dedication and present the essence of it all to him. Meanwhile, he himself was immersed in compiling, sorting, analysis and recasting the material collected so far. During this stay in Gujarat, he sorted out and researched very important chronicles (pa valis) available in different libraries (Bhamd ras) and, on the basis of these, composed a poem containing their essence. The History Committee chose Dr. Narendra Bhanavat to edit nearly half of those chronologies of preceptors ( c ryas) and their history, which was published in 1968 as Pa vali Prabamdha Samgraha.
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The eternal truth that work contemplated upon by great men for the welfare of all, can never be stalled was realised with the coming of
c rya r to Jaipur in the month of May 1970. They suddenly found the scholar they were seeking since five – six years with comprehensive knowledge of Jain Pr k ta, Apabhram a and other old Indian languages. The esteemed Jain scholar r Gajsingh Rathod who had just then retired from the Rajasthan Assembly took over the editing of Jain history.
Commentaries (Treatises) such as on Samay y mga cr mga, Viv haPraj apti, CauvannaMah purisa cariyam; Pr k ta texts such as
va yaka cri, Vasudevahi d , Tiloyapaatt, Sattarisayadv ra, Paumacariyam, Gacch c rapai aya, Abhidh na R jendrako a (7volumes) etc; a kha d gama, Dhaval , Jayadhaval ; volumes of Sir Monier's Sanskrit to English dictionary; Sanskrit texts such as Tri a i al k puru acaritra, dipura, Mah pura, Vedavy sa's Puras; Apabhram a works such as Pu padanta's Mah pur a were all referred to and by the end of the Medat rainy season retreat the first volume of Jain Dharma K Maulika Itih sa went to press. The second volume also commenced by the time the 1s' volume was printed at the Medat retreat.
With the completion of the four volumes of the history of Jain Religion,
c rya r was very happy and a wave of cheer spread among the Jain community, thereby increasing hundred-folds the enthusiasm of the History Committee. Along with the publication of the first volume, the Committee published the last volume as “Three Historical T rthamkara” Both Jain and non-Jain scholars openly showered praise on the work and its author, the c rya r. With the magic of his writing skills the c rya r has made a dry subject like history seem so lucid and fascinating that thousands of devoted and self-taught (readers) read it everyday.
In 1974, c rya r completed the second volume of Jain Dharma k Maulika Itih sa which was published by the History Committee in 1975. Even this volume was welcomed with cheer by the Jain community. Esteemed Jain scholar r Dalsukhbhai Malvaniya poured out his heartfelt experience and praise on the publication of this text thus:
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c rya r
Many respectful greetings to you, I read the Jain Dharma k Maulika Itih sa and your preface. You have shown rare objectivity in unraveling the Jain history. Your historical text will remain for long an authentic work of history. There is scant possibility of new facts emerging hereinafter. The way you have placed the facts together giving them appropriate place is work akin to that of a well-informed historian. The respect, I had for you, has increased many fold now after reading this work.”
Only a research scholar can rightly value the efforts of another research scholar. Only this can be the ultimate appreciation! What more could be said about c rya r and his immortal historical creation?
By the end of 1975 compilation of material for the third volume of Jain Dharma k Maulika Itih sa had begun. Seven to eight hundred years after the demise of Devardhiga i K am rama a, the tradition of temple dwellers had established its monopoly in different parts of India. Its newer set of beliefs / practices impacted / influenced the Jain community. Monks and female-monks following the pure original tradition of Lord Mah v ra were not only restricted form moving from place to place in the provinces of the North but their very entry into these places was prevented by those in power. As a result, the numbers of monks-femalemonks, and laity of the original tradition could be counted on one's fingers. People had even forgotten the term rama a tradition, what to speak of anyone seeking to be ordained into the same? People began to believe that the newly established Temple dweller (caityav s ) tradition was the original tradition. While the original pure tradition did not meet its death following gradual decline, it certainly became relatively quiescent, or hidden.
In this way, the temple dwellers tradition which made sustained efforts to completely destroy the pure original tradition of Lord Mah v ra for seven to eight hundred years – destroying their sign-boards, wiping out their ancient relics – ultimately vanished without a trace by the 20th century V.N. Despite its presence in different parts of the country for 7-8th century's evidence related to this tradition - texts - pa valis, etc - are not available. Due to this, a lot of labour was expended in tracing out and putting together the missing links, in a systematic order, about the period
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following Devardhiga i K am rama a. However, some evidence relating to the original pure tradition came from a deep study and research based on the various notebooks written by Pany sa r Kalya Vijayaj Mah raja. Mah Ni tha, Titthog 1 painnaya, Jina Vallabha Sri Samghapa aka, the Oriental Manuscripts Library situated in the Madras University campus, the Mackenzie Collections and old journals that were referred to bring forth some historical material of the dark period 1000 to 2000 of V.N. In the course of research on the Y pan ya sect, 349 verses ( lokas) about the origin and development of the Bharaka
dministrator monks) tradition were found in the Mackenzie Collections. Some historical facts about the Karnatak Y pan ya sec also found. Based on all this material four volumes of Jain history have been published.
Words fail us in expressing heartfelt gratitude to the great man, the late
c rya r Hast malaj M.S. for his efforts and unimaginable labour expended in producing this wondrous refined grandiloquent text. We express heartfelt gratitude to the disciple of late c rya r , the present
c ryapravara H racandraj M.S. for giving his invaluable time in this magnificent work. The chief editor of the present volumes, Shri Gaj Singh Rathod's effort in research and editing of the second edition cannot be forgotten.
Jain Dharma K Maulika Itih sa has been published in four volumes for the sake of convenience and each volume contains 850 – 900 pages. Many editions of the four volumes have been published.
On request of several scholars and seekers the Samyakj na Prac raka Ma dala took an unprecedented decision to publish abridged synoptic editions in Hindi and English of Jain Dharma k Maulika Itih sa. We are happy, as a result, in offering this, 1st abridged volume to English readers translated from the Hindi version. We express heartfelt gratitude to r Ramagopalaj Misra and Dilipakumaraj and through him, other scholars who have supported us in abridging this first volume.
P.S.Surana President
S.R. Choudhry Working President
V.R. Surana
Secretary
Samyakj na Prac raka Ma dala
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Between us ( c rya r Hast malaj Mah r ja)
Benefits of the History of Jain Religion
History, of a country, race or religion, is a chronicle of all that has happened in the past. The objective of writing history is to inspire coming generations to behave in an appropriate manner following the path of great men. We do not see history of religion in as abundant a measure as the history of other subjects. That is why people believe that Jainism has no ancient or corroborative history. But that is not true. Though Jain historical works are available since a long time; however as these works were compiled in Pr k ta and Sanskrit and they did not present historical facts in a systematic manner they could neither attract attention of common people nor become popular. Moreover, readers are more attracted to worldly scenario (matters) and unrefined (gross) affairs of humankind than to the history of religion.
History of Jain Religion
Religion does not have its own independent history. Lives of great religious men and their preaching serve as introduction to religion. History of religious people is the history of religion. History of religion is the chronicle of the thought and conduct, propagation and preaching's of religious men in the country. The path to achieve victory over attachment and other flaws through right thought and right conduct is the essence of Jain religion. About the status of religion, experts of scriptures point out that just as five existents (Astik y s) have always existed in this universe. Similarly right canons comprising the 12 limbs (Dv da mg ) comprising cr mga etc composed by the venerable composers of the sermons of omniscient Lord (Ga adharas or ga ipi akas) is eternal and without a beginning. In a religious place like India with religious people and their expectations, the start of the religion from the end of the enjoyment period (bhogayuga) and the end period of unhappy period (duh amak la) of the declining happiness epoch can be said to be the end period of religion. The exact description of religion during this period from its start till its (religion) end is called the complete history of religion. The history presented here is from the point of view of India and this half-cycle of regression. The first T rthamkara
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V abhan tha came at the end of the third epoch (k la) of the declining happiness time epoch and it was through him that the systematic religious tradition of listening ( rutadharma) and conduct (caritradharma) emerged. Hence in terms of place and time this is considered the period of origin of the Jain religion.
Naming this book
According to Jain religious texts, there were 24 T rthamkara (fordmakers), 12 cakravart s (world emperors), 9 Baladevas, 9 Vasudevas and 9 Prati Vasudevas; in all 63 illustrious persons existed. According to the law of nature stewardship of both popular and religious leaders is essential for the physical, emotional (mental) and intellectual preservation and advancement of human society. Whether in the complete cycle, or half-cycle, while punishment is used (as a means) to destroy bad deeds in human society, the religious leaders, T rthamkara establish pilgrimage centers / religious abodes, and reform people's hearts through sermons, creating in them an abhorrence for misdeeds. The order of punishment may destroy misdeeds but with the nectar of knowledge religious order does not merely silence misdeeds, but also prevents their outbreak. Religious leaders, T rthamkara reassure the man through his inner awakening that he is himself the creator of his joy and sorrow (pleasure and pain). This book introduces such T rthamkara on the basis of ancient texts and hence it has been named “Jain Dharma K Maulika Itih sa"
Basis / Source of History
Rationale of disposition of philosophical doctrine (D iv da), the twelfth limb of Jain canons is the foundation or basic religious text and source of compiling the history. The fourth exposition (anuyoga) among the five main parts of D iv da can be considered as prime source or origin of history of Jain religion. In the Pratham nuyoga (biographical exposition of illustrious Jains) the following are described-(1) previous births of T rthamkara (2) birth in heavens (3) life span / age (4) conception (5) birth (6) anointment / first holy bath (7) coronation (8) renunciation or initiation as monk (9) intense penance (10) origin of omniscience (11) first religious congregation / sermon (12) disciples (13) ga a and Ga adharas (14) creed congregation (15) boundaries of the four-fold
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organisation of the followers (16) omniscient (17) Telepaths / Knower's of the mental modes of others (manah paryayaj n) (18) Clairvoyants / Knower of hidden and distant physical entities (avadhij n) (19) Twelve limbs scriptures (Dv da mg) (20) orators par excellence (v d) (21) Heavenly beings existing above Sarv rthaSiddhi heaven (22) roaming heavenly beings (23) achievers of liberated soul status (Siddhas) (24) leaders and preachers of the path of liberation (Trthamkara) (25) description of the pious death (p dapopagamana) last rites. Similar thoughts and references are found elsewhere in these.
As in the original Pratham nuyoga, Ga dik nuyoga opines on Kulakara, T rthamkara, Cakravart , Da rha, Baladevas, Vasudevas, Ga adharas and Bhadrab hu also. This text also gives a description of Harivam a, ascending and descending happiness time cycles (Utsarpi and Avasarpi ). These references make it clear that the Amga D iv da encapsulated the complete evidential history of the Jain religion. Hence the opinion of western scholars such as Dr. Herman Jacobi that the story of Rm ya a is not found in the original Jain gamas and that it is based on V Imik Rm ya a or is borrowed from other Hindu scriptures is proved absolutely erroneous and baseless.
Pratham nuyoga is considered an ancient historical scripture and the original source for many available and unavailable texts. The historical facts found strewn across the vet mbara and Digambara gama-texts and in va yakaniryukti are essentially the contributions of Pratham nuyoga. Due to the vagaries of time and fading of memory gradually with the 14 p rvas the repository of history, the Pratham nuyoga and Ga dik nuyoga scriptures have gone in the oblivion today.
The benefits of earlier c ryas in history - writing
After the disappearance of Pratham nuyoga and Ga dik nuyoga the credit of preserving Jain history goes to the services of its early c ryas. They did us a favour having bestowed through the gama-based Niryuktis, C r is, Bh ya, Tk etc which has proved to be of great help for contemporary research scholars in history. We think it is necessary to remember those few authors here:
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Vimala Sri wrote Paumacariyam in V. N.530 Yati Vabha wrote texts such as Tiloyapa at after V.N. 1000
crya Bhadrab hu wrote niryukti on ten s tras such as Da avaik lika, va yaka, etc between V.N.1000 to 1045. Samghad sa Ga i wrote V hatkalpa bh ya and Vasudeva Vasudevahi d between V.N. 1000 and 1055 J nad sa Ga i Mahattara wrote va yaka, Nandi C r i etc in V. N. 1203 Jinabhadra Ga i K am rama a wrote Vi e va yakabh ya in
V.N. 1203 7. J nasena wrote dipur a and Harivam apur a in V.N.1310
c rya 1 mka wrote Cauvana Mah purisacariyam in V.N. 1395
c rya Gu abhadra wrote Uttarapura in V.N. 1425 10. Ravi e a wrote Padmapura in V.N. 1448 11. Pu padanta wrote Mah pura in Apabhram a language in V.N.
1486-1492 12. c rya Hemacandra wrote the historical text Tri a i al k puru a
caritra in V.N 1696-1699 13. Dharmas gara Ga i wrote Tap gaccha Pa val Strav tti, a
historical text in Pr k ta-Sanskrit in V.N. 1934
Bhadre wara wrote Kah val Grantha in V.N. 17th century 15. Agastya Simha also wrote a C r i on Da avaik lika S tra.
14.
Works of an awakened group of monks through their Sthavir valis, Pa valis, etc and many known-unknown scholars through their creations in regional languages also enriched history. We express our heartfelt gratitude to them.
Credibility / Reliability of History
After the above deliberation it can be firmly stated that Jain history stands on a deep and firm foundation and emerges not from hearsays and imaginations from all and sundry but from the uninterrupted / continuous tradition of the early cryas. Hence there is no scope for doubting its credibility / reliability. Just as Vimala S ri writes in Paumacariyam:
N m valiya nibaddham yariyaparampar gayam Savvam
Vocch mi pauma cariyam, ah upuvvim sam se a
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That is, I shall tell in brief all the history composed in the chronology (pa tavali). He says further – Scholars should not be dejected / disgruntled by the harm done to the meaning of the early texts on account of time, viz. -
Evam parampar e parih i puvvagamtha atth am N ak labh vam narusiyavvam bahuja e am
This proves that the method of preserving history in the abridged form of pa tavali was universally acceptable. Thus there is no doubting the fact that history encapsulated in pa tavali is ancient as it is evidential / authentic.
*****
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T rthamkara (ford maker) and Keval s (omniscient)
There is similarity yet difference between Omniscient and T rthamkara. With destructive karmas annihilated those supreme souls that acquire kevalaj na (omniscience) are called omniscient. Just like T rthamkara they too have pure knowledge (kevalaj na) and pure perception/intuition (kevaladar ana) i.e. both together as omniscience yet they are not called T rthamkara. The 24 T rthamkara from V abh up to Mah v ra are arihamta omniscient as well as T rthamkara. The T rthamkara and omniscient share same qualities of liberation from bondage and knowledge yet are different. T rthamkara are the reformers of three worlds. They are capable of self-welfare as well as the welfare of others. They are the benefactors of gods, demons, humans, animals and birds. Right from the time of their birth they come with some peculiarities that may not be present in omniscient, e.g. there are 1008 characteristics on their bodies which are not necessarily there on the bodies of the omniscient e.g. they do not have the superlative speech and abundant veneration by kings and gods ascribed to the T rthamkara. They have four infinites (intuition, knowledge, bliss and energy) but are not accompanied with auspicious phenomena (mah pratih ryas). The eight auspicious entities (ati ayas) accompanying T rthamkara are (1) A oka tree (2) shower of divine flowers to the accompaniment of music (3) divine sound (divyadhvani) (4) the whisks (c mara) (5) crystal throne (simh sana) (6) aura and halo (7) divine musical pipes and (8) triple umbrella (chatra). These are also called pratih rya. T rthamkara have 34 ati ayas (supernatural elements) and their speech is also one of 35 gu as (qualities). These ati ayas are not found in simple omniscient.
The power of T rthamkara
T rthamkara are rejuvenators and propagators of the tradition hence their energy is infinite right from birth. Their strength is considered to be infinitely superior to that of Narendra (cakravart) and Surendra. Vi e va yaka Bh ya and Niryukti elaborate this descriptively; viz. they state that cakravart has double the strength of Vasudeva and T rthamkara has infinitely greater strength than that of cakravart. For example, if Vasudeva, sitting by the well, tied with chains, was pulled powerfully by armies of 16,000 kings he sat amused, eating, and did not move an inch.
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T rthamkara' strength can defeat even the Indras as their bodily strength is accompanied by immeasurable mental strength and unbreakable spiritual force. Even gods and divine beings – devas and devendras – pay obeisance to and serve those T rthamkara whose minds are immersed in the tradition of ahims (non-violence), self-control (equanimity) and penance. In this context the legend of Sumeru mountain trembling by the (weight) of the toe of an infant Mah v ra cannot be called an exaggerated event because for a T rthamkara's incomparable strength and courage these incidents should be considered ordinary.
T rthamkara and the K atriya clan
In both praxis and theory conduct and penance and a caste or clan are not always given importance. In this context the question arises as to why were T rthamkara considered to be born into the Katriya caste? Doesn't this emphasize casteism?
A Brahmin is a practitioner of celibacy, truth, contentment and abiding alms seeker whereas a K atriya is brave, expert of war tactics, brilliant, and effective. In preserving and maintaining religious order alongwith practice of celibacy, truth, character, etc along with vigour is essential. A person born in a Brahmin caste is peaceful, of a good character and soft nature, also needs vigour and imposing personality. Propagation of non violence (ahims ) by a person like a Brahmin is not effective as he lacks bravery. But when a brilliant person from the K atriyas courageously gives up weapons and warfare and royal grandeur and talks of ahims , certainly it has an impact. The Brahmin's propagation of religion is akin to the compassion of a weak shall not impact common people. This is the reason for the Jain religion – being removed from casteism – believes T rthamkara to have been born into the K atriya caste. From Lord V abhan tha to Lord Mah v ra, all the T rthamkara born into the spotless firmament of the Katriya caste, continuously spread unblemished light across the world and acquired the strength towards liberation cutting through the toughest of karmas.
The Self-reliant practice of austerities by T rthamkara
Despite being invoked by the gods and divine beings the T rthamkara are reliant upon themselves for their practice of penance. They do not seek the help of any god, demigod or human beings. Devendra prayed to Lord
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Mah v ra, “Lord! Great difficulties and calamities are to befall you. If you permit I wish to rid you of all the difficulties remaining in your service” the Lord replied – “ akra! One has to cut (the chord of) one's karmas on one's own. Others' help may perhaps delay the fruits of the karmas but do not annihilate them”. T rthamkara snap off their karmas on their own and obtain the status of arihanta. It was with this feeling that the Lord patiently bore the oppression of lap i Yak a and in just one night patiently bore 20 kinds of afflictions. What's more he never thought of solving his troubles invoking the Yak as-yak i is who remain protectors of the T rthamkara' place and in times of trouble, protect the Trthamkara' followers.
With their tough daily practices and lifestyle T rthamkara showed this world that every individual should be engaged courageously in snapping their karmas. Running away at the time of eating the fruits of karmas is not bravery. It is an act of bravery to bear with the bad fruits courageously keeping good thoughts in the mind to break the chord of karmas. In reality, this is the path to peace.
The Intervals between T rthamkara
The time between the respective emancipation (Nirva) of two T rthamkara is called the interregnum of liberation. There is also the intervening period between the birth of two T rthamkara and their respective attainment of omniscience (kevalotpatti), but this time-period is indicated with reference to expectant nirva (ultimate liberation). Pravacana S roddh ra and Tiloyapa att speak of the intervals from this perspective. In the intervals between T rthamkaras the contemporary ruling c ryas and elders keep the religious order (tradition) intact. In the eight intervening period between V abhan tha and Suvidhin tha, and the eight intervening periods between mtin tha and Mah v ra – in these total 16 interregnums there was no schism in the congregation. But in the seven intervals between Suvidhin tha and mtin tha the religious order was split up.
It is possible that in that period due to some special political or social reasons Jain religion was under huge trouble. According to the c ryas the period post-Suvidhin tha and pre- mtin tha was so harsh that people were afraid of even speaking of the Jain religion. Nobody was
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ready even to listen to the scriptures. Therefore with no development in the four-fold congregation, the religious order spilt up.
The fact is that barring D iv da in the interval between V abhan tha and Suvidhin tha, the remaining 11 Amgas survived but in the intervals between Suvidhin tha and mtin tha it is believed the entire 12 Amgas were also divided. Prior to mtin tha and Mah v ra only D iv da was divided but not the remaining 11 Amgas. Thus, in the time of the 24 T rthamkara from V abhan tha and Mah v ra leaving aside the 7 intervals the religious order carried on. Even though the numbers reduced or increased, the four-fold congregation was never absent. For the tradition of the 11 Amgas remained safe. Preserving the scriptures is the means to preserving the religious order.
Thought and Conduct
It is generally observed that even the best of asceties who preach the highest principles (thoughts) do not practice it. But the specialty of the lives of the T rthamkara is that they preach, propagate and live in keeping with the lofty ideas they present. Their practice is not different or contradictory to the gamas. All the same, a common man might have doubts looking at the events in the lives of T rthamkara in various places. For example some c ryas have written that when Lord Mah v ra began to move around after his dk (initiation), a poor Brahmin accosted him midway, imploring him pitifully. Touched with compassion the Lord tore a part of his - devad ya (divine robe). The question may be asked as to how could the Lord himself act in this manner having prohibited a monk from acts such as d na (giving alms) that arise from attachments of a householder? Tearing a robe and giving is not limited compassion. The Lord has infinite compassion; it is possible that Siddh rtha or some other divine being in service of the Lord might have done this. The c ryas might have written about something corresponding to that state
Similarly despite a vow of aparigraha (non-possession) T rthamkara living amidst adornments such as divine umbrella, c mara (whisk) can become cause for suspicion in the minds of common people. In reality, the celestial beings themselves make an offering of these adornments in praise of Trthamkara at the time of their attaining the status of T rthamkara. This is an obvious example of the devotion and worship of
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T rthamkaras by the divine beings because by the time of the divine prayers the T rthamkara have attained omniscience and have become completely devoid of attachment. Yes, in today's context power-hungry people should not indulge in false imitation of the name and conduct of the T rthamkara.
Doctrine and Practice
Being unattached and beyond intent (kalp t ta), T rthamkara are not bound by the obligations of conduct (practice). Yet, T rthamkara have exhorted us towards the path of liberation in the form of intention (inclination) and conduct and did not show traits of acting against this conduct. Yet c ryas believe that following the attainment of omniscience the Lord walked at night before arriving at Mah sena forest for stay. Although there is no distinction between night and day for the omniscient one yet this is against the conduct. According to the commentary on V hatkalpas tra, in adherence to the norms of conduct the Lord does not allow easily the thirsty and hungry monks to eat or drink despite there being pure water and sesame in the forest. But in
va yakac r i, there is a mention of giving a portion of the torn robe to the Brahmin. One is to seek to understand seriously as to what could be the connection between these.
We can say this with certainty that the T rthamkara - "jah v tah k riy vi havai” Their conduct is in tune with the preaching's, even if they are determined on their path. Not staying overnight at a place, and after attaining omniscience Mallin tha staying in the commune of female-monks and not of monks prove they do not act contrary to tradition / norms.
The great men of T rthamkara times
In the times of the 24 T rthamkara, from Lord V abhan tha to Mah v ra, there came several great men who were worthy of kingdoms but took the path to liberation. Among these, apart from the 24 T rthamkara, were the 12 cakravart s, 9 baladevas, and 9 vasudevas, in all 54 great men. Later 9 prativasudevas were added to make the total figure of 63 al k puru as.
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Bharata cakravart, who came in the time of Lord V abhan tha, was his son. It is now generally held that this country is named after him. Sagara cakravart in the time of Lord Ajitan tha and Maghavand Sanatkum ra, respectively, in between the times of Lords Arahn tha and Mallin tha were the others. Lordsmtin tha, Kumthun tha and Aran tha were cakravart s and T rthamkara as well. The eighth cakravart Subh ma belonged to the time of the interval between Lords Aran tha and Mallin tha. The ninth cakravart Padma belonged to the intervening period of Lords Mallin tha and Munisuvratan tha. 10h cakravart Hari e a came in the interregnum of Lords Munisuvratan tha and Namin tha while 11" cakravart Jaya in the intervening period of Lords Namin tha and Ari anemi. And the 12th cakravart Brahmadatta came in the middle of Lord Ari anemi's and Lord P r van tha's times. Among the nine Vasudevas, five such as Trip tha, etc came in the times of five T rthamkara such as between Lords rey msan tha and Mallin tha, Pu dar ka and Datta, came in the times of Lords Mallin tha and Munisuvratan tha. Lak ma a Vasudeva came in the intervening period of Lords Munisuvratan tha and Namin tha and rk a Vasudeva belonged to the period of Lord Ari anemi. Just as Vasudevas there are also 11 rudras, 9 n radas and in some places k madevas such as B hubal . (1) Bh m val (2) Jita atru (3) Rudra (4) Vai v nara (5) Suprati ha (6) Acala (7) Pu dar ka (8) Ajitadhara (9) Ajitan bhi (10) P ha and (11) Satyaki are the 11 rudras. (1) Bh m (2) Mah bh m (3) Rudra (4) Mah rudra (5) Kla (6) Mah k la (7) Durmukha (8) Naramukha and (9) Adhomukha are the nine n radas. All these are considered splendid and liberating. The first rudra belongs to the time of Lord V abhan tha, the second to that of Lord Ajitan tha, third to ninth rudra to that of seven T rthamkara down from Lord Suvidhin tha, the tenth rudra to the time of Lord mtin tha and the eleventh to Lord Mah v ra's times. The last two rudras are considered worthy of hell.
Since the main object of this text is history of religion, there is no detailed elaboration on cakravart s, baladevas, Vasudevas, etc. Among cakravart Bharata and Brahmadatta, among Vasudevas rk a and among prativasudevas Jar sandha are described briefly from a historical perspective. The fourth mah dhik ra of Tiloyapa att gives informative material on rudras and n radas.
Among the kingly followers of Lord Mah v rare ika, K ika, Ce aka, Ud yana etc are introduced. re ika was an influential king of Lord
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Mah v ra's times. He secured T rthamkaragotra through service to the royalty. On account of his previous ungainly karmas he shall first experience hell. He made every effort to break from the confinement in hell but in vain. Lastly he understood that his going to hell was inevitable.
T rthamkara and the N tha Sect
Apart from Jain literature reference to T rthamkara can also be found in Vedas, Puras, etc, Vedic and Buddhist texts such as Tripi aka, etc. But there we only find V abhan tha, Sambhava, Sup r va, Ari anemi, etc but not the T rthamkara with the n tha suffix. The same situation exists in Samay y mga, va yaka and Nand s tra. In this context it would be natural to ask since when and with what connotation was the suffix 'n tha' used with names of T rthamkara.
Literal meaning of n tha is 'Lord'. Each T rthamkara is the Lord of three worlds and enriched with great qualities.Hence it seems apt and appropriate to use the suffix ‘n tha' with their names. Prabhu, N tha, Deva, Sw m, etc are synonymous terms, so the terms Deva, N tha, Prabhu, and Sw m have been suffixed to the names of T rthamkara. For the first time in the Bhagavat S tra, Lord Mah v ra, and in va yaka S tra the arihantas have been invoked with the adjectives "logan he am”, “logan h am”, considering them to be Lord of the world, lokan tha. Digambara crya of the period of around 4h century AD, crya Yativ abha, in his text, Tiloyapa att used the term 'n tha' with the T rthamkara at several places. He also used the term “ sara", " m" with the names of T rthamkara. This certainly and indisputably goes to show that by the time of Yativ abha the term 'n tha' was used for T rthamkara in literature. The term ‘n tha’ for Jain T rthamkara became so popular that aiva Yog started using the term ‘n tha' with his name and as a result, Matsyendran tha, Gorakhan tha, etc which was part of this tradition became popular as the "n tha sect”.
Those from other communities who are totally unaware of the history and importance of T rthamkara such as din tha, Ajitan tha, etc can get into the misperception that Gorakhan tha gave rise to Neman tha, Neman tha and P r van tha gave rise to Gorakhapamth. Fact is, that Matsyendran tha who is considered the founder of the N tha sect, is
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believed to have belonged to the 8th century, whereas the T rthamkara Lords Nemin tha, Pr van tha and adherents of the Jain religion belonged to several centuries prior to that. Nemin tha was eighty-three thousand years before P r van tha. There is a long time gap between the two. Thus there is no chance for Gorakhan tha turning into Nemin tha, Pr van tha. Of course, it is possible that Nemin tha, P r van tha can turn into Gorakhan tha but if we thought about it even this does not seem to fit because Lord P r van tha came long before Vikramyear 725 whereas according to scholars Gorakhan tha is considered to be the contemporary of Bapp r vala. It is possible that the yogis of the n tha sect were influenced by the extensive propagation of ahims by Lord Nemin tha and the dutiful observance of Lord P r van tha as a result of which the tradition of Nemin tha and P r van tha became widespread within the n tha sect. As the famous historian Haj r pras da Dvived has written in his book "n tha sect".
"Cmdan tha was probably the first Siddha (liberated) who accepted the Gorak am rga (protecting the cows) tradition. Nemin tha and Pr van tha of this same tradition, also appear to be followers of the Jain T rthamkara Nemin tha and P r van tha. Nemin tha and P r van tha certainly predated Gorakhan tha.”
Differences in historical assumptions / beliefs
It wouldn't be irrelevant here to reflect upon the problem that if the source of history is the same for all; why then were there differences between different c ryas in writing history?
The fact is that the entire Jain scriptural tradition was oral passed on from teacher to student. In the process of decay and reaching calmness (in the process of learning and unlearning / in the process of destroying and gaining peace) the student who learns through oral tradition begins to see the same knowledge to a lesser or greater degree depending on the process of how much of the oral knowledge has been absorbed in to a lesser or greater extent. As a result the same subject is assigned in their minds to memory in different forms. This is the state of events that happened in the near past, but when it comes to ancient historical events it is natural to have several differing views. Vagaries of time, difference in memory or perception can also be the cause for differing views and perceptions of a writer and reader. Instead of getting distressed over
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these differences, readers should feel proud of the fact that on matters of the T rthamkara' parents, birth place, auspicious star at the time of conception, place, birth star, colour, cognizance, period of initiation, penance after initiation, time of mental training, nirva, etc the
vet mbara and Digambara traditions are common. Differences on name, place, date, etc have occurred due to differences in memory or on matters of arithmetic, but that does not make any difference to the original.
In the present text ‘T rthamkara' introductory note, introduction to their lives and where appropriate, points of differences are also shown. There are also some differences that are against the tradition and primarily debatable. For instance, all c ryas agree that K atriyaku da was the place of residence of king Siddh rtha, but crya SI mka believes it to be his resort. cr mga S tra, Kalpas tra mention Nand vardhana as the elder brother of Lord Mah v ra while crya S1 mka mentions him as the younger brother. Bhagavat S tra mentions the hurling of magical fire by Go laka on Sarv nubh ti and Sunak atra and of the death of two monks in Samava ara a, whereas crya SI mka in his Cauvana mah purisa cariyam does not mention the death of any monk by the impact of magical fire hurled at them by Go laka. He writes that Lord Mah v ra, in order to prevent the calamity that would be produced from the magical fire of Go laka and Sarv nubh ti, produced cooling power to extinguish it. Unable to bear with its strong power it fell on Go laka and started to burn him. Afraid of the extreme flames of the magical fire, Go laka fell at Mah v ra's feet. By virtue of the Lord's compassion, the flames died out. Go laka repented his bad deeds as a result of which he obtained a good fire and after death he was reborn as a deva in the Acyuta heaven. There must be some reason for a knowledgeable muni to write something against the traditional dictum. One cannot believe that such a great scholar could write something without forethought. This issue calls for deeper reflection on part of scholars.
Method of propounding in T rthamkara’ times
Despite having the support of gods and divine beings in the times of T rthamkara, why was Jain religion not widely propounded across countries? What was the method of propounding in the times of the T rthamkara that even under the rule of the powerful rk a and a flower like the Magadha King re ika, Jain religion was not widely
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propagated in the country? Why didn't the monks and asceties, powerful kings and followers send forth proselytizers and through officials, obtain the rulers' permission to propagate ahims and Jain religion? These questions naturally come to mind.
Analysing the situation at that time one realises that in the tradition of T rthamkara, the basic preaching was that of right thought and adherence to right conduct. The basic objective of their sermon was a change of heart. That is why the Lord imparted true spiritual insight to his audience but never did he insist forcibly nor did he coax people to follow certain vows (observances /restraints). After hearing his sermon if someone voluntarily accepted conduct of monk (monkhood) or r vaka-dharma (votary) it would be exclaimed - 'be happy' – that is, that which makes you happy, do not err therein. It was left to the audience to decide as to what should be done after the feeling was aroused. Conduct was more important that propagation.
Jain monks would stay in common places, accept alms from all castes and blameless castes and give instructions to all. Initiation was given to anyone who wished to accept the religion voluntarily after becoming aware. The times were such that in a clean societal environment that people could spontaneously live a religious life. The pier of purity was so tenacious that even people were influenced by it. The method of preaching was to train a particular person in manner that he would be able to make thousands abide devoted to the religion. Situation today is different from those times. Today even in bad nations good people travel and stay there and such bad people are also beginning to live on India's earth. Each influences the other. In this context it is essential to propagate ahims and truth openly so as to explain to them the difference between what is edible and inedible. Otherwise in times of increasingly violence and meat eating, those religious people with weak minds will be influenced by the bad people and move away from religious conduct and behaviour. Propagation is essential but it has to be in accordance with our culture. Our preaching should only give importance to conduct and should be founded on the principle of change of heart through knowledge. This would be the preaching mode in accordance with the Trthamkara' tradition and it is only through this can be of benefit to the Jain order.
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Today's history writers
It is surprising and regrettable that some scholars write essays filled with misperceptions about Jain religion and T rthamkara despite there several evidences of Jain history. Whatever religion or sect historians choose to write about, they should do so after studying authentic texts, in an authentic manner. It is not correct to write on the basis of hearsay, without proper study and reflection.
Even when scriptures prove that Go laka accepted to become the disciple of Mah v ra, to write that Mah v ra accepted the acela (without clothes) tradition from Go lakaka is erroneous, misleading and wrong. Even today some scholars make a useless effort in showing Jain religion to be a branch of the Vedic tradition; this is their serious mistake. We are not only hoping but are fully confident that our knowledgeable historians will be alert in this direction and enlighten the country with the light of referential knowledge through correct introduction of Jainism as a significant religion of India.
*****
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Introduction to the book
The present book, titled “Jain Dharma k Maulika Itih sa” is written according to the ancient gama tradition of the Pratham nuyoga.In this T rthamkara -kha da (section/ volume) previous lives of T rthamkara, time of heavenly abode, conception, time-period of conception, birth, time of birth, coronation, marriage, year of charities, mendicancy, penance, omniscience, establishment of t rtha, Ga adharas, rys, monks both male and female, and particular favours done by them), etc are introduced. The introduction to V abhan tha and Mah v ra T rthamkara is based on Stras such as cr mga, Jamb dv papraj apti, Samav y mga, va yaka, etc, ancient texts such as va yakaniryukti,
va yakac ri, Pravacanas roddh ra, Sattarisayady ra, and Mah pura, Uttarapura, Tiloyapa att of the Digambara tradition. In places of variance, the viewpoint in accordance with the stras is given, referring to Tri a i al k puru a caritra, gam yamata and Sattarisaya Prakara a.
For research on historical facts, besides Jain literature, it was decided to collect material to the extent possible from Vedic and Buddhist literature as well. In research no literature has been disregarded. Apart from basic texts, literature of modern writers has also been consulted. Literary works of r Devendra Muni, Chief of the editorial committee of Pr van tha Prakara a and literary works of r Vijayendra S ri, r Kalyavijayaj , etc have been used selectively for the section on Lord Mah v ra.
At the time of writing it was kept in mind that nothing should be contrary to tradition or the tradition of nirgranthas. Particular care was taken to write no unsubstantiated word under the influence of communal persistence. This section deals with Trthamkara' introduction, hence it can be called “t rthamkara kha da”.
Despite taking care to the extent possible of language, emotion and doctrine, if due to the incompleteness of human nature any deficiency remains, for that “micch mi dukkaļam”. Knowledgeable people shall inform (us) about these deficiencies so that care is taken to improve upon those in future. (From the Second edition)
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K lacakra and Kulakaras
According to the Jain holy texts ( stras), the world has been progressing with a constant momentum since beginningless time. Change is the natural, permanent and innate quality of every living non-living thing. The entire ostensible / visible world is permanent / constant when compared to the fundamental matter / substance, but being ever changing, is equivalent to being transient. The cycle of night after day, again day after night, light after darkness and darkness after light, coming and going and coming again and return has been incessant since time immemorial. Rise and prosperity thereafter and the climax of prosperity and the fall followed by complete decline and rise again. In this way the world's incessant sequence has been continuing. This cycle of downfall and rise to excellence in the world is termed avasarpi (regressive half cycle) and utsarpi (progressive half cycle).Declining happiness period is the time moving towards the ebb like the waning of the moon in the dark fortnight and utsarpi period is the period that rises towards excellence like the moon continuously rising in the bright fortnight.
Declining happiness period's declining time sequence is divided into 6 parts: 1. Su am -Su ama (sukham -sukham or happy-happy) of 4 kod ākodīs gara years duration; Su am (sukham or happy) of 3 kod ākodā gara years duration; Su am -du ama (sukham -dukham or happy-unhappy) of 2 kod ākoņš gara years duration; du am -Su ama (dukham -sukham or unhappy-happy) of 42,000 years less than one kod ākod gara years duration; du ama (dukham - unhappy) of 21,000 years duration; du am du ama (dukham -dukham or unhappyunhappy) of 21,000 years. Similarly the sequence of excellent time, the utsarpi , is also divided into 6 parts in the reverse order of the declining happiness. Avasarpi and utsarpi together make for 20 kodakodi s gara, one cycle (K lacakra) of time
At this time we are all going through the declining happiness cycle. The first r (time sequence or period) of the declining happiness cycle is enriched with superlative form, taste, smell, touch and prosperity par excellence. In that time, living beings get all their life-needs met without any effort through the kalpav k a (the wish fulfilling tree). Hence their life is immersed in self and extremely joyful. There is no reason for
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frivolousness and conflicting thoughts in an intoxicated human mind enjoying natural and conveniently available material things. A human being of that time was free from all worries and spent a life of material happiness. This was called the age of enjoying material pleasures (or worldly things; sensual pleasures).
Because of the changing quality of nature, there comes a gradual change in that situation and that period of preeminence on this earth with time moves towards degeneration. Consequently, the qualities of form, taste, and charm (sweetness) of the earth decay subsequently decays and its impact is felt on a human being as well, whose physical development and mental peace and happiness also start to degenerate / decay.
Even as a man's material well being decreases, and he has to face dearth of essential things of life, his peaceful mind becomes a centre of conflicting thoughts. “Deficiency gives birth to the demon tendencies” – according to this dictum along with deficiency (lack) conflicting thoughts and accusations also rise. In this manner when more than half the time of the third r of the declining happiness cycle has passed, the earth's qualities of form, taste, smell, fertility, etc deteriorates to a great extent. Source materials for livelihood are not available in adequate quantity on account of the kalpavřk a vanishing or decreasing in their potency to fulfill the wishes. In the unexpected (inexperienced) situation of scarcity animalistic tendencies of anger, greed, deceit, enmity, opposition rise to the extent of taking the form of a forest fire the entire human society starts to burn in. When the unbearable fire of disquietude reaches its climax man becomes restless for peace.
Consequently, some special, talented people from that human society, taking the opportunity, arise like a concealed seed from the earth, to show direction of peace to the terrified people.
Situation in the early times and the era of the Kulakaras
People endowed with special strength, knowledge (intelligence) and talents who establish the kulas (lineages) are called kulakaras. They make a temporary arrangement which solves the immediate problem partially. When the problems assume a bigger proportion beyond the capability of the kulakaras, then due to timely influences and the good
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fortune of people, an extraordinarily illustrious person is born; as a brilliant gem among men, he sets people on the right path by imparting to them the knowledge of religion, thereby leading them towards the right path of peace and happiness. This is the time when the social and religious history of humankind commences, a brief introduction of which is as follows:
Men of the times prior to Lord V abhan tha were by nature peaceful, physically healthy and ones who led independent / free lives. They lacked in matters of worldly decorum / propriety. They behaved in a spontaneous manner, neither accepting help and services of others nor offering the same to others. They lived on the fruits borne by ten kinds of kalpavěk as and were untouched by any kind of disease or despair. With quantitative decline in the things accruing from the kalpavşk as, mutual conflicts rose in order to address the lack and to fulfill needs. At that point they divided themselves into smaller families. Those who established these families became known as kulakaras. The main kulakaras were: - 1 Vimalav hana, 2 Cak u m na, 3 Ya asv , 4 Abhicandra, 5 Prasenajita, 6 Marudeva and 7 N bhi. There is divided opinion amongst writers about the number of kulakaras. Jamb dy paPraj apti refers to 15 kulakaras.
Vimalav hana was the first kulkara. Once while roaming in the forest, a beautiful white elephant saw a human yugala (male of twin brother sister) and placed him on its back. When people saw the yugala thus seated on a bright vehicle they called him Vimalav hana and, considering him to be powerful since he was astride an elephant, they made him their leader. On becoming a leader Vimalay hana prescribed duties for everyone and punishment for those violating them.
When someone violated the code he would be punished by humiliating him exclaiming, “H , what did you do!” For a shameful and reticent person of those times this was seen as severe a punishment as losing everything and he would never indulge in any criminal deed thereafter. This method of punishment (“h ”k ra-admonition) continued for a long
In the Jamb dy papraj apti we find reference to trees such as 'matanga' which fulfilled all needs of life, which has been termed in commentaries as kalpavrksa on account of their being wish-fulfilling. So that its distinction in contrast to ordinary tress becomes clear.
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time. After some time the pair of Vimalav hana and Candrajas gave birth to the second kulakar pair Cak u m na. In the same way, the third, fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh kulakaras were born. Since they established human families, they were called kulakaras. The h k ra mode of punishment carried on in the time of Vimalav hana and Cak u m na. When the word "h" did not work with a criminal the use of “m", or "do not” was used. This stopped people from doing criminal acts. This came to be known as the “m ”k ra” method and continued till the time of the third and fourth kulakaras. Due to the harshness of the times and rudeness of behaviour when “h k ra” and “m k ra” methods started to decline in impact, the dhikk ra (reprimand) method began to be used which continued in the times of the fifth, sixth and seventh kulakaras.
Kulakaras: an analysis
In the latter half of the third part of the third raka of the avasarpi (regressive half) cycle when earth's fertility declined, the production of fruits from the kalpav k as too decreased. In that period those who depended on the kalpav k as started arguing among themselves over the notion of ownership of those trees. When this conflict assumed the form of dispute, spreading chaos, people agreed to chose a special talented person as their leader to end the conflict and maintain order. This way, many kulas were formed and the person managing the kulas came to be known as kulakara. Even if there is unanimity about the system and role of kulakaras opinion is divided in the scriptures when it comes to the number of kulakaras. The Jain gamas - Sth n mga, Samav y mga and Bhagavat and va yakac r i and va yakaniryukti talk of 7-7 kulakaras, viz.:- 1 Vimalav hana, 2 Cak u m na, 3 Ya om na, 4 Abhicandra, 5 Prasenajita, 6 Marudeva and 7 N bhi. But Mah pura mentions 14 and Jamb dv papraj apti speaks of 15 kulakaras.
Paumacariyam in Jamb dv paPraj aptiadds V abhan tha to the list of 14 to make it 15 kulakaras, which is not problematic even if it differs in terms of the required number. Leaving out the first six kulakaras of the 14 and the 11th, Candr bha, the remaining 7 names are in keeping with the Sth n mga. It is possible that the first 6 kulakaras, who looked after the welfare of people and guided them, and unlike the last 7 kulakaras, did not take active part in the system of punishment, etc, hence were considered only secondary in importance. In the same way,
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V abhan tha is considered the first king for having ended the system of twins and establishing a new kingdom, and is not considered one of the kulakaras and it is possible that the Jamb dv paPraj apti took the common meaning of kula as a community and counted him among the big kulakaras.
This description in Jain literature is also found in the Vedic literature. There the term manu is used in place of kulakaras. Probably their contemplative character is a reason behind the title 'manu."Manusm ti talks of seven illustrious manus like the seven kulakaras of the Sth n mgas tra – Svayambh , Sv roci a, Uttama, T masa, Raivata, C ku a and Vaivasvata.
Other 14 manus are also mentioned among whom S var i, Dak as var i, Brahmas var i, Dharmas var i, Rudras var i, Raucyadevas var i, Indras var i, following the seventh manu, are mentioned in r mad Bh gavata as A ama-manu.
Mrka deyapura mentions 5 S var i after Vaivasvata, along with Raucya and Bhautya, as seven more manus. 14 manus are referred to in Matsyapura, Daiv Bh gavata and Vi u Pura including the manus from Sy yambhuva to S var i and following them, Raucya, Bhautya, Meru S var i, bhu, tudh m and Vi vakasena.
The time-period of 14 manus is considered to be a thousand yugas (epochs). For an elaborate introduction of the manus 9th to 21s chapters of Matsyapur a and the 421st to 509th hymns of the 4th mah dhik ra of the Jain text Tiloyapa att are worth reading.
The above comparative evaluation throws good light on the historicity of the ancient order of Indian people.
*****
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Lord Vssabhanatha Means of attaining Tirthamkara Status Lord Vrsabhanatha was the founder of the human society and first fordmaker i.e. Tirthamkara of Jain religion. When 84 lakh purvas, eight and half months of the third epoch (araka or ara) of the present time cycle remained, at that time, Lord Vssabhanatha was born from the womb of Marudevi, wife of the last kulakara Nabhi. Special spiritual purification efforts of Lord Vrsabhanatha earlier are the reason for the attainment of the exalted status of Tirthamkara by him. In the Jain Agama Jnatadharma story the origin of the Tirthamkara status is considered to accrue from 20 kinds of reflection / instruments (karanas) and their practice namely: - 1. (Worship of) Arihanta, 2. Siddha, 3. (Listening to) discourses, 4. (Worship of) holy teacher, 5. (Worship of) senior monks / teacher, 6. (Worship of) scholars and 7. Of mendicants and service to them, 8. Consistently gaining knowledge, 9. Persistent adherence to purity of perception, 10. Invocation of the virtuous, 11. Practice of the six essentials as prescribed, 12. True adherence to modesty and the vows, 13. Increasing feeling of detachment, 14. Powerful conduct of penance and (spirit of) sacrifice, 15. To be a repository of the four-fold congregation, 16. Service of those following the vows (vratas) 17. To practise (enhancing of) unique knowledge 18. Faith in the discourse of the detached ones 19. Charity towards the deserving and 20. Preaching / establishing the creed of Jina / Tirthamkara'. It is not necessary that all these 20 contemplations/ causes be worshipped. Excellent and assiduous adherence to even one or two of these makes one capable of becoming a Tirthamkara. Tattvarthasutra and Mahapurana consider devotion to 16 instrumental concepts / contemplations / causes as being essential, wherein we do not find the Siddha (liberated soul), sthavira (senior ascetics / elders) and tapasvi (ones who undergo severe penance). These are included in the 16 instrumental concepts / contemplations (sodasa-karanas). Purity of thought / faith and Humility / modesty is given importance in those texts while in the Jnatadharmakatha humility is given precedence over devotion to the Arihantas. In order to learn about where and in which birth (worldly existence) Lord Visabhanatha practiced devotion to these 36

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contemplations and accrued the T rthamkara n ma-karma, his past lives are briefly given herein.
Past lives of Lord V abhan tha and his spiritual practices therein
In one of his lives Lord V abhan tha was born as the merchant - owner of a caravan of merchandise – Dhann in k itiprati ha of Mah Videha country. Dhann had abundant riches, and carried on trade in many faroff lands. Once he made an announcement that anyone desirous of going abroad to make money could travel with him. Hearing this, many people went along with him. c rya Dharmagho a too, had to reach Vasantapura. Considering this a favourable coincidence to cross a desolate forest, he joined Dhann along with his group of disciples. The merchant ordered his servants to take care of the c rya's food and other requirements. The c rya told the merchant that food specially made for them, intended for them, is prohibited for rama as.
The rainy season commenced a few days after, and the sky was overcast with thick dark clouds. Seeing this inclement weather the caravan merchant decided to be stationed at a safe place in the forest. c rya Dharmagho a too, stayed there at a faultless place. As a result of spending a long time in the forest, the merchant's provisions exhausted and people began to live on roots, tubers and fruits of the forest. At the end of the rainy season Dhann suddenly remembered the crya. Ashamed, he went to the c rya with some food and pleaded with him to accept the same. The crya explained to him the tenets of rama adharma in accordance with which it was unacceptable for monks /
rama as to consume food filled with imperfections / faults and food such as fruits and other green substances. Gaining knowledge about the right and wrong codes of conduct the merchant presented the c rya abundant measures of clarified butter (ghee) with great joy and for the first time in life gained true spiritual insight (samyag-dar ana). Thus, leaving out other past lives, this is enumerated as the first incarnation / existence of V abhan tha here i.e. of the last 13 bhavas (lives / preexistences) this is the first.
Getting out of the bhava of Dhann , the caravan merchant and crossing over various stages of human existence, V abhan tha was born as son of physician Suvidhi. This was Vabhan tha's 9th bhava. He was named
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J v nanda. J v nanda had four close friends - first was the prince Mah dhara, second was the son of a trader, third was the son of a minister and fourth the son of a merchant. One day when he was talking to his friends at his home a long meditating ascetic came to his house for alms. The ascetic's body was infected with worms of leprosy. Seeing the monk's afflicted state prince Mah dhara said to J v nanda, "Friend, you cure other people but pity you do not seem very keen on doing something for this ascetic.” J v nanda replied – “to treat this disease three things are needed, a gem-studded blanket, go r a-sandal (ox-head sandalwood) and lak ap ka-oil and I have only lak ap ka oil with me. Without the other two ingredients I won't be able to do anything." Hearing this Mah dhara started for the marketplace along with his friends to bring those objects and demanded a gem-studded blanket and go r asandalwood from a wealthy trader of the town. The trader quoted one hundred thousand (1 lakh) gold coins each for the two objects and enquired as to why they were needed. Hearing the reason, impressed by the dedication of the young people, the trader thought he might take advantage of this pious deed of serving an ascetic and so handed over the objects without charging any price for them.
The physician's son, J v nanda and his four friends went to the ascetic with the objects. J v nanda, after prayers, messaged ascetic's body with lak ap ka oil the moment the ascetic's body absorbed the oil, the leprosy worms started to wriggle out. Then J v nanda covered his body with the gem-studded blanket, upon which the worms got stuck to it. The physician then threw the blanket on the corpse of a cow and those worms were absorbed in the flesh of the dead animal. Finally, J v nanda smeared go r a-sandalwood paste on the ascetic's body. In this way, rubbing the body thrice J v nanda cured the ascetic of his disease through his skillful treatment. Through this detached and dedicateddevoted service rendered, J v nanda and his friends gained great merit. Their hearts melted seeing the ascetic thus cured and healthy. The monk preached detachment to them; hearing which J v nanda and his four friends accepted the rama a-dharma. Subsequently, dutifully adhering to the rama a-dharma the five friends became worthy of the status of gods in the 12th heaven of Acyuta-kalpa.
After completing his life as a deva J v nanda was born in Pu kal vat to the wife of king Vajrasena, Dh ri . At the time of conception the mother saw 14 great dreams. Vajrasena named his son Vajran bha, who went on
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to become a cakravart (emperor). His four friends were born as his brothers B hu, Sub hu, P ha and Mah p ha and became provincial kings. When his father, T rthamkara Vajrasena, after attaining omniscience (keval ), started delivering his religious sermons, the cakravart Vajran bha (due to his past good merits) too accepted initiation (renounced the world). He did penance for a long time and through right devotion of twenty kinds attained T rthamkara status in that very life, and at the end of his life, became ahamindra deva (chief god) in the anuttara vim na (highest class of gods) of the sarv rthaSiddha heaven.
Birth
After completing his life as Vajran bha, moving from sarv rthasiddha on the 14" day of the dark fortnight of the month of dha, under the uttar dh constellation, Vabhan tha entered into the womb of his mother Marudev. In the latter half of that night mother Marudev saw the following 14 auspicious dreams: 1. elephant 2. Bull, 3. Lion 4. Lak m the goddess 5. A garland / wreath of flowers 6. The moon 7. The sun 8. A flag 9. An urn 10. Lotus pond 11. An ocean of milk 12. A vim na (a heavenly space vehicle) 13. A heap of gems and 14. Smokeless fire.
Mothers of T rthamkara who gain the n ma-karma of T rthamkara coming from the hell worlds dream of a palace in place of a vehicle whereas mothers of those coming from the deva-loka (abode of gods) dream of a vehicle. As per numbers mothers of cakravarts and T rthamkara see 14 dreams. In the Digambara tradition we find, in addition, a pair of fish and throne to make it 16 dreams.
Here it is worth remembering that mothers of all the T rthamkara' first see an elephant entering their mouths, whereas Marudev first saw a bull entering into her mouth. Awakened by the dream Marudev went to king N bhi and explained to him the dreams. With his experiential knowledge king N bhi explained the fruit of the dreams. When the delivery period ended happily Marudev gave birth to her son on the eighth day of the dark fortnight of the Caitra month on the day of K am under the constellation uttar ādhā. At some places the birth occurs on a navam (ninth) instead of a tam (eighth) which is perhaps based on the time of
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rising or setting. Even the religious scripture of the Vedic tradition,
r madbh gavata mentions the birth of N bhi from the descendant of the first manu Sv yambhuva, Agn dhra, and that of Vabhan tha from N bhi. Thus even in the scriptures of the Vedic tradition in close similarity with the Jain gamas, not just the scion of the Raghukula r Puru ottama R ma but his ancestors S gara, etc and many years before him, the birth of V abhan tha is mentioned. At the time of the birth of V abhan tha peace prevailed in all directions, the whole world became illuminated. For a moment even the denizens of hell also experienced comfort.
When a great soul, with the virtues /merits of becoming a T rthamkara and to be venerated by the entire humanity, is born; at that time the thrones of 56 di kum rs and 64 devendras begin to tremble. Learning through their clairvoyant knowledge (avadhij na) of the birth of a T rthamkara; the celestial beings, di kum r s and devendras celebrate the birth in the form or anointment, etc with customary pomp and wealth as is due to their status, at the birthplace of the T rthamkara as well as at Mount Mer and the island of Namd vara, as has been done since the beginningless time. This is an eternal rule for all times. As per these norms, the devas and devendras celebrated the Lord's birth by giving him the holy bath (abhi eka) and celebrated eight days of great festivities (a hnik ). King N bhi and his subjects too celebrated the Lord's birth with a lot of gaiety.
Naming (Ceremony), lineage (vam a) and status (gotra)
At the time of conception Marudev had first dreamt of a beautiful bull, and the child had the auspicious insignia of a bull on his thigh, his parents named him Vabhan tha. According to the writer of
r madbh gavata he was named V abhan tha by his father N bhi on account of his good qualities such as a beautiful body, bounteous fame, strength, glory and valiance. In the Digmabara texts we find the name V abhan tha. V abhan tha is the foremost in the universe, and the best. He showers the nectar of religion on the world for its welfare. That is why Indra named him V abhan tha.
When young V abhan tha was about a year old, one day the king of gods, Indra came to him. He had a sugarcane stalk in his hand at that
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time. The child extended his hands for the sugarcane which Indra gave him. The Lord sucked this sugarcane juice. Perhaps this is why his lineage got the name “Ik v ku" and the gotra (clan) came to be known as “K yapa”. The birthplace of the Lord came to be hailed as "Ik v kubh mi”.
When Lord V abhan tha entered his mother's womb, Kubera had showered gold and hence he was also named Hira yagarbha. Lord V abhan tha was the first one who propounded the religion and its conduct; hence he was hailed as “ din tha" by Jain c ryas and historians. As a consequence, since centuries Lord V abhan tha is more popular as din tha.
The young boy Vabhan tha's food
From the commentary literature of the gamas such as Niryukti, Bh ya, Cri, etc, and texts such as Kah vali, we get to know that the baby - t rthamkara was not breast-fed. Right from birth the devas-devendras had placed nutritious and delicious nectar in his thumb. Whenever the baby V abhan tha was hungry he would place his thumb in his mouth and drink various kinds of nutritious juices. As Lord V abhan tha grew up the celestial beings / gods produced for him adequate quantities of desirable fruits and so on. According to the Kah vali, before becoming a mendicant, as a householder, Lord V abhan tha only consumed the fruits of devakuru and uttarakuru (regions) and waters from the k ras gara(milky ocean).
Unprecedented event
The childhood sports of Lord V abhan tha used to be unique, and would fill people with joy, overwhelm and stupefy them. People would throng to have a glimpse of his beauty which was a delight to the eyes. At every sweet smile of the Lord and every childhood sport of his, his mother Marudev and father N bhir ja would become overwhelmed and glide along like waves in an ocean of happiness.
Even as people were enjoying the childhood-sports of the Lord, an unprecedented and unheard of event for that time, took place. A pair of twins (male-female) was playing in the forest. Suddenly a fruit from the
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t la-tree fell on the boy and he died. This unforeseen incident filled people with terror. Seeing the girl alone in the forest, the astonished twins took her to N bhir ja and told him of the strange incident. N bhir ja told them this incident was meant to be a mere message that the times were changing. N bhir ja took the girl under his care and said she would marry Vabha kum ra in good time. She was named Sunand . Sunand too stayed with V abhakum ra and Sumamgal and played around like a child.
T rthe o Jagat m Guruh
All T rthamkaras possess mati (mind-based), ruta (verbal testimony and reasoning) and avadhij na (clairvoyance) even at the time of their conception in their respective mothers' wombs. Lord V abhan tha too possessed these three kinds of knowledge from the time of his descent from the sarv rthasiddha vim na. With his knowledge of his destiny, he was fully aware of his past lives. Hence he did not need to educate himself from any crya or guru. He was himself a preceptor par excellence and repository of all skills and all arts.
Marriage of Lord V abhan tha
With time, after indulging in child-sports the Lord stepped on to the threshold of youth. When Indra noticed that Lord V abhan tha has become a youth, he consulted with N bhir ja and decided to arrange his marriage with both Sumamgal and Sunand . In those days marriage was both a fresh and intriguing event. Hence Indra and Indrs took charge of all the work. Prior to this marriage in the time of the twins, male and female children were born from the same mother's womb and with time would turn into husband and wife. To see this new and first marriage of the epoch, a huge gathering of twins assembled at N bhir ja's place. He introduced the system of marriage in the interest of humankind to curb the increasing sensual indulgences within marital relationships and prevent people from falling into the furnace of sensual enjoyment.
The marriage ceremony carried on for many days and the atmosphere was one of cheer. N bhir ja and Marudev were thrilled with delight seeing their son V abhakum ra in the form of a bridegroom with two new brides. After the completion of the marriage ceremony, Lord
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Vabhan tha commenced his married life with Sumamgal and Sunand.
The Conjunction period of Bhogabh mi (enjoying sensual pleasures) and karmabh mi
(era and place of efforts)
While times had started to change even from the time of the first kulkara, yet at the time of N bhir ja the situation had changed completely as the time came close to the conjunction between the end of bhogabh mi and the rise of karmabh mi. Very few wish fulfilling (kalpavřk a) trees remained and people humankind began to plead deliverance from hunger and deficiency. Until then without efforts people were enjoying things, but it was impossible now to get food or water without making any effort. Distressed by hunger and deficiency people went to N bhir ja and informed him of their plight. N bhir ja was well aware of the intelligence and extraordinary qualities of his son V abha kum ra. He asked his son to show the path to the people thus troubled.
Calming and reassuring the people Prince V abhan tha said to them – apart from the fruits from kalpavşk a, consume sugarcane and other food that grows in the forests, drink sugarcane juice. He said to them it was possible to satiate the pangs of hunger by consuming fruits, tubers, flowers and leaves, etc available in the forest and also introduced to them some of the edible varieties of the forest. Now people carried on their lives as per the path shown by Lord V abhan tha and began to see him as the desire-fulfilling kalpavřk a.
In this way, besides depending on fruits and roots they also began to cultivate coarse grain which led to complaints of indigestion and stomach problems for some people. When they shared this with V abhakum ra he told them to consume sugarcane, grains etc. after removing the outer skin and finely pounding some of them. This was fine until they were using coarse unripe grains, but when it came to ripened grains again a problem arose. The prince then told them to drain ripe grain in water first, and after a while to soak them in water and if they ate it this way there would be no problem. Again for a while this helped but after sometime, eating food thus heated developed indigestion and pains and he taught them the art of producing fire by rubbing wooden sticks and using fire to cook.

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The author of the Cr i wrote that one day because of the friction between bamboo trees on a windy day a fire started suddenly. It consumed dry grass and leaves on the ground. The twins, believing the flame to be the light of some gems, tried to hold it in their hands, but burnt their hands in the process. They threw the burning charcoal and ran to V abhakum ra and told him the whole story. V abhan tha told them this was fire and if they use this same fire to cook their food before eating, they would have no trouble with stomachs. He then taught them to make pots out of wet earth / clay and to cook using these as utensils; the congenital pairs (yugalas) began to consider him god and ruler of men and spent their lives peacefully under his shadow seeking his guidance from time to time. In this way in the transition period between the bhoga-yuga (period of sensual enjoyment without effort) and karmayuga (time of living with effort) V abhan tha looked after the twins like a kulakara. That is why Vabhan tha is eulogised in gama commentaries by c ryas as “jaiy kira kulakaro usabho.”
Lord V abhan tha's progeny
When V abhan tha turned more than 6 lakh years old, Sumamgal gave birth to twins Bharata and Br hm. Soon after this, Sunand too gave birth to B hubal and Sundar. With time, Sumamgal conceived 49 times and gave birth to 49 twins. Sumamgal gave birth to 99 sons and 1 daughter and Sunand became the mother of a son and a daughter. Lord V abhan tha thus had 100 sons and two daughters, 102 children in all. All of them were endowed of perfectly symmetrical bodies and perfectly set bones and muscles like a rock (vajra) i.e. extremely beautiful and strong bodies. c rya Jinasena of the Digambara tradition notes that Lord V abhan tha had 101 sons.
Dev Sumamgal saw 14 great dreams at the time of her first pregnancy. Following this she went to V abhan tha's bedroom and expressed inquisitiveness to learn about the significance of the dreams. V abhan tha told her it seems from the dreams that she would give birth to a son of great merit with the ultimate body who would one day become the emperor (cakravart ) of the entire universe. Dev Sumamgal gave birth to Bharata and Br hm . Bharata's feet had the insignia of 14 gems.
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Training of the Progeny
The omniscient Lord V abhan tha knew the end of bhoga-yuga was near and karma-yuga was to commence where there would be deficiency of conveniences and human society would need to toil for a living. He thought if the hundred sons including Bharata and two daughters Br hm and Sundar were given comprehensive training in all the useful arts and skills these would be of great use to humanity at the appropriate time. At that time all my children would go to far-off places and give people the information they need to make their lives easier and happy.
With this foresight the Lord first taught Br hm 18 kinds of scripts with his right hand, and with this left, taught mathematics to Sundar. Thereafter, he taught 72 arts of the men to Bharata and to B hubal he imparted the knowledge of living beings. He then taught the two daughters all the 64 womanly skills. In this manner, in the form of original disciples of the declining happiness era Bharata and his brothers, and sisters Br hm and Sundar learnt with great devotion a the feet of their original teacher, Lord V abhan tha the arts and skills of writing, painting, music, yurveda (medical science), economics, sculpture, war skills, etc and gained expertise in these.
The coronation of Lord V abhan tha
The form of nature began to change at great speed. The bounties of nature, such as kalpavřk a trees, etc and other kinds of conveniences began to disappear gradually. The yield of fruits, roots, tubers, crops, etc declined and became inadequate. The extraordinary power inherent in medicines and the vegetable world began to lose its effect. Thus with decline in the quantity of necessities of life a situation of deficiency developed. Due to deficiency the number of complainants increased. Criminal tendencies began to develop in the minds of people struck by deficiency, jostling and fighting started, and so did mutual quarrels. People's peaceful character changed and they became harsh.
Consequently, even the dhikk ra (admonition) method of the final kulakaras became ineffective and fruitless and lost its impact. Worried by these difficult times, twins went to their benefactor, the preceptor Vabhan tha and apprising him of the situation, and appealed to him to
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bring an end to the disturbance, quarrels, plunder and criminal tendencies that had developed among people through his guidance.
Reassuring the twins V abhan tha said – “Now karmayuga (a time of effort / action) has commenced on this earth, as a result of which you have to work very hard to manage your lives.” The twins saw a light of hope in their otherwise dark future. Their sense of despair vanished and with a firm determination they said – “Lord! We are ready to do the toughest work at your behest.” Hearing this V abhan tha told them they would be successful in making their lives happy and prosperous.
In order to curb crime a code of punishment is necessary which is managed by a king. A king is established on the throne by the elders of the kingdom, and other subject and it is he who preserves and amends that code according to the circumstances. Hearing this yugalas cried with joy and said – "you are our king. We shall right away arrange your coronation.” To this prince V abha said – “King N bhi is our respected elder. You may all please request him”.
The twins presented themselves before N bhi and placed the facts before him. After listening to them king N bhi said – “I am old now. It would be better if you made V abhan tha your king. In fact he alone is competent in all ways in delivering you all from this difficult situation and worthy of the seat of the king from all angles."
The yugalas were very happy to gain the approval of N bhi. They went immediately to V abhan tha and in excited voices said to him - "King N bhi has granted permission to establish you on th shall consecrate you at once with pure water” and happily they w the lake Lotus (Padma).
Just then a huge gathering of twins (yugalas) reached V abhan tha with the waters from the Padma Lake. They could not contain their happiness seeing the Lord seated on the royal throne. They consecrated Vabhan tha pouring the Padma water on his feet. The atmosphere was agog with the cries of "hail the king of kings V abhan tha!" Seeing their politeness the god akra ordered Kubera to construct on that land of Ik v ku a magnificent city and named it Vint nagar which on account of it being impregnable, unconquerable later became famous as Ayodhya.
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This way, Lord V abhan tha became the first king of the declining happiness cycle. He ended the kulakara system that was in vogue until then and established a new order. The moment the Lord took over the reins of the kingdom the karmayuga commenced and the bhogabh mi now transformed itself into a karmabh mi. King Vabhan tha now invited his subjects to step onto this karmabh mi and took over the charge of the great new work. Lord V abhan tha was 20 lakh p rvas of age at the time of his consecration.
Building a Strong Nation
After his coronation king V abhan tha firstly set up a security department with a security team to establish a good system in place. The person in-charge of this department was called Ugra. He then set up a team of ministers for advice on political affairs and gave each of those ministers charge of their respective departments / sections. The higher officials of different departments were called Bhoga. Thereafter the entire kingdom was divided into 52 janapadas (principalities or districts) and able persons were crowned as smaller rulers to manage those principalities. Under these rulers, several smaller kingdoms were constituted and vassals were placed on the thrones of these kingdoms.
Explaining their duties to those smaller rulers he said – “In the same way as the sun through its rays sucks little quantities of water in the form of vapour from many water sources, without hurting any of these, people may be taxed very little in order to manage the kingdom; and in the same way as the vapours thus drawn by the sun is returned by clouds in the form of rain everywhere, the taxes drawn from people may be spent on activities for the welfare of the people."
Thus after establishing kingdoms king V abhan tha set up an advisory committee of kings for the purposes of sharing ideas on government. He gave those kings titles such as Mah m dalika, M dalika, R janya, K atriya, etc. For the protection of the kingdom king V abhan tha set up four kinds of armies and placed commanders as high level officials in charge of these.
For the sake of prevention of crime, besides the strict rules, the following penal code was put in place:
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Paribh a a: to punish those guilty of petty crimes in harsh, angry words Ma dal bandha: to hold the guilty for a stipulated number of days in a place, province C raka bandha: to imprison the guilty Chaviccheda: to pierce body parts of the those guilty of crimes against humanity, sedition, or the hardened, regular offenders
Some c ryas aver that the last two of these four kinds of punishments were prevalent in the time of Bharata cakravart, but the author of the niryuktis, crya Bhadrab hu opines that bandha n ti (imprisonment) and gh ta n ti(inflicting injury) became operational right from the time of Lord V abhan tha.
Various officials were appointed to track and punish criminals.
Training of People / Subjects, Establishment of Towns, etc
Having set up a system of law and order and prevention of crime, king Vabhan tha made a plan for his subjects to become self-sufficient in the affairs of the karmabh mi (the mundane world of action). For the welfare of subjects he trained them in asi (art of government / military occupation), masi (writing) and k i (farming) and a hundred crafts. Among the craftspeople, he first taught pottery, then weaving for clothes, architecture for constructing homes, and thereafter painting; and for hair and nails, the craft of the barber. From these basic crafts, there emerged hundred kinds of other crafts/ skills in groups of 20. V abhan tha had already trained his 100 sons in these crafts/ skills and agriculture, so it helped in imparting training to common people. People were strong and hardy, they laboured hard. They ploughed fields and sowed seeds. It rained at regular intervals and the fields were a verdant lush green. Man hitherto dependent purely on nature, danced in joy looking at the outcome of his sweat and labour. King V abhan tha, his sons and daughters and the craftspeople and artists trained under them were determined to build a nation as beautiful as paradise itself.
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Conditions of common People, knowledge of the Arts and
Crafts and people's welfare
King V abhan tha also introduced common people to various beneficial activities as a leader and elder of the state. His status then was the equivalent of a householder's. So, even if he understood the ignoble aspects of (material) possession, he had not yet sacrificed it. He taught asi, masi and k i to the human society, thus saving them from consuming the inedible / inconsumable, leading a s tvika (pure) life and explained to them that if necessity led them to take up a faulty vocation, in that case, knowing it to be sin, their aim should be to move towards a virtuous life – this was indeed samyakdar ana (right view of reality / true spiritual path).
This way, teaching them the art of leading a happy life at the onset of the karmayuga (epoch of action) he saved humankind from straying. This is his great favour to humankind. For the welfare of humanity he taught 72 skills / crafts to men through his sons. At the same time, he considered it important for women to be useful and endowed with education. Through his daughter Br hm he gave the knowledge of writing and alongside, he also taught the 64 useful womanly skills.
Establishing of the caste system by Lord V abhan tha
First and foremost, by inculcating in people the feeling of mutual coexistence, cooperation, compassion, tolerance, security, cordiality and camaraderie, Lord V abhan tha gave birth to a feeling of brotherhood among people. According to the gu a-karmas (determining the quality of their vocation) he stratified castes, not by giving importance to birth and explaining to people to behave with others lovingly, by doing their own work and not showing contempt towards anyone. Prior to Lord din tha there was no caste system in India. People had just one caste / racehumanity without any hierarchy. Every person was equal in strength, intellect and wealth. Everyone was content with and loved what they had. When disparity increased among people and greed and attachment spread, Lord V abhan tha created the caste system. He laid the foundation of a social order suitable in all respects, teaching men a lesson in co-existence, in order to lead a beautiful, happy and peaceful life. People who were physically very strong and powerful were
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appointed for the task of people's security, them he denomination of K atriya. Those who proved to be experts in farming, livestock rearing, buying and selling and trading, were given the denomination of vai ya.Those who showed interest in service of people by taking up work that other people expressed distaste for, were given the nomenclature of
dra. Thus in V abhan tha's time, only three castes were createdK atriya, vai ya and dra.
The kingdom of our first king V abhan tha was steeped in the feelings of people's well-being. There was not even a trace of covetousness for position in king V abhan tha. People had made him king, and he had single-handedly taken the responsibility for people's well-being and welfare to create an obedient, self-sufficient and civilized society. When those children of nature lost the benevolent shade of kalpavřk a V abhan tha placed his right hand (of protection) over them and taught them 100 crafts and asi, masi and k i on his own and also with the help of his sons and as a result with growing experience man consistently moved ahead in great speed. The happy consequence of all this was that our country's land brimmed with verdant fields, expansive gardens, proper pathways for transport, mansions kissing the skies, palaces, etc. Gradually, not a trace of deficiency-accusations remained on this earth.
Resolve to Renunciation, meritorious charity, withdrawal from
mundane Life, Initiation into monkhood
In this manner V abhan tha ruled the kingdom and looked after the subjects lovingly and judiciously as the first king for 63 lakh p rvas. Thereafter, in order to obtain permanent peace and live a pious life, he decided to embrace the path of yoga. He believed that man can never obtain permanent peace unless he took to spiritual practice. With this in mind, making his eldest son Bharata the successor to his kingdom and giving the remaining 99 sons the charge of several smaller kingdoms he withdrew from a householder's life and resolved to walk the path of selfdiscipline.
Sensing this decision the lok ntika gods did their duty by requesting the Lord to manifest the dharma-t rtha (holy path) for the well-being of the entire world. Hearing the gods' request, the Lord started the process of meritorious charity and every day at the auspicious hour of the morning, donated a crore (ten million) and 8 lakh (one hundred thousand) gold
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coins. The Lord gave this charity continuously for a year. Thus he gave in charity a sum total of 3 billion, 88 crores and 80 lakh gold coins at the end of a year. Through this charity he instilled the thought in people's minds that the importance of wealth is not in its enjoyment but in its sacrifice.
Eventually, after spending a householder's life for 83 lakh p rvas on the ninth day of the dark fortnight of the month of Caitra under the constellation uttar ādhāV abhan tha resigned from the mundane life to get initiated into monkhood. He left all the royal splendour and family and renounced all sensual indulgences and leaving Vint nagara with a large group of gods and men in steeped austerity, under the A oka tree, accepted initiation into monkhood with the Siddhas as witness saying – "I renounce all impure activities”, that is violence, and other impure acts are prohibited, hence I renounce them forever. He started to pull out his hair in fistfuls; after four fistfuls he said just like these strands of hair we need to remove impurities / sins from their very root. Upon Indra's request, he let one fistful of hair remain (on his head).
The huge congregation of gods, demons and men were left awe-struck seeing this mighty sacrifice of the Lord. Seeing his renunciation, 4000 other princes of the K atriya caste also became mendicants. r V abhan tha did not initiate them into mendicancy, but on their own accord they followed the Lord, pulled their hair, etc, and started to move along with the Lord as monks. In this way, with the resolve of pure discipline V abhan tha became venerable first as a monk, mendicant and monk. This day of the Lord's initiation is celebrated even today as “kaly aka divasa".
Emergence of Vidy dharas (beings with extraordinary powers/skills)
When Lord V abhan tha began to wander about, having adopted the attitude of pure sacrifice and detachment, two princes, Nami and Vinami, sons of Kaccha and Mah kaccha, appeared in service of the Lord and said, “Lord, you have given everyone something appropriate, please grant us, too, something." Having placated him thus, they stayed close to the Lord. Once when Indra went to the Lord, he saw the boys pleading thus. He told the princes that the Lord is devoid of passion, it is not right
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to plead with him this way. So that your services are not fruitless, I grant you 48,000 vidy s, which are accomplished by mere recitation, among which are the mah vidy s, gaur, gamdh r, rohi , and praj apti. With their help, establish your respective cities and live happily as Vidy daras. Nami and Vinami obeyed the king of gods, Indra and within the south and north boundaries of the Vaitādhya Mountain, settled 50 and 60 cities, respectively, and invited civilized people from various countries to reside there. This way, Nami and Vinami divided classes of 8 each through the effect of their vidy s (skills), moved around with pleasure, enjoying like the gods and thus emerged the tradition of “Vidy daras”.
The first fast-breaking (p ra ) of the Lord
In the Tiloyapa att of the Digambara tradition we find reference to the Lord observed six fasts. According to crya Jinasena, he observed 6 months fast and in the vet mbara tradition, observed two days fast(bel ) is referred to. After becoming a rama a, for a long time V abhan tha visited village after village with a stoic vow of silence, with a feeling of detachment, seeking alms, but he would not get any, as people had no knowledge about this method. The 4000 rama as with him waited that the Lord would make some arrangements for them. When the Lord did not say anything for a long time, pained by hunger and thirst, they became heretics adorning garments made of tree barks. They did not go back to their homes but in the absence of tolerance to hardships and the sense of discrimination, they fell from the path of the right discipline / conduct as renouncers, spent their lives in the forest consuming fruits, roots, etc.
As he was devoid of passion, Lord din tha continued to wander, with equanimity and unaffected by the situation. Emotionally charged devotees would feel delighted to see him, request him to accept their offerings of valuables, clothes and jewellery, chariots, fruits, etc, but none of them would think of offering alms in the right method. As a result, Lord Vabhan tha would return empty-handed, leaving those unacceptable gifts. Thus more than a year passed since he had started to wander for alms, yet there was no sense of despair in his mind. Thus wandering, the Lord once reached the Kur province of Hastin pura. The prince there was the grandson of B hubal and son of king Somaprabha. He dreamt that night - "the Sumeru mountain has lost its sheen, I have
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made it shine, sprinkling it with nectar." Merchant Subuddhi dreamt that the Sun's thousand rays had left their places but rey msa had replaced them in the Sun as a result of which the Sun shone with even more brilliance. King Somaprabha dreamt that rey msa had helped a certain person during a battle with the enemies and with that support this person was able to defeat them. The next day the three of them reflected on their respective dreams and concluded that rey msa was going to benefit in some way. The same day, by good fortune, Lord V abhan tha reached Hastin pura. People were very happy to see the Lord. Walking along the way, the moment rey msa kum ra saw Lord Vabhan tha he was filled with curiosity and with subsidence cum destruction of his knowledge obscuring karmas (k ayopak ama), he could visualise his past lives. Through his past life knowledge he understood that he (Lord Vabhan tha) was the original unattached renouncers who must be offered faultless food.
By a coincidence just at that moment the servants of the palace reached there with a jar full of sugarcane juice. Extremely delighted at this,
rey msa kum ra moved about seven-eight steps close to the Lord, circumambulated him and with folded hands, following the rules of faultless alms, trikara a- uddhi(purity of mind, body and speech), said to the Lord, “Lord, whatever is appropriate?” The Lord extended his palms, held out like a bowl and rey msa poured the sugarcane juice into his palms. The Lord had palms imperforated, not a drop of juice fell to the ground. rey msa was very happy. The gods showered a rain of water from five kinds of flowers and the sky reverberated with the cries of “aho d nam, aho d nam" (ah! the gift / charity!).
If Lord din tha was the first to teach the world about penance,
rey msa kum ra was the first to teach humankind about charity - d na. Since the inexhaustible event of the Lord's fast-breaking happened on the third day of the bright fortnight of the Vai kha month, the day became popular as “ak aya -t ty” or “ kh -t ja”. Even today, this day is considered "sarvajana-vi ruta-parva”. Bharata cakravart went to the
e of rey msa kum ra and congratulated him saying, "Son, you are the founder of the practice of charity in this declining happiness cycle, hence salutations to you!"
It may be questioned that if Lord V abhan tha accepted mendicancy on the eighth day of the dark half of the Caitra month through 'bel ’or
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a habhakta' penance and if the next year he broke his fast on the third day of the bright fortnight of the Vai kha month, then this would be his penance for 13 months and not a year. In such an event, the reference in Samav y mgaS tra to “samvacchare a bhikkh ladh usahe a logan he a” does not seem to correspond, according to which the first penance of din tha is called "samvatsara tapa”. In fact, this is a very old and widely discussed question and as an appropriate solution to this it can only be said that at various places in the Stras (canon), following the criteria of the compendium in calculating the time-period, where the shorter duration is present along with the longer duration, only the longer time-period is referred to.
In fact, at the time of initiation, the 'bel 'penance of Lord V abhan tha continued for well over 12 months and when rey msa kum ra offered food, the event was referred to as "samvacchare a bhikkh ladh usahe a logan he a", following the compendiums of S tra lak a as. This is in fact a part of convention. In this convention since the time of more than a year does not add too much, as a round figure it is mentioned as "samvatsara” (one year). From the time of initiation to the time of accepting food, Lord V abhan tha remained without water and food for 13 months and 10 days, which has been called samvacchara in canonical convention. It is possible that the form, language of the convention with time also began to be known as "var tapa”. In connection with the first penance of Lord V abhan tha, it is to be remembered always that the penance that the Lord accepted after initiation was in the vet mbara tradition 'bel' and in Digambara tradition 6 months of penance. Although there are differences of opinion about the number of days, the date / time of fast-breaking is unanimously accepted as the third day of the bright fortnight of Vai kha month and from the time of initiation - Caitra, ninth day of the dark fortnight of Caitra month, it amounts to 13 months and 10 days.
In fact, Lord V abhan tha has done a great favour to humankind. Growing up in the lap of nature, and remaining dependent on it for every need, when the nature withdrew its hand from the twins, the original world leader V abhan tha imparted to them the knowledge of the arts to become self-sufficient and self-dependent. After making them happy and prosperous in the material world, he taught them discipline to free themselves of the cycle of birth, decay and death through the true path. Through his discipline, after gaining pure knowledge (kevalaj na) he
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established eth dharma-t rtha through which humankind becomes capable of releasing itself from the grind of birth and death that it has suffered since the beginning of time.
Lord V abhan tha created a human civilisation full of feelings of mutual co-existence, universal brotherhood and other lofty humane qualities which are beneficial in both this world and the other world. As a result, Lord din tha / V abhan tha came to be venerated by humankind. He has the same ecumenical place in all the ancient Indian scriptures as in the Jain scriptures. Ancient texts such as gaveda and Atharvaveda celebrate him. r madbh gavata, ivapura, Krmapura, Brahma dapura, Manusm ti, the Buddhist text“ rya Mamju r", S ras gara, etc celebrate N bhi's son V abhan tha and in the Puras he is considered the 8th avat ra (reincarnation) of the god. Ak aya-t ty , related to his fast-breaking event, has the same kind of importance and is equally the symbol of devotion and faith and harbinger of merit (pu ya) in the Vedic tradition.
Attainment of Pure knowledge (Omniscience)
After taking to mendicancy, the Lord wandered through villages for 1000 years and manifested his true form through this penance. Eventually, at the garden named aka amukha outside of Purimat la city, at dawn on the eleventh day of the dark fortnight of F Iguna month, under the constellation Uttar dha, with a amatapa he went into meditation and destroying the four gh t-karmas (karmas that pollute the quality of the soul), obtained pure knowledge and kevaladar ana (pure perception). He attained the pure knowledge under a banyan tree hence the banyan is considered Lord din tha's caitya-v k a and banyan tree is treated with respect and pride across the country. Attaining pure knowledge Lord Vabhan tha became Arihanta and the 12attributes (gu as) of Arihanta became manifest in him.
The Characteristics of T rthamkara
In contrast to the ordinary omniscient's, T rthamkara have some special characteristics which are known as extra ordinary signs or ‘ati ayas? and which are called 'cot sam buddh ises? and ‘pa at sam saccavaya ises pa at ' in the Samav y mgas tra. Even if the numbers are common to both Digambara and vet mbara traditions, yet
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there is a difference. In vet mbara tradition, the 34 ati ayas are divided into 4 basic parts-ap y pagam ti aya, j n ti aya, p j ti aya and v gati aya whereas in the Digambara tradition, these are catogeorised into 3 parts: the ten ati ayas of birth, 10 ati ayas of pure knowledge and 14 devak ta ati ayas.
In the vet mbara text Samav y mga T rthamkara' food intake is said to be invisible and carried out in privacy, whereas the Digambara tradition does not believe in the intake of any basic food by the t rthamkara. From the 6th ati aya of the fly-whisk ( k agata cakra) to the 11th of the A oka tree in the Samav y mga is not found in the Digambara tradition. In their place, the 7 ati ayas of nirmala di , clear sky, golden lotus under the feet, divine sound in the sky, pleasing to the living beings, the dharmacakra moving in the sky, a amamgalas are the 7 ati ayas.
In place of the radiant aura behind the head (bh ma dala) the Digambara tradition considers the caturmukha ati aya at the time of the omniscientstatus. The body without a shadow, moving in the skies, and eyes that do not blink found in the Digambara tradition are not found in the Samav y mga or vet mbara tradition. This way, leaving aside doubtful, liberal and popular differences in the points of view, both traditions consider the T rthamkara as endowed with 34 ati ayas. At the same time, at the Samava ara a, the speech of the Lord T rthamkara flows incessantly and this is along with the 35 ati ayas, which can be called the 35 gu as (supernatural powers) of the T rthamkara's speech ("Trthamkara k v ke 35 gu a").
The discretion of Bharata
The entire world was lit with the radiance of knowledge when Lord Vabhan tha attained pure knowledge. When emperor Bharata received news of the Lord's pure knowledge he was also informed by the messenger about the occurrence of the cakra in his royal weaponry. According to crya Jinasena he also received news of the birth of his son at the same time.
Hearing three good news at the same time put the emperor Bharata in a dilemma as to which one of these auspicious events called for a great ceremonious celebration but based on his right discretion, he decided that obtaining a cakra jewel or a son are outcomes of k ma (desire), both
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these attainments are transient, destructible and worldly but the Lord's pure knowledge is the outcome of dharma and is permanent. Hence devotion to and worship at the feet of the Lord is important first because pure knowledge is the original and greatest merits among all the kaly akas. Thinking thus, cakravart Bharata left to perform worship at the feet of the Lord.
First instructions/sermon and establishing of the T rtha
The place where the Lord gave the first instructions / sermon after obtaining the light of knowledge via pure knowledge in the presence of people, gods-goddesses, community of revered ones, is called samava ara a. c ryas interpret samava ara a as a congregation of monks (male-female), Samgha (the order), etc or an assembly of discourse. The gathering at the t rthamkara's sermon is also called samava ara a.
Even if Lord V abhan tha could have attained liberation following attainment of pure knowledgebecoming v tar ga (devoid of passion / attachment) in solitary meditation, yet he gave the sermon. The foremost reason for this being that the T rthamkara n ma-karma is not fulfilled unless the dharma t rtha (creed or holy path) is not established. Secondly, as is mentioned in the Pra navy kara a S tra the Lord gave his sermon to safeguard, and out of compassion for, all living beings. Hence Lord V abhan tha is considered the first preacher in the scriptures and the preceptor of the ten-fold dharmain Vedic literature.
The day of the first sermon of Lord V abhan tha was the eleventh day of the dark fortnight of the F lguna month. On that day, expounding the scriptural ( ruta) and caritra (conduct) dharma (scripture and conductrelated), he preached not to eat after dark, ahims (non-killing), truthfulness, non-stealing, brahmacarya (chastity) and non-possession. The Lord explained that the objective of human life is not enjoyment but yoga (contemplation / discipline); not attachment but non-attachment; not lust but realisation, not the killing of instincts but quelling of these through knowledge
Hearing the Lord's speech, full of thoughts of sacrifice and detachment, which was like a shower of ambrosia the emperor Bharata's 500 sons including V abhasena and 700 grandsons took initiation in the order of
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monks and 500 women including Br hm in the order of female-monks. King Bharata became a samyakdar r vaka (lay follower of the right faith). Thousands of outstanding men such as rey msa kum ra and women such as Subhadr entered into the fold of the laity, accepting the right faith. This way, a four-fold congregation was established consisting of monks, female monks, votaries (r vakas) and female-votaries (r vik s). Because of the establishment of the religious order Lord V abhan tha came to be considered the 1°T rthamkara.
Vabhasena became an ascetic and through three question (p cch s) and gained knowledge of the 14 p rvas. V abhasena became the first Ga adhara among the 84 ga adharas of the Lord.
When the 4000 men, who had become mendicants out of fear of hardships, listened to the Lord speak on the dharma-t rtha after attaining pure knowledge came into the Lord's service and mingled with the monk's congregation, becoming ascetics, barring Kaccha and Mah kaccha.
Mother Marudev 's Liberation / Mok a, Seeing the Lord
Mother Marudev was pining to see her son V abhan tha since ages. Even after 1000 years following his renunciation she did not see her dear
n once. Her eyes were brimming with tears every moment in his memory. Looking at the expansion of Bharata's kingdom she would always tell him tauntingly that you are enjoying endless wealth but I do not know where my darling V abhan tha is wandering around. Hence when Bharata got news of Lord V abhan tha's omniscience he immediately entered in the presence of his mother Marudev and gave her the good news of his entry into the Purimat la city and his attainment of pure knowledge. Hearing this mother Marudev was filled with excessive joy and went along with Bharata to see the Lord.
When mother Marudev approached the samava ara a and saw the worship of Vabhan tha she started thinking that I used to assume my son would be in hardships, but here I see him submerged in an ocean of bliss. In the course of these thoughts, there was a transformation in the direction of her thinking. She went into deep meditation and absorption and within moments she moved beyond the sheath of karmas i.e. obscuring knowledge - (jn vara ya), perception (dar an vara ya),
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antar ya(obstacles in experiencing bliss) and deluding (mohan ya) karma towards pure knowledge and pure intuition. With the time of her demise approaching, very soon, totally destroying the remaining four nonobscuring-karmas (karmas relating to embodiment), remaining astride the elephant, she attained liberation (mok a).
Some c ryas believe that she attained liberation while listening to the religious sermon of Lord V abhan tha. She holds the position of the first person in this declining happiness cycle to attain liberation.
The Religious Congregation of Lord V abhan tha
While the household of Lord V abhan tha was huge, his religious family was also very large. In fact there would hardly be someone who had not benefited from him or not had faith in him, hearing Lord Vabhan tha's speech free from passion. But here his religious congregation is elucidated keeping in mind those who took the vows. According to Jamb dv pa Praj apti S tra, the number of ga adharas etc in V abhan tha's dharma samgha (congregation) was as follows: -
Ga adharas 84, omniscient's monks 20000, omniscient female-monks 40000, manah paryavaj ns (telepaths or ones who were aware of the thought forms of others without the aid of mind or senses) 12650, avadhijns (clairvoyants or those with intuitive knowledge) 9000, 14p rvadh r s (those who had the knowledge of the fourteen prior canons) 4750, v ds 12650, vaikriya-labdhidh rs 20600, those to be born in anuttara palaces 22900, monks 84000, female-monks 300000, r vakas (laymen) 350000, r vik s (laywomen) 554000. Out of this congregation of Lord V abhan tha 20,000 monks and 40,000 female-monks; a total of 60,000 monks and female-monks attained liberation having destroyed completely the eight karmas. Many mendicants, infernal beings and celestial beings used to move about in contemplation, thereby purifying their souls.
The kaly akas (auspicious events) in the life of Lord V abhan tha
Five kaly akas of Lord V abhan tha occurred under the constellation Uttar ādh and the sixth under Abhijita. The kaly akas under Uttar ādhāconstellation are: Descent from sarv rthasiddha (into the womb of Marudev ), birth, coronation, renunciation of householder
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status and becoming mendicant, and attainment of pure knowledge. Destruction of 8 karmas and liberation took place under Abhijita constellation.
Attaining Liberation
Lord V abhan tha wandered across India for a thousand years less than one lakh p rvas as a T rthamkara. He traveled to Bahal , Amdabaill - a taka region, Arabia, Greece, Persia, Svar abh mi, etc and preached dharma to the people there. It was the result of Lord din tha's preaching that the Jain religion was established as a universal religion in different parts of the country.
V abhan tha remained a bachelor youth for 20 lakh p rvas, a king for 63 lakh p rvas that is, for a total of 83 lakh p rvas as a householder. The, remained a mendicant, as chadmastha (in a state of partial bondage) for 1000 years. He remained a T rthamkara, after attaining pure knowledge for 1000 years less than one lakh p rvas. Totally, he followed the
rama a dharma for 1 lakh p rvas. Finally, sensing the end of his lifespan, he undertook p dapopagamana fast with his retinue of 1000 monks on the A pada Mountain. There, in the forenoon of the 13th day of the dark fortnight of M gha month under the constellation Abhijita, Lord V abhan tha attained nirv a. The ten thousand monks who had fasted along with the Lord also became liberated. At that point, 89 pak as, that is, three years, 8 months and 14 days remained for the 3rd raka to end.
The minutest division of an epoch, which is time, has an original rule that at one time, only two beings, with excellent understanding can become Siddhas (liberated beings), but Lord V abhan tha of excellent understanding of 500 dhanu a, along with him his retinue of 107 – in all, 108 – beings attained liberation at the same time. This can be called one of the caryas (extraordinary events) of the 10 extraordinary events of the transitory declining happiness cycle. The 9893 remaining monks who fasted with the Lord attained liberation within moments of each other the same day. Among these rama as were the Lord's ga adharas, sons, grandsons and others.
The Nirva Celebration
As soon as Lord V abhan tha attained nirva the seats of 64 Indras, including that of the king of gods, Indra trembled. All of them reached
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the A pada Mountain along with their respective family of gods. At the command of the king of gods, Indra, three funeral pyres and three litters were constructed. Indra himself bathed the Lord's earthly body with water of the ocean of milk and anointed it with go r a sandal paste. Other gods similarly bathed and anointed the bodies of Ga adharas and monks. Those earthly bodies were placed on very beautiful litters / palanquins, Indra brought the Lord's litter and devas the litters of the Ga adharas' and monks' to the funeral pyres to the accompaniment of divine musical instruments and the tumultuous chants of “Jai-ho; Jai-ho or hail! hail!” In that process the bodies were placed on their funeral pyres constructed for the purpose as part of the rites. At akra's command the Agnikum ras called forth the fire elements on to the pyres and V yukum ras lit the pyres with fire. This way completing the cremation ceremonies of Lord V abhan tha and his retinue those pyres were quelled with the water of the milk ocean. Thereafter, at the command of the king of gods, Indra, caitya-st pas were constructed at the place of the funeral pyres. va yaka-niryukti refers to the constructed caitya-st pas.
Vedic literature speaks of the emergence of dideva in the form of
ivalimga (sign) on the fourteenth day of the dark fortnight of the month of M gha. This seems to correspond with the obtaining of the iva- pada (niry a) of Lord din tha. It is possible that the st pa which was constructed on the funeral pyre of Lord V abhan tha became popular later on as ivalimga.
V
abhan tha in non-Jain Literature
Just as in Jain literature, there is extensive reference to V abhan tha in Vedic literature as well. We find references to him in Buddhist literature too.
With reference to V abhan tha the Puras say that Brahm i created the first Sv yambhuva Manu from his own body. Priyavrata from Sv yambhuva, gn ghra from Priyavrata, and thus ten sons were created. N bhicame from gn dhra and Vabhan tha from N bhi.From the womb of N bhi's love Marudev was born an extraordinarily brilliant haloed son who was named V abhan tha. V abhan tha riled the kingdom righteously and performed various sacrifices (yaj as) then, leaving his kingdom to his son, Bharata, went to do penance in
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Pulah rama. From the time V abhan tha bequeathed his kingdom to Bharata, this part of the snow-capped region became popular as Bh ratavar a.
r madbh gavata considers V abhan tha a half-reincarnation of Vi u. According to this text, in order to gain the love of N bhi, the Lord emerged from the womb of Marudev as an entity to reveal the
rama a dharma. From the time of his birth, V abhan tha's body had the insignia of thunderbolt, amku a, etc which is Vi u's sings. King N bhi called him V abhan tha (par excellence) on account of his beautiful body, exceeding brilliance, strength, wealth, valour and courage.
r madbh gavata considers Vabhan tha iva himself. There is reference to his marriage with Indra's daughter and a hundred sons born to her from him. Brahm varta Pur a mentions that he imparted the
dhy tma-j na (spiritual knowledge) to his sons and then became an avadh ta (lit. fearful in form) mendicant. The essence of his teachings in r madbh gavata are as follows – "ordinary people cannot understand
ecret of my avat ra- body. Pure substance is my body and dharma resides therein. I have left adharma (non-righteousness) way behind; hence good men call me V abhan tha. Sons! You serve all the elements with pure knowledge, considering them to be my body; this is true service to me.”
r madbh gavata also says - Vabhan tha placed Bharata on the throne to serve the earth. He became a renouncer to preach dharma. He only retained the body while leaving all the rest at home. Due to penance he had become emaciated and his arteries and veins began to show. In the end, placing a piece of stone in his mouth, in his naked state, he departed
ivapur a refers to iva taking incarnation as the di-t rthamkara V abhan tha.
Buddhist literature mentions that N bhi's son V abhan tha and V abhan tha's son Bharata are counted among the original emperors. He was strict in adherence to dharma.He attained salvation on the snowcapped Him laya Mountain. Dhammapada refers to V abhan tha as the most excellent hero. Besides din tha, V abhan tha is also known by many names such as Hira yagarbha, Praj pati, Loke a, Catur nana N bhija, Sra , Svayambh, etc. All these are names of Brahm in the
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Pura as. Hence at some places there is reference to the fact that Brahm and V abhan tha are not two separate entities but one and the same.
The kind of devotion which the Jain texts show in highlighting the magnificent personality of Lord V abhan tha the same devotion is seen in sacred scriptures of nearly all ancient Indian religions in the exposition of his world-wide glory. The path he showed to make not only this world but the other worlds better and more beautiful, were boons beneficial not merely for humankind but all living beings. The social norms and polity manifested through him was not meant to benefit any particular class but for the welfare of all, in the same way the religious order he established was for the well-being of all. The religious order established by him was for the spiritual uplift of the entire world. This is the reason hat in the ancient texts Lord V abhan tha is given the titles of Lord (dh t ), the builder of destiny (bh gya vidh t ), god (bhagav na), etc.
Views of some historians concerning the time of V abhan thaare given below:
R madh r Simha 'Dinakara' says:
"From the point of view of the belief among many Jain scholars that in spite of being referred to in the Vedas, yet Vabhan tha is prior to the Vedas is not contradictory." ( jakala, March 1962, p. 8)
Dr. Jimbhara writes: -
"The first t rthamkara was V abhan tha who taught the lesson of civilisation to humankind."
(The Philosophies of India, p. 217)
Reference to Lord V abhan tha and emperor Bharata are also found in Vedic mantras, non-Jain Puras, Upani adas, etc.
It becomes naturally clear from the dignified references in India's ancient religious sculptures – Vedas, Vai ava Bh gavata, 10 Puras of the aiva tradition, Manusm ti and Buddhist scriptures rya Mamju r, etc
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that the entire mankind of yore accepted Lord V abhan tha as their universal leader, religious preceptor and universal Lord par excellence ruling the hearts. The social order established by Lord V abhan tha became popular in the entire universe as 'Vi vadharma' (world religion) and' vata dharma' (eternal religion) whereby Vi vadharma meant, sans adjectives, simply, dharma.
*****
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The first world emperor (Cakravart ) Bharata
In the present declining happinesscycle the universal cakravart emperor of the six parts of Bharata region in Jamb dy pa was Bharata. He was the first king of this region and was the eldest son among the hundred of the first T rthamkara V abhan tha. His mother's name was Sumamgal and when king V abhan tha was 6 lakh p rvas (a very unit of time) old at that point he was born from the womb of Sumamgal along with the twin
When Bharata entered her womb his mother saw the 14 auspicious dreams. Explaining the meaning of those dreams to Sumamgal , V abhan tha said to her a son of such excellence body shall be born from your womb who shall become the first world emperor (cakravart ) emperor of this earth and in the end, destroying the basic karmasof worldly sorrow such as birth, decay, death, etc, shall become liberated.
In due course, giving birth to a cakravart son and daughter, beautiful all over, Sumamgal was very happy. A little while after that the second wife of king V abhan tha, Sunand , too, gave birth to twins B hubal and Sundar . In due course Sumamgal gave birth to 49 twin sons. This way a total hundred brothers, including Bharata and two daughters were all born.
Nourishment / upbringing and education
All children were brought up with a lot of love and care. When they were older, Lord V abhan tha himself began to educate them. All the sons were of sharp intellect and very soon they became experts in the 72 skills suitable for men. In the same way Br hm and Sundar, too, received education on grammar and mathematics besides 64 arts conducive to women. When Bharata was 14 lakh p rvas old, at that time his father
V abhan tha anointed him to the throne. After ruling justly for 63 lakh prvas, handing over Vint to his son Bharata and many other kingdoms to B hubal and other sons, he became a renouncer.
When Bharata was seated on the royal throne of Vint he was 77 lakh prvas old. He began to take care of his subjects with a sense of justice and expediency. He was comparable to Indra of a beautiful form, bright, soft-spoken, valorous and brave. He was very generous, kind and loved
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his subjects. He held the 1008 excellent insignias of the conch, cakra (wheel), gad (club), padma (lotus), chatra (parasol), c mara (fly-whisk), dhvaja (flag), a i (moon), S rya (sun) etc. The glory of king Bharata began to be sung across all directions.
After 1000 years of Bharata's taking over the throne of Vint, on account of his strong meritorious deeds, one day a divine cakra (wheel) appeared in his armoury. Seeing this, keeper of the armoury came at great speed in the presence of the king, gave the news to the king of the appearance of the divine cakra. Hearing this good news from the mouth of the keeper of the armoury, the king was overjoyed. He sent him after giving him gifts, etc. completely satisfying him.
Thereafter, adorning himself with fine robes and jewellery, surrounded by a group of high officials of the kingdom, subjects, elders, king Bharata reached the armoury to see and invoke the cakra jewel. After respectful and auspicious ceremonies to the cakra jewel, Bharata returned to his assembly and seating himself on his royal throne ordered the celebrations for eight days on the auspicious occasion of obtaining the wheel (cakra) jewel. At the time of the completion of the a hnik celebrations the cakra jewel was taken out of the armoury. Invoked by thousands of gods the cakra jewel, surrounded by divine long, intense and sweet notes of music, passed through the skies and past the centre of the Vint city and the south bank of river Gamg towards the Magadha t rtha on the east. King Bharata began to follow the divine cakra with four battalions of army on a consecrated elephant. Passing through the skies, the cakra would pause after every yojana distance, and then the king would rest there with his army. The moment the divine cakra would begin its movement in the sky, the king would resume moving ahead with his army. Kings of provinces that came on the way would accept his sovereignty and give him appropriate gifts. This way, raising the banner of his victory king Bharata reached Magadha t rtha.
Near Magadha t rtha emperor Bharata set up a huge army camp at a spot that was 12 yojanas long and 9 yojanas wide. When the camp became well-organised emperor Bharata started to observe a fast in honour of the ruling god of Magadha t rtha. After completing his austerities the emperor moved his chariot ahead in the direction shown by the cakra jewel and covering parts of the earth with his huge army, moving eastwards from Magadhat rtha entered the salt ocean.
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He marked his aim with an arrow with his name and from his divine bow, pulled his bow-string and released his arrow. The arrow thus released by Bharata crossed a distance of 12 yojanas and fell at the palace of the Lord of Magadha t rtha. Seeing that arrow in the premises of the palace the Lord of Magadha t rtha got agitated and angry, but the moment he saw the name inscribed on it, his temper cooled down. He began to think that the cakravart of Bharata region (k etra) in Jamb dy pa, Bharata, has come to conquer the six parts. It is the tradition of past, present and future Lords of Magadha t rtha to present him to the cakravart and offer appropriate gifts.
The moment he thought of this, the Lord of Magadha t rtha went to cakravart Bharata with clothes and jewellery, crowns, etc and the arrow with Bharata's name inscribed on it along with the water of Magadha t rtha. Amid cried of 'hail-victory', the Lord of Magadha respectfully told emperor Bharata that I salute you as the protector of the last boundary of the eastern direction and offer you some presents on my behalf, pray accept these. Accepting the gifts of Magadha t rtha's over Lord, emperor Bharata bade him farewell after appropriate honours.
After bidding farewell to the Lord of Magadha t rtha, Kum radeva, the emperor returned to his army camp. Breaking his fast, he ordered all his companions and subjects to observe the eight days ceremony of Magadha t rtha's Kum radeva. The moment the a hnik ceremony concluded the cakra named Sudar ana came out of the armoury and moved in the direction of Varad ma t rtha located in between the south and west in the nai tyako a. Astride his elephant the emperor Bharata began to follow the cakra with his army. Achieving victory everywhere along the route guided by the cakra, accepting gifts and respected by those he won over, he reached close to Varad ma t rtha. He ordered his army to set up a camp there and in honour of the over Lord of the Varad ma t rtha, began his fast. Soon as his fast was over, he started for Varad ma t rtha guided by the cakra jewel. Halting his chariot near Varad ma t rtha by the salt ocean, emperor Bharata drew the bow-string, releasing the arrow with his name inscribed on it. The Varad ma t rtha Lord, too, accepted his sovereignty and said respectfully I am the door-keeper of the southern borders of your kingdom. The emperor Bharata accepted his gifts and after respectful reception and honours, bade him farewell. Returning to
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the camp with the army the emperor broke his second fast and ordered celebration of eight days in honour of the over Lord of Varad ma t rtha.
This way in appropriate manner through observing fasts emperor Bharata brought under his suzerainty the entire land in the north-west quarter and reached close to Prabh sa t rtha. The Lord of Prabh sa t rtha presented gifts to cakravart Bharata.
Due to the effect of the fourth fast when Simdhudev of the Simdhu river bank learnt from clairoyant knowledge (avadhij na) that the first cakravart of Bharata, the emperor Bharata is reaching her for taking over the six parts, she went to the emperor with 1008 bejeweled pots, urns (kumbha) and many kinds of invaluable gems that are difficult to procure.
Thereafter, emperor Bharata moved ahead towards the Vaitādhya Mountain in the northeast. The moment the fifth fast in honour of the Lord of Vaitādhya Mountain was completed the seat of the Vaitādhya Lord started to tremble. He sensed the arrival and objective of Bharata and presented himself before Bharata with 14 kinds of adornments and vermillion tilaka (mark of goodluck on the forehead) for the jewel (str - ratna). Bharata welcomed him, accepted his gifts and bade him farewell.
After some time, Bharata approached the Timisra cave. After completion of the sixth fast the throne of the Lord K tam la, of Timisra, shook. When he realized that emperor Bharata is determined to empower the six divisions (khandas), he came to emperor Bharata with clothes, jewellery, etc. The emperor accepted the gifts of K tam la and sent him off with due respects.
After completion of the sixth ceremony emperor Bharata instructed his chief commander, Su e a, to take the four divisions of the army to conquer the land from the bank of the river Simdhu to the Salt Ocean and Vaitādhya Mountain and bring all the gems, etc from there as gifts.
The chief commander Su e a was famous for his daring, brillianc expertise in all languages, the knowledge of all the secret and indomitable places in Bharata region, expertise in weaponry and scripture, well-versed in economics and polity and was invincible in courage. Coming to the army camp, he left for the river Simdhu along
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with the well-equipped army. Coming close to the river Simdhu the chief commander held up Bharata Cakravart 's cakra jewel. The cakra jewel turned into a huge boat. The commander-in-chief sat inside that boat along with the entire army and after sometime, alighting at the western part of the River Simdhu, started his victory campaign. He gained victory over Simhala, Amgaloka, and the island of the Yavanas (Yavanadv pa), Arabia, Rome, all countries up north up to the mountain Vaitādhya. The kings of the countries that were won over gave Cakravart Bharata gifts of hoards of invaluable things through the army-general and accepted emperor Bharata as their sovereign and took refuge under him.
The General offered them all due respect and after some political discussions, sent them back. Following emperor Bharata's instructions over all the defeated provinces crossing the Simdhu River, the General came to the emperor. After giving the General and the army some days of rest, one day emperor Bharata ordered General Su e a to open the southern entrance of the Timisra cave. As per the emperor's instructions, the General offered worship to the K atam la Lord through a fast in the fasting hall and at the end of it, reached the southern entrance of the Timisra cave along with all the materials of worship. There was also a group of many provincial chiefs, caravan and its maids and attendants with the General. After due worship of the entrance the General saluted the door with folded hands and hit the door with full force using the powerful and competent staff of emperor Bharata. Thus, after hitting the door thrice the doors made a huge rumbling sound and moved backward and opened up wide. The General went to the emperor and gave him news of the doors opening, making the emperor very happy. He honoured the army-general.
At the same time, the cakra jewel too, came out of the armoury and began to move in the direction of the southern entrance of the Timisra cave. Emperor Bharata, too, reached the southern entrance and entered the cave. While entering that dark cave named Timisraprabh emperor Bharata took in his hands a K ki gem. With its impact the Timisra cave became luminescent with light that shone as far as 12 yojanas. Two fearsome rivers named Unmagnajal and Nimagnajal flow in the middle of Timisraprabh cave. These two rivers rise out of the eastern part of the cave and merge into River Simdhu on the west. River Unmagnajal throws out anything that falls into it after whirling it thrice, whereas
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Nimagnajal whirls anything that falls into it thrice and drowns it into its depths.
Emperor Bharata instructed his gem to build a strong bridge over those two rivers through which he moved with his army towards the northern entrance of the Timisra cave. As soon as Bharata reached there the northern doors opened up on their own with a rumbling sound. The emperor moved ahead with the army. At that time, prosperous and vibrant people of Mleccha clan by name of p ta used to live in the northern part of the Bharata region. Their warehouses were full of gold, gems and ample food grains. They had abundant supply of forces and chariots. By themselves they were strong, healthy, courageous fighters and were unfailing in their aim in the battlefield. When they saw the emperor's army advancing from the foremost end of their region, they held mutual discussions and equipped with different kinds of weapons and arms charged on the first battalion of Bharata's army.
From this kind of attack of the p tas, the small battalion of Bharata's army was wounded and terrified and started to flee. Seeing this condition of his army the emperor's General got onto the horse named Kamalasena and taking emperor Bharata; staff, pounced on the p tas with the speed of Garuda. None of the valiant soldiers of the Kir tas was able to beat General Su e a. They felt so defeated, troubled and uncertain about what to do that they left the battleground and ran several yojanas behind, and not finding any path, after due discussions, spread out on the sands at the banks of Simdhu river and observing a fast, completely naked, lay down with their faces to the sky and began to invoke their god, the N gakum ra named Meghamukha. By the impact of the worship of those Kir tas the seat of the N gakum ras trembled.
The N gakum ras came to the Kir tas and while staying in the clouds, asked them as to what they could do for them. Hearing the speech of their clan deities thus, the Kir tas were very happy and said – “Some bad person has attacked our country and wants to grab our independence, you may punish them, dissipate their strength and chase them away so that they will never have the guts to attack us anymore."Hearing the Kir tas the N gakum ras told them the person attacking you is the Cakravart emperor Bharata, who cannot be harmed by any god, demon or gandharva nor can be defeated, yet out of love for you we shall try to fix the king Bharata and trouble him.
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Reassuring the Kir tas thus, the Meghamukha Ngakum ras assumed the form of clouds and sent black clouds over his camp and produced torrential rains. Seeing these extraordinary showers king Bharata held his whisk jewel (carmaratna) which at once spread out across 12 yojanas. The emperor sat on it with his army and his divine umbrella jewel enveloped everybody. This way the entire army was protected. The king placed his gem in the midst of the protective umbrella, which created a bright light. Everything that the army needed could be acquired by the gem. This way the army was safe under the umbrella and the gem even as torrential rains continued to pour on the other end. For seven days this was the situation so emperor Bharata began to wonder as to who is so unhappy with my victory and is creating these hurdles in our path.
Seeing the emperor thus worried, 16 thousand heavenly beings with him reached the N gakum ras equipped with all kinds of war equipment and called out aloud, "why are you causing pain to emperor Bharata creating hurdles in his path? It would be better if you gave up this unjust deed and returned to your place, else we shall be forced to do something?" Hearing this, the N gakum ras were frightened. They stopped the rains immediately and clearing all the clouds, told the Kir tas that the Cakravart Bharata is a great powerful emperor who is prosperous and accomplished; nobody can destroy him. Our effort and aim to cause him discomfort have been in vain. It would be good if you too accept his suzerainty and gifting many valuable jewels to him take refuge under him and apologies to him.
After the N gakum ras left the Kir tas had a bath and meditated and in wet clothes and their hair left open, reached king Bharata with lots of gems, jewels, etc as gifts and pleaded with him, saying, and "O king! May you live long, may you rule over the entire Bharata to the north and the south. We shall obey your orders, remaining subordinate to your Lordship.” Thus they accepted the suzerainty of king Bharata
Calling his army General, king Bharata ordered him to win over kingdoms located in the regions of in the east Simdhu, mountain Vait dhya in the south, the Salt Ocean in the west and mountain Himavamta in the north. As per the orders of the king, the General started on his victorious expedition along with the four-fold army divisions. Within very little time he won over all the regions and made them part of Cakravart Bharata's vast empire and gaining valuable gifts
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from there, presented them to Cakravart Bharata. Very happily the king conferred honours on the General and gifting the entire army personnel asked them to rest for some time.
One day the cakra jewel again emerged from the armoury and through the skies began to move towards the northeast corner. The king's army, following the cakra jewel, reached close to the mountain Cullahimavamta where the cakra jewel stationed itself in the sky. The king ordered the army to camp there. King Bharata started his fast in the fasting hall. This was Bharata's seventh fast in the course of his campaign to win over the six parts of Bharata. On completion of his fast king Bharata took aim with his bow and released the arrow upwards. The arrow went several yojanas up and landed at the palace of Kum radeva of the mountain Cullahimavamta. Recognising the arrow that had fallen in his palace, Kum radeva understood the situation and he presented himself before Bharata, taking along with him various kinds of invaluable medicines, flower garlands, go r a sandalwood, etc. King Bharata accepted his gifts and bade him farewell with appropriate honour and ceremony.
He then turned his chariot backwards and came to mountain abhak a. After touching abhak a mountain thrice with his chariot he wrote the following script on the eastern entrance of the mountain with his K ki jewel: “I am Bharata, the cakravart, sovereign Lord and first ruler and king Bharata of the second half of the third r of the declining happiness cycle. I have won over the entire Bharata and I have no enemies."
Having done that, Bharata reached the camp with his army. He broke the seventh fast and making his subjects happy in many ways, ordered the a hnik ceremony in honour of Kum ra of mountain Himavamta. After completion of the ceremony, following the cakra jewel the king Bharata reached mountain Vaitādhya in the southern direction. There to honour the Vaitādhya gods Nam and Vinam , king Bharata observed a fast. Consequently, by the time the fast was completed, entered Nam with clothes and jewellery and Vinam with the female jewel named Subhadr endowed with beauty of form and grace and qualities of a woman in the presence of the king Bharata. Bharata accepted the Vidy dharas' gifts and after due respects and ceremony, sent them. The subjects observed the a hnik ceremony.
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At the end of the ceremony the cakra jewel emerged from the armoury and took to the skies in the northeast direction. Following the cakra with his army Bharata reached close to Gamg dev . There in honour of Gamg dev Bharata observed the 9th fast in the fasting hall. On completion of the fast Gamg dev came to Bharata with offerings of beautifully decorated and gem-studded urns, thousand and eight in number, and the gold thrones. Accepting these from Gamg dev he sent her off with due respect and honour. After Gamg dev left he broke his ninth fast, and making people satisfied giving them many kinds of facilities, he instructed them to hold a hnik ceremony in honour of Gamg dev
After completion of the ceremony of Gamg dev , the cakra jewel came out of the armoury and took skywards towards the southern direction of the west banks of river Gamg and stopped close to the Kha daprap ta cave. The king observed a fast in the fasting hall in honour of the Lord of the Kha daprap ta cave, Naityam la. This was his tenth fast in which he meditated upon the Naityam la god. On completion of the fast the Naityam la god appeared before Bharata and with hands folded, said, “I, Naityam la god, living in your kingdom, am your servant. May you please accept these gifts?' King Bharata accepted the gifts of Naityam la god and after due respects, bade him farewell. After the Naityam la god left, Bharata broke his tenth fast and ordered the a hnik ceremony in honour of Naityam la god.
Soon as the ceremony was over, Bharata called the army General Su e a. Getting instructed by him, Su e a established control over the Salt Ocean east of the river Gamg , until the Vait dhya mountain in the south and Cullahimavamta and all the rest of the geographical area in the north both easy and difficult to conquer thus taking reins of that specific area.
After resting for a few days the king called for Su e a. After receiving instructions from the Lord, Su e a got the doors of the Kha daprap ta cave's northern entrance just as his ad the entrance of the Timisraprabh cave and he intimated king Bharata of it. With the help of his K ki gem, the king lit up the pathway of the Kha daprap ta cave, which he entered, and came out from the southern entrance. After exiting the cave the king prepared for the army to camp there and started a fast for procuring the nine treasures. This was the king's eleventh fast. Sitting on
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a seat of grass (darbha) the king meditated single-mindedly on the treasures. By the end of the fast the treasures came to stay with king Bharata. He broke his fast and ordered the a hnik ceremony for the treasures.
Upon completion of the ceremony the king ordered his General to conquer the area east of the river Gamg . The General did as commanded and completed his victory campaign.
Sometime after this the cakra jewel came out of the armoury and taking the sky route, move through the king's army camp, towards the Vint city. The king was pleased seeing this. He ordered the army to move towards Vint city. After completing 60 thousand years of his victorious campaign over the six parts of the entire Bharata emperor Bharata returned to the capital of his kingdom Vin t . In the forefront the eight auspicious things, followed by the pitcher, ewer, the divine umbrella, and those holding the gem studded staff and umbrella began to walk. Following them, were in respective order: 7 ekendriyaratna, nine treasures, 16, 000 devas, 32, 000 kings, the army general, 5 ratnas, etc. Following them were thousands of tukalyik , janapada kalyik , theatre artistes, cooks, the four-fold army, many kings gods, princes, swordsmen, charioteers, staff holders, singers singing songs, instrumentalists, dancers, and following them were well-decorated horses. Behind them was king Bharata astride the elephant Ratna. He was followed by a convoy of horse riders.
Reaching Vint city, ordering the army to camp there, Bharata started the fast in honour of the Lord of Vint. Completing the fast, he entered the city astride an elephant along with thousands of gods and goddesses and kings and subjects. The nine great treasures and the four-fold army did not enter the city. Vint city was decorated like a new bride. The king reached the entrance of the grand royal palace. Getting off the elephant accepting the welcome and honours from the people of the royal palace there he broke his 12th fast and started to live enjoying all the pleasures.
Sensing that it was appropriate time for his coronation, king Bharata became immersed in a fast in his fasting hall. On completing the fast, he ordered the construction of a huge coronation hall at the north-east corner of the Vint city. King Bharata entered the coronation hall in the
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same prosperous splendour as he had entered the Vint city after his victory campaign over the six regions. There is great, valuable coronation ceremony was conducted. After his coronation, the king again entered his palace and after his bath, etc, started to observe a fast. The subjects celebrated his coronation ceremony for 12 years.
The subjects in king Bharata's kingdom were happy and prosperous in everyway. People did their duty and lived happy lives. He was the sovereign over the entire Bharata. His army was invincible and indestructible. He took care of his people in the form of a cakravart ruler for thousand less than 6 lakh p rvas. In his time both the king and the people tasted incomparable progress.
Bharata's Indisposition
Bharata's mind was not peaceful in spite of attaining sovereign rule over the empire. He regretted the dilemma in the minds of his brothers for a destructible kingdom, losing his 99 brothers. Consequently, he was least interested even though he ruled over the entire Bharata.
Once, Lord V abhan tha, along with his disciples, was seated in the garden of Vint city. He was giving his divine sermon. A listener asked – “O Lord! How will cakravart Bharata die?” The Lord replied – "attaining salvation!” The questioner said softly - "Ha! Even the Lord is biased towards his son."
When Bharata heard of this he was sad that the Lord was being accused on his account. To clear the doubts of that man towards the Lord's speech, he called that man and said – "take this vessel filled with oil and take a tour around the markets of Vint city but remember, if even a drop of oil falls, you shall be hanged."
The man went around Vint city as instructed by Bharata. There were many kinds of interesting events happening in that time across the city, but due to the fear of death he could not even take his eyes off for a moment. Thus when the king asked him about the theatre events happening in the city, the man replied - "when the fear of death is hovering over a person, how he can he watch plays and all that?” Hearing this Bharata said – “In the same way as you cannot watch plays,
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etc fearing death in the same way, I fear the long tradition of impending death, because of which despite enjoying the pleasures of kingship I am unable to be inclined towards it. Physically I enjoy the pleasures of the world but I am indifferent to them."
Hearing this statement of Bharata the doubt that had entered the mind of that man towards Lord V abhan tha was cleared. On account of the people's welfare under the rule of Bharata this country became known as Bh ratavar a.
Commencement of Parivr jakaascetic sect
According to the va yakaniryukti and other vet mbara texts, listening to the sermon of the Lord and seeing the amazing Samava ara a, emperor Bharata's son Mar ci too took initiation at the Lord's feet, but being of a tender age, once during the summer months, suffering from the intense heat, he deviated from the path of penance. He started to think that I could not bear the weight of this difficult path of restraint, what can I do? He thought if he returned from the ascetic path people would call him a coward but if remained in the monk's form without observing restraint, he will feel self-critical. So he thought of a new kind of robes in keeping with his own situation. He started a new tradition of robes within the rama a tradition"
“The rama as following the path of the Jina are free from the impure practices of the mind, word and deed and are victors over the senses, but I am not free from them hence I shall keep the three-pointed staff (trida da)
The rama as have sacrificed violence, hence pull out their hairs, but I shall be away from basic violence and shall keep my hair shave it
The rama as are renouncers, without possessions of wealth and gold and are virtusous. I am neither pious nor a renouncer, hence I shall adorn myself with sandal paste.
Being devoid of illusion rama as do not keep an umbrella, but being full of illusion I shall have an umbrella and shall also wear slippers.
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Symbols of pure minds, the rama as are sky-clad (without clothes) or white-robed. But being impure on account of passion I shall wear black or grey coloured robes
Fearing bad deeds, they do not use unpurified water but I shall use limited water for bathing and drinking.”
This way, having conceived of a form of a renouncer, Mar ci began to wander around with the Lord. Whosoever came to Mar ci with questions on the religion he would preach them the ten-fold rama a tradition and send them to the Lord? Once Bharata asked the Lord as to who in his assembly would become a t rthamkara like him.
The Lord said your son Mar ci who is the first parivr jaka (renouncer), will be the 24thT rthamkara in this very declining happiness cycle. Before that he will also be the first Vasudeva and the cakravart of M k city. Hearing this, Bharata was immensely pleased and going to Mar ci, said to him – “Mar ci! The Lord has said you shall be the 24°T rthamkara, hence I invoke you." Mar ci's happiness, on hearing this, knew no bounds. He said - "My lineage is so lofty, my grandfather the first T rthamkara, my father the first cakravart and I the future T rthamkara. Can there be any lineage loftier than this?”
Way, from the pride of his lineage Mar ci bound himself to a lower gotra. Later he made the son of king R jakum ra of Kapila his student, who according to the Puras is considered the founder of Yoga stras, and S mkhya philosophy. The tradition of renouncers started systematically from the time of Kapilamuni.
Br hm and Sundar
In the same way as Bharata and B hubal are famous among the hundred sons of Lord din tha, his two daughters Br hm and Sundar are wellknown all over. Lord V abhan tha gave the knowledge of writing to the people through Br hm. The commentator of the va yaka niryukti speaks of Br hm -B hubal and Sundar - Bharata as couples. A doubt occurs here that if they are considered as being celibate since childhood what is this marriage all about? It is possible that in accordance with the customs of that period their relationship was announced but later even
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before beginning the married life they took asceticism at the feet of the Lord.
According to c rya Jinasena Sundar took initiation along with Br hm on the very first sermon of Lord V abhan tha. But according to the
vet mbara tradition, not getting the permission from Bharata, she became the first r vik householder of that time. When Bharata started on his victory campaign over the six parts of the world, Sundar started observing the daily yambila fast. When Bharata returned from his victory campaigns after 60 thousand years, seeing the transient form of Sundar and her intense aspiration for austerity, she was made an ascetic with Br hm who was serving the Lord.
Later traditions after the vet mbara tradition talk of Br hm 's initiation along with the founding of the congregation tradition but Sundar 's initiation is considered to have occurred after 60 thousand years, that is, after Bharata cakravart 's victory campaigns. But on the other hand there is mention of Br hm and Sundar being sent to arouse B hubal , deep in his meditation, and this is only possible if both their initiations have occurred at the same time, and if we analyse objectively based on existing facts, then the mention of joint initiation of the two as mentioned in the Jamb dv pa Praj apti and Kalpas tra seem more acceptable.
The arousal of V abhan tha's sons
V abhan tha became a renouncer after giving different kingdoms to all his sons. When Bharata had gained victory over the six zones he wanted to bring his brothers as his assistants too. The brothers consulted each other but could not reach any decision. Ultimately they placed the problem in front of their worldly father Lord V abhan tha. When they reached their father he explained to them the transitory nature of worldly kingdom and the importance of the kingdom of spirituality. Everyone was dumbfounded. They accepted the five major vows (mah vratas) tradition and became the Lord's disciples.
The Non-Violent War
Emperor Bharata wanted to establish his rule over the entire Bh rata. By getting initiated as renouncers, his 98 brothers had made the path easier for him. Yet the trouble was how to conquer B hubal ? Without that it
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was impossible to gain cakravart status and establishment of a singular rule. Hence he sent a message to his younger brother B hubal to accept his sovereignty. But B hubal categorically refused. On the basis of his power as a cakravart Bharata had to decide upon attacking B hubal .
Bharata with his large army camped at the borders of Bahal de a. A war ensued for sometime between the two armies. But to prevent the human killing in this war, B hubal suggested that both the brothers have a decisive duel. Bharata agreed. In all the duels – with the eyes, voice, arms, fist – B hubal won. Bharata was so hurt by the victory of his younger brother over him that he hurled a cakra at his brother to behead him. Initially an angry B hubal wanted to hold the cakra but then thinking that even if his elder brother has done something disrespectful he should not indulge in a heinous crime as the killing of a brother. Since B hubal was a part of Bharata's family and one of magnificent body, the cakra circumambulated him and returned.
According to Hemacandra's Tri a i al k puru acaritra the moment B hubal raised his fists to hit Bharata he thought the tradition of V abhan tha's children is that of non-violence and not violence'. But how could he take back the hand that had been raised to fight? He placed the fists he had raised on his own head and pulling out his hair, accepted the rama a tradition (became a monk).
Even though he desired to present himself in front of V abhan tha B hubal could not take a step forward because he attained a sense of vanity in his mind as to how could he simple be present amidst his brothers already initiated. As a result he stood at that very place deep in meditation and remained in that same position for a year. Creepers grew
ver his body, his soft body shriveled up, his feet got covered by the dust of termites and yet he did not attain omniscience. When Lord V abhan tha sensed this condition of B hubal he sent Br hm and Sundar to arouse him. Both the female-monks immediately went to B hubal and in a sweet voice said, “Brother, alight from the elephant, you do not attain omniscience astride an elephant.” Hearing the inspiring, sweet voice of the female-monks B hubal understood that he was riding astride the elephant of vanity. All his vanity disappeared and the moment he lifted his feet to proceed to salute his younger brothers, he attained omniscience. After becoming anomniscienthe attended the samava ara a
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of the Lord and after paying obeisance to the Lord, sat in the omniscient council.
Founding of the Brahmin caste by Bharata
According to c rya Jinasena when king Bharata became a cakravart he thought he must use his invaluable fame and riches for the welfare and well-being of the society. He also thought, at the same time, that there must be such a class of intelligent, intellectuals who would give assistance of their mind for a just life of the remaining three classes which would help the society move towards greater progress.
He called all the intellectual people to his place. He laid green grass in their path. Most people did not understand its meaning or intent and walked on the grass to Bharata's palace. The wise people thought even green grass has living organisms which will die if we walk over them and shall suffer pain, so they stood outside. King Bharata appreciated their feeling of compassion and called them in from another pathway and honouring them, called them ‘m ha a' or 'Brahmin'.
According to the va yaka c r i Bharata became restive when his 98 brothers took to asceticism and thought of what use was such incomparable wealth which could not be of use to his own people. When the Lord came to Vint city Bharata invited his brothers to a feast but they did not accept the food they had renounced. Then Bharata wished to felicitate the female- monks to food but the Lord said monks cannot accept food made for them or brought for them. Then Bharata asked them to accept food that was made for him, which they pronounced to be ‘r japi da' (given by a king) and said it was not acceptable.
When Bharata asked as to how to make use of this food that had been prepared for the monks, Indra told him to donate it to people who were greater than him in qualities and honour them. Bharata gave it all to householders and told them they need not do any occupation for their livelihood; that their work would be listening to, studying the scriptures, thinking, and service to the teacher. Their life's needs would be taken care of by the ruler. This way the householders who would come for a livelihood, would cry ‘m ha a', 'm ha a' and eat the food. Gradually innumerable people started coming looking for their livelihood. So
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Bharata instructed the organizers to enquire after the guests and only give food to those who were votaries ( r vakas). In the course of enquiry those who seemed eligible and right were sent to the king and the king would mark an insignia on them with this K ki jewel. These people and their progeny remained distinct from the characteristics of the monks and started to teach people not to indulge in violence, and were called as 'm ha a', 'm ha a'. This way the 'm ha a' people came about who later began to be called Brh ma a or ‘Brahmin'.
Bharata would make three lines on the r vakas through the K ki jewel of worship to the three gods, teacher and tradition or knowledge. tradition and character and this later on changed into yaj opav ta. This way the Brahmin caste was founded. Thus, between Lord din tha and Bharata cakravart's rule, the four castes were established.
Bharata' realisation of the self, omniscience and liberation
One day Bharata went to his glass palace adorned in finery. He was enchanted by his own self as reflected in the mirrors. Admiring his fingers he felt of the entire fingers one was not beautiful as the finger ring had fallen off somewhere. He then wondered how his fingers would look without any of the finger-rings and one by one he removed all his finger-rings, and then all his ornaments. Seeing his body thus devoid of all ornaments it seemed to him like a pond without a lotus flower, and without beauty. Seeing this Bharata thought all the attraction was due to the ornaments hence all this beauty was not one's own, but someone else', not real but false, not natural but affected. He felt that beauty adorned by worldly things is meaningless and full of illusion. Enchanted by it a human being forgets his own true self.
Gradually, the flow of thoughts of Bharata moved from regular rhythm through speed and total disregard for worldly things, and entering ap rvakara a, destroying the four obscuring karmas - j n vara ya, dar an vara ya, mohan ya, antar ya – he obtained pure intuition and pure knowledge. He became the knower and seer of all the modes of the past, future and present cycles. He removed all adornments and removed five fistfuls of hair. Bharata exited the hall of mirrors in the form of anomniscient and came out from the middle part of his palace, he arouse ten thousand kings and initiated them into the rama a tradition. He then
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came out of the Vint city with them and gladly wandered about. After wandering for one lakh p rvas he went to A t pada Mountain. There he gave up the four-fold food. He remained in this state, without any desire.
Omniscient Bharata remained a prince for 77 lakh p rvas and thereafter, for one thousand years as king. Following that he was cakravart for one thousand years less than six lakhs prvas. Thus he remained for three lakh p rvas in the worldly state. Until obtainment of pure intuition and pure knowledge following self-realisation in the hall of mirrors he was not associated with any position or status. Thus, leaving aside that time for a little less than one lakh p rvas he remained in the omniscientstatus and for the same number of years as a mendicant. Thus, completing 84 lakh prvas, for a month giving up water, under the rama a constellation, he attained liberation from the shackles of birth and death, obtained permanent, blemish-less liberation ( ivapada). He followed the path of Lord V abhan tha and in the end attained liberation /salvation (mok a).
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Lord r Ajitan tha
It is the law of nature that a person whose present life is superior, to his past life's efforts must have been as superior. The second T rthamkara of Jain religion; Lord rAjitan tha's past life's efforts were also high and worth emulating. His past life is described as follows:
In Mah Videha province of Jamb dv pa on the southern banks of a river named St there is an extremely prosperous and beautiful heaven (vijaya) named Vatsa. There was an extremely beautiful city there named Sus m . A ruler, brave, just, religious and one filled with qualities due in a king, named Vimalay hana ruled there. He was unsullied by pleasures and was disinclined towards royal pleasures. He was popular among people as being magnanimous and compassionate.
While ruling happily one day Vimalav hana, in the course of selfintrospection, thought, what should a living being do having attained a human life? In this world there is neither beginning nor end to the cycle of birth, disease and death. Among 84 lakh existences (yoni), the human destiny is the only one where a living being can attain freedom from worldly pain by following the path of spiritual endeavour. I too have the golden opportunity to be free from this bondage; thus every minute of human life is invaluable. Nothing is to be gained by repenting after the endless, valuable time that has past, but whatever remains of this life, making the utmost spiritual gain from it would be most beneficial to me.
This way king Vimalav hana had just made a firm resolve towards spiritual endeavour for self-benefit when the gardener saluted him and informed him that due to the good deeds of the people of Sus m a great ascetic, crya Aridamana had arrived at a garden situated outside the city.
Hearing this timely and happy announcement Vimalav hana experienced indescribable joy and thought what an auspicious coincidence that when a good feeling arose in my mind I have got the good fortune of meeting an ascetic. The king reached the garden with his kith and kin. Hearing the immortality-bestowing sermon of crya Aridamana, the feeling of disenchantment of Vimalav hana gained strength. He asked the c rya with humility that in spite of constantly suffering the agony of the
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immense pain of this world the feeling of disenchantment towards the world does not arise in an ordinary person. In this state, why and in what way did a feeling of disenchantment for the world arise in you?
c rya r replied that for an intelligent and knowledgeable thinker, at every step in this world, he sees reasons that cause disinclination, but blinded by passion, desire and attachment a human being denies the obvious and continues to live on. A person with knowledge finds reasons, both self-experienced and experienced by others, to immediately become disinterested in the world.
After ascending my royal throne I decided to win over all directions and started on a victory campaign with my four-fold army. In course of that journey I saw a garden as beautiful as Nandana-vana. With its tanks, wells, and streams and canopy of creepers, that garden seemed like heaven. I was enchanted by the beautiful sight of that garden. After resting with my warriors and army generals in that garden I resumed my victory campaign.
In victory-journey I established my rule over many countries but I could never spot that same kind of garden pleasing to the eye again. After my victory campaign when I was returning to capital city I found that garden completely destroyed and disfigured. Mere stumps in the place of thick, magnificent flower and fruit-laden trees there seemed as fearsome as ghosts. Seeing this, my mind and heart were deeply wounded. I began to feel that the entire visible world was momentary and I thought every person in this world has to face this state sooner or later.
After this, I began to tremble and became agitated with the kind of thought that came to my mind. I thought I am a worldly human being crushed in the quern of birth and death since time immemorial, and I too, shall have to face this destiny soon. If I do not take care I shall keep wandering in this endless ocean. I began to see this world as a burning furnace. At that very moment, leaving everything, I took initiation into the rama a tradition and since then am following the happinessbestowing major vows.
Hearing that discourse of c rya Aridamana, king Vimalav hana bequeathed the royal throne to his son and became a mendicant. After becoming a monk Vimalav hana, while serving the monk, studied the
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gamas, besides observing austerities. For a long time he observed with purity the five attitudes of carefulness (samitis) the three attitudes of restraint (guptis) and for a long time destroyed the karmas accumulatedover a long time. He practiced many of the twenty sth nakas such as devotion to the Arihanta and obtained the T rthamkara n ma karma. In the end, giving up food, completing his time, he emerged in the form of a god, 33 ocean measured periods (s garas) of age, in the Vijaya palace in Anuttara vim na.
Conception and Entry into the Womb
In the island in Bharata was a city named Vint. Here, after innumerable kings of the Ik v ku clan of Lord V abhan tha, a great, brave and religious king named Jita atru was born. His pious wife was named Vijay · Queen Vijay was endowed with all good qualities, was beautiful in body and form and a religious, intellectual and chaste woman. The royal couple looked after the subjects with a sense of justice, while enjoying the best of worldly pleasures, followed the rama a religion regularly.
On the 13th day of the bright fortnight of Vai kha month, upon completion of 33s garas the god of Anuttara vim na, 71 lakh p rvas less 50 lakh crore s garas after the nirv a of Lord V abhan tha, under the Rohi constellation being in conjunction with the moon, with mind based, verbal testimony and clairvoyant knowledge under the Caitra constellation, Vimalav hana moved from Vijaya palace into the king Jita atru's queen Vijay 's womb. On the last quarter of that very night the queen saw the 14 dreams in a half-asleep, half-awake state. Very delighted, the queen narrated her dreams to the king Jita atru. King Jita atru was also happy. He said we will get a very brave son venerated by the world.
The Second Cakravart 's entry into the womb
On that same night the young princess of Jita atru's younger brother Sumitravijaya, Vaijayant , too, saw 14 great dreams whose refulgence was dull compared to the dreams of queen Vijay. The next day king Jita atru asked able dream-interpreters to explain the meaning of the dreams and after some analysis they said queen Vijay dev shall give
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birth to this declining happinesscycle's second t rthamkara while princess Vaijayant will give birth to the second cakravart .
Birth
Upon the completion of the pregnancy period, on the 8th day of the bright fortnight of the M gha month with moon in conjunction with Rohi constellation, mother Vijay dev gave birth to a son venerated by the three worlds. Just like the birth celebrations of Lord V abhan tha, Lord Ajitan tha's birth was also celebrated. Sometime after the birth of the Lord, princess Vaijayant gave birth to a son who went on to become the second cakravart . The atmosphere in the royal palace after the birth of two sons at the same time was filled with happiness and gaiety. People were given various kinds of gifts and rewards. It was an atmosphere of festivity and music all around. On an auspicious day king Jita atru invited his family and friends, ambassadors, warriors and important people of the city and after due honours, declared that since this son entered the womb of his mother, I have been unconquerable in the every place, hence it would be appropriate to name this boy Ajita. People expressed their agreement with joy. Prince Sumitra's son was named Sagara.
The development and upbringing of both the princes happened simultaneously. Both children gave happiness to their parents for many years with their child-play and entered adolescence. Prince Ajita possessed three kinds of knowledge since birth, and knew all the arts and skills. Consequently, there was no need to teach him anything, but to make Sagara skilled in all the arts and skills able experts were arranged. Sagara had a sharp intellect, hence on account of devoted and humble study, even before the expected time, he became well-versed in all kinds of knowledge and the 72 arts. During his study period, young Sagara also found his curiosity being resolved by Ajita of great use to him.
This way from childhood to adolescence passed and when both princes reached the youth stage the king Jita atru got them married to many qualified, beautiful women with all the womanly qualities. Prince Ajita also accepted it considering it part of the karma of enjoyment. When Ajitakum ra became 18 lakh p rvas old, king Jita atru told him of his desire to accept monkhood and requested him to take up the
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responsibility of the king. The prince appreciated his father's resolve to become a renouncer and said that it is necessary for every one desiring mok a to strive for it and that in this nobody should be an obstacle but only be supportive. As far as kingdom is concerned you may please give the same to my uncle who is also a prince and capable and qualified to take up that responsibility. Prince Ajita had not even completed his words when prince Sumitra said, I do not want to renounce everything along with the king and take the path of spiritual endeavour. Prince Ajita through his knowledge perception found out that there was some time left for prince Sumitra to become a renouncer so he requested him even if he did not take the responsibility of the kingdom he should remain as a yat in the house. King Jita atru too requested his brother similarly. Prince Sumitra could not say no to this. Hence with great pomp and splendour prince Ajita's coronation was organised and the moment he sat on the throne king Ajita appointed Sagara Kum ra crown prince.
Father's renunciation, omniscience and liberation
Upon completion of the coronation of prince Ajita, king Jita atru's exiting ceremony also took place in a festive spirit and he took initiation from an elder monk from the congregation of Lord din tha. Upon initiation as a mendicant the monk Jita atru attained pure intuition (kevaladar ana) and pure knowledge through severe penance over a long period, destroying his four obscuring karmas (gh tikarmas) and in the end attained mok a having destroyed the remaining four remaining nonobscuring karmas.
The Rule of King Ajita
Ajita ruled justly and as per norms for 53 lakh p rvas. By the strength of good deeds of Ajita, the receptacle of three kinds of knowledge, other kings came under him voluntarily, bowing to him with faith and devotion. In his rule his subjects were in every way prosperous, happy and just, religious and orderly. One day, contemplating in solitude, king Ajita thought now I must renounce the mundane activities of this world and should be determined in my basic purpose. I should not delay in striving to be unbound, devoid of passions and blemish. These thoughts were in the king's mind when the lok ntika gods came in his presence and prayed to him that 'Lord! Establish the congregation and redeem the
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living beings.’After the gods left king Ajita called prince Sagara and said, “I want to renounce all kinds of mundane things and want to be firm in the path of austerities; hence you take over the responsibilities of the kingdom”. Hearing these words from the king's mouth Sagara stood dumbfounded as though struck by a thunderbolt. His eyes were brimming with tears. Crying, he said, “I have considered you as my father, mother and teacher. I cannot live a moment away from you. Distanced form you I cannot accept even the sole control of the entire world, leave alone this kingdom. If you have resolved to renounce then allow me too to be at your service." Saying this Sagara laid his head at the feet of his elder brother.
A Year's charities and Initiation
After the coronation of prince Sagara the king gave charities for one year. He would donate one crore gold coins each every single morning. After completion of a year's charities 64 Indras including akra came in the service of the king. Gods such as akra and Devendra and king Sagara organised the king Ajita's renunciation ceremony. The king, adorned in all finery, was placed on a palanquin named Suprabh. Groups of people along with gods held the king's palanquin and reached Sahasr mravana situated outside the Vint city. A huge gathering of gods and people arrived to watch the great ceremony. On the ninth day of the bright fortnight of M gha month with moon in conjunction with the Rohi constellation, king Ajita himself took his clothes and ornaments off and accepted the divine cloth (devad ya) offered by akra. Thereafter, pulling five fistfuls of hair reciting “namo Siddh am”, saluting the liberated souls, and observing a fast along with one thousand kings he accepted a lifelong conduct of mendicancy. The moment he took initiation he attained direct awareness of thought-forms of others sans the aid of mind and senses (manah paryavaj na).
Period of mendicancy (Chadmastha)
The next day after initiation king Brahmadatta broke the fast of the Lord Ajitan tha with an offering of rice pudding in S keta (Ayodhya, another name of Vin t ) and became the first giver of alms. Here five kinds of heavenly showers occurred. After initiation, the Lord wandered from village to village for 12 years as a mendicant. For 12 years the Lord kept annihilating the accumulation of karmas through observation of external
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and internal austerities. One day the Lord was observing fast, deep in meditation in Sahasr mravana. In his meditative state, he completely destroyed the obscuring karmas and attained pure intuition and pure knowledge thereby entering the 13thgu asth na (sayog -keval ) or became omniscient Lord. This way, after 12 years in the state of mendicancy, on the 11" day of the bright fortnight in the Pau a month with Rohi constellation being in conjunction with the moon Lord Ajitan tha became the all-knowing, all-perceiving i.e. an omniscient. The gods showered the five auspicious things and the king of gods created the samava ara a right there. King Sagara got the message of the Lord's being omniscient. Immediately, he along with his ministers, kith and kin, arrived at the garden with royal pomp and majesty. Reaching the samava ara a, king Sagara paid obeisance to the Lord with devotion and joy and sat there. Lord Ajitan tha, seated on a high seat erected by the gods, gave a sermon at the samava ara a like a shower of nectar. Gaining knowledge from the Lord's sermon many people accepted the conduct of monks and female-monks and lay-men and lay-women. Lord Ajitan tha had 95 ga adharas (principal disciples) among whom Simhasena was the first. The Lord's first female disciple was Falgu who started the Lord's female-monk congregation. This way, in his first sermon, Lord Ajitan tha spoke on the scripture and conduct and established the four-fold order.
Deliverance of the people of
ligr ma
Giving a discourse on the immortal truthful tradition, urging people to walk towards mok a, Lord Ajitan tha arrived at a garden located to the north outside Kau mb city. The gods erected the samava ara a. Seated on a huge pedestal under the A oka tree the Lord started his sermon. At that time a Brahmin came with his wife to participate in the samava ara a and after circumambulating the Lord and praying at his feet sat beside him. After the sermon the Brahmin, with folded hands, asked the Lord, "Why is it so?” The Lord answered, “This is the effect of right belief." The Brahmin asked again, "In what way, Lord?” The Lord explained, “The effect of right belief is mighty. Its result is that enmity is silenced, diseases are eliminated, bad karmas die out, the desired gets done, heavenly-destiny karma is bonded, gods and goddesses are ready to help. These are all the ordinary effects of right belief. By the best observance of right belief a person can destroy all the accumulated
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karmas and gain the T rthamkara-n ma-karma even, can become pure, knowledgeable and emancipated.” On hearing this from the Lord, the Brahmin said, “Lord, if it is so, then there is nothing else other than this." Saying this, the Brahmin sat with a contented countenance in his place.
To make clear the secret in this sermon for the listeners, Lord's main Ga adhara asked – “Lord, what is the secret of the Brahmin's question and your response?” To this the Lord Ajitan tha said, “A little distance from here is a village named ligr ma. A Brahmin named D mod ra used to live there. His wife's name was S m . Their son was named
iddhabha a. When iddhabha a attained marriageable age, he was married to the daughter of a Brahmin iddhabha a, named Sulak a ,
iddhabha a and Sulak a were living happily when both their parents passed away and all their wealth and prosperity too ended. It reached a stage when even two square meals a day was difficult. iddhabha a was so unhappy with this poverty that one day he left to another country without telling his wife. When Sulak a realized this she was shocked. Immersed in an ocean of sorrow the lone Sulak a began to spend her life like a recluse far away from everyone. In those very days a preceptor named Vipul along with two other female-monks came to that village to stay during the rains and started to live in a corner of Sulak a 's home. Sulak a used to listen to the discourse of the preceptor everyday and she began to develop a taste for the religion. When her cloud of illusion cleared, from within her emerged right belief and she accepted the Jain religion which would help her cross the ocean of this world. Through this her ka yas (passions) were stilled and she developed distaste and disinterest for sensual pleasures. She served the female-monks with devotion throughout the rainy season halt (c turm s a period). When the rainy season halt ended the female-monks made her accept the minor vows (a uvratas), making her a female-votary and left for another pla After the female-monks had left, Sulak a 's husband returned home with large sums of money. Sulak a was very happy with his coming. When iddhabha a asked her as to how she spent her time after his departure Sulak a said, "I was in distress over your leaving when the female-monks came here and stayed in our house for four months, purifying it. Seeing them my pangs of separation from you were quelled and I got from them the jewel of right belief and a meaning for my birth."
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iddhabha a was inquisitive to know what right belief was and how did it look like? Explaining the immortal tradition brought to form by the unbound Jinendra to her husband Sulak a said, “Destroying passions, hatred, accepting the Jain religion founded by the Jinendra free from bondage, utter devotion towards the true gods, true teacher, and pure religion is right belief. The other name of right belief is correct knowledge of reality. There are five characteristics of right belief – tranquility, increasing inclination leading to disenchantment, disregard for worldly objects, compassion and faith or affirmation. Helping people of the same religion to be steady in right belief, influencing / propagating, devotion, expertise in the doctrine, and service to the fourfold t rthas, are its five adornments." iddhabha a was very happy to have understood very well the true form of Jain religion from his wife. He too accepted the right belief and the couple, accepting right belief, became followers of Jain religion. The other Brahmins of the village began to criticize them, that leaving their own traditional religion they have become votaries.
After sometime, Sulak a gave birth to a son. It was winter time. One day, in the morning iddhabha a took his son near the fireplace where many Brahmins were warming themselves up in the fire. Seeing
iddhabha a approach them they all stayed around the fire in such a way that there was no place for anyone else, and further they said you are a votary hence there is no place for you in our midst and teasing him they laughed at iddhabha a. Sad and angry with this disrespectful behaviour of the Brahmins iddhabha a said, "If the Jain religion not be one that helps one cross the worldly ocean, if the Arihanta not be the all-knowing, if right belief and right conduct not be the path to salvation, or if there be no such thing as right belief in this world; then let this my son burn to
es in the fire, but if all these exist, may not a hair on his body come to harm.” Saying this iddhabha a threw his son into that fire.
Seeing this, the people assembled there began to cry out, "Oh, Oh, this foolish man has burnt his son". But the moment they looked towards the fire they did not see even the signs of any fire there and in its place, instead was a huge lotus in full bloom and the child was happily playing on it. The people kept looking at the miracle in wonder.
Actually, it so happened that when iddhabha a threw his son into the flames, a wandering celestial being (peripatetic deity), who was ever
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keen to show the impact of right belief was coincidentally thereabouts, immediately made the fire to disappear and in its place, placed a huge lotus flower, thus saving the child. That peripatetic deity was in her previous birth a female-monk who had criticized the ascetic tradition because of which she became a peripatetic deity upon her death. When she asked an omniscient Lord the reason for her birth as a peripatetic deity, he clarified this point and suggested to her that she should always remain ready to show the influence of right belief and its development. Since then that peripatetic deity is every eager to show the effect of right belief. iddhabha a returned home with his son. He told his wife everything. She told him he did not do the right thing. If our son had been burnt would right belief, the being of the religion founded by Jinendra, the Arihanta be negated? But their being has been proven throughout all times.
After that the Sulak a has come here along with all those people of the village and her husband to make them steady in right belief. The Brahmin came here and asked me about it and I told him of the impact of right belief.
Liberation (Parinirva)
Ultimately, completing the age of 72 lakh p rvas, Ajitan tha along with one thousand monks became emancipated, liberated and free on Sammeta ikhara observing fast on the 5th day of the bright fortnight of Caitra month. He spent 18 lakh p rvas as a child, 53 lakh p rvas or more as a king, 12 years as a mendicant and little less than 1 lakh p rvas in the keval mode. For a long time his congregation continued successfully in which innumerable souls attained their well-being. His congregation had 95 ga adharas, 22,000 omniscient, 12,500 telepaths, 9400 clairvoyants, 3700 14-p rvadh rs (all prior canons knowing), 20,400 vaikriyalabdhidh rs, 12,400 v ds (excellent debators), 100,000 monks, 330000 female-monks, 298000 votaries and 545000 female votaries
***
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Cakravart Sagara
In the present declining happinesscycle in the Bharata region in Jamb dy pa king Sagara was the second cakravart. Some years after Lord Ajitan tha's establishment of the t rthas a heavenly cakra appeared in king Sagara's armoury. On this great occasion king Sagara instructed a festive celebration across his entire kingdom for eight days. This way, including the heavenly cakra jewel, a total of fourteen jewels appeared at the king's place.
Sagara gained victory over six divisions of Bharata and established his sovereign rule over the entire Bharata for 32,000 years. He had nine treasures. 32,000 crown kings were always ready to serve him. King Sagara's palace had 64,000 queens and 60,000 sons, including Sahasr m u, Sahasr k a, Jahnu, Sahasrab hu, etc. According to crya S1 mka's 54 Mah purisacariyam and c rya Hemacandra's Tri a i
al k puru a caritra, 60,000 sons including Sahasr mu started a campaign for Bharata with the jewels such as Army General Jewel, Staff jewel, etc with a huge army. After traveling across many places they reached the mountain A t pada. There they saw Jina temples and in order to preserve those temples they thought of digging a pit all around the mountain and dug up pits as low as the palaces of the Bhavanapatis. With the help of the staff-jewel, Jahnu dug up the banks of river Gamg and filled the pits with water from there. The water reached the homes of the Bhavanapatis, which aroused the wrath of N gakum ras who through the poison in their eyes burnt the 60,000 sons into ashes.
Jain stras do not mention the events related to this story or the Jina temples constructed by Bharata. It is possible that the Jain c ryas presented such a tale inspired by one narrated in the Pur as about Indra tying up the sacrificial horse of the king Sagara - desirous of conducting hundred a vamegha sacrifices - in the netherworld near sage Kapila, and Sagara's sons reaching there and creating a ruckus. Whatever it may be, but king Sagara's narrative / story is one of disenchantment and gives a lesson. The story goes on as follows:
Hearing of the death of all his sons at the same time produced a heartrending pain in Sagara. He could not imagine that his state could be so pathetic, helpless and hopeless in spite of being the suzerain Lord of the
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six regions of Bharata, the Lord of fourteen heavenly jewels, nine treasures, and a cakravart emperor. He began to wail in anger as to what could be a better example of the meaninglessness of worldly riches and accomplishments and strength than this. What can be a greater mockery than this that a Lord of six divisions, a cakravart emperor could not even protect his own family? This entire world is a dangerous web of illusion and a whodunit, unreal and false. It is futile to get stuck in its illusion. I wasted in vain my human life behind this meaningless wealth. Thus, what has to happen and has happened. Now I shall make my human life worthwhile.
This way, disenchanted by worldly affairs cakravart Sagara anointed his grandson Bhag ratha on the throne and took initiation into mendicancy under T rthamkara Lord Ajitan tha, observed pure austerities and intense meditation. He destroyed the four obscuring karmas in the flame of his austerities and restraint and obtained pure knowledge and in the end, destroying the non-obscuring karmas also, obtained the immortal happy state of nirva.
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Lord r Sambhavan tha
A long time after Lord Ajitan tha came the third t rthamkara, r Sambhavan tha. Inhis past life as king Vipulav hana, on account of highly meritorious deeds he gained the T rthamkara n ma-karma. King Vipulav hana used to rule over the kingdom of K emapur . He loved his subjects. Once a terrible famine broke and Vipulav hana was very worried. He could not see his subjects suffer the pangs of hunger. He ordered the officials that all food-stock in the warehouses of the kingdom should be distributed among the people. He took care of even the ascetics and religious people. He made arrangements to feed faultless food to the monks and mendicants and would feed the pious people in his presence till they were content. In this way, through serving the four-fold order of mendicants with pure feelings he gained pious karmas to become eligible for the T rthamkara status.
Once watching the clouds form and disperse he gained knowledge of the actual reality of this world and of impermanence and became detached in his mind. Taking initiation from c rya Svayamprabhu, he worshipped the religion of self-restraint and attaining his death by fasting, he became a god in the nata heaven in the ninth kalpa.
Birth and Naming
After completing his time as a god, Vipulav hana's soul descended from the heaven into the womb of Sen dev , queen of king Jit ri of r vast , on the eighth day of the bright fortnight of F lguna month under the constellation M ga ira. Queen Sen dev saw the 14 auspicious dreams that night and listening to the meaning of those dreams from the king Jit ri, became delighted. After nine months in the mother's womb, he was born at midnight, on the 14th day of the bright fortnight of Mrga r a month under M ga ira constellation. Ever since he entered the mother's womb the kingdom was brimming with huge quantities of s mba grain (paddy), lentils, etc and the fields were verdant with paddy crops, hence his parents named him Sambhavan tha.
Marriage, kingship and initiation
After completing his childhood, when Sambhavan tha became a young man, the king Jit ri got him married and entrusting the kingdom to him,
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became a renouncer. Though Sambhavan tha got married and sat on the throne at his father's request, his mind was always detached from worldly pleasures. He used to consider worldly pleasures like poisoned delicacies, that is to say, even a poisoned spread may taste sweet but proves deadly ultimately. Similarly the world's pleasures seem beautiful and give delight at the time of enjoying them but eventually they obscure the gu as (attributes of the soul. How shameful it is that a man, who gets the human life on account of great merit, destroys it in attachment and fulfillment of sensual desires. He thought he would himself take to the path of renunciation and inspire ordinary people and impart knowledge of the right faith.
This way, with good thoughts and looking after his subjects as a dutiful king, Sambhavan tha, after ruling as a king for 44 lakh p rvas and 4 prv mgas, became disenchanted. As is appropriate, the lok ntika gods requested the Lord to accept mendicancy. After giving charities for one year (var d na) inspired by the renunciation of Sambhavan tha, determined to walk the path of path of self-discipline, 1000 other kings, too, took initiation on the full moon of Mrga r a, after pulling out hair in five fistfuls and giving up all the bad karmas. Gods, celestial beings and men were all inspired by the sacrifice of Sambhavan tha. He conquered all the senses and mental delusions. When he took initiation he gained manah paryavaj na (knowledge of mental modes of others) and his initiation had a great impact on all the people.
At the time of his initiation Sambhavan tha was fasting ( a ambhakta). The second day after the initiation he broke his fast at the house of the king of S vatth (r vast ), Surendra and continued his journey to various regions.
Pure knowledge (Omniscience)
After four months of severe penance as a mendicant (chadmastha) Lord Sambhavan tha destroyed the four obscuring karmasand attained pure intuition and pure knowledge in r vast on the fifth day of the dark fortnight of Krtika month under the constellation M ga ira. After attaining pure knowledge, having given the sermon he founded the fourfold congregation and came to be called T rthamkara.
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His main disciple was C ruj. 102 Ga adharas, 15,000 omniscient, 12,150 telepaths, 9600 clairvoyants, 2150 of those who knew the 14 p rvas (p rvadh r s), 19800 vaikriyalabdhidh rs, 12000 v ds, 200000 monks, 336000 female-monks, 293000 r vakas (laymen) and 636000 r vik (laywomen) were part of his grand congregation.
Parinirva (Salvation / Liberation)
After being an omniscient for four p rv mgas less than 1 lakh p rvas he eventually attained niry a on the sixth day (cha ha) of the bright half of the Caitra month under the M ga ira constellation. He spent 15 lakh p rvas as a youth, 4 p rv mgas and 44 lakh p rvas as a ruler, and a few years' less than 1 lakh p rvas as a mendicant. Thus he had the life-span of 60 lakh prva years.
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Lord r Abhinandana
Following the third T rthamkara of Jain religion Lord Sambhavan tha, Lord r Abhinandana was the fourth T rthamkara. He was born in Ayodhya at the house of king Samvara. In his past life as king Mah bala he took initiation from c rya Vimalacandra and worshipped twenty reflections / causes (sth nakas or k ra as) of T rthamkaran ma karma and at the end, after his demise, was born as Anuttara god in the palace Vijaya. Descending from Vijaya palace (vim na) he entered the womb of queen Siddh rth on the fourth day of the bright half of the month Vai kha under the constellation Punarvasu. The queen saw the 14 great dreams, which made both her and the king very happy. On completion of her pregnancy period queen Siddh rth gave birth to her son on the second day of the bright half of the month M gha under the constellation Pu ya. From the time he entered her womb there was happiness all over, hence the parents and others named the child Abhinandana.
When Abhinandana reached marriageable age king Samvara got him married to suitable women. After this king Samvara became disinclined towards worldly pleasures and took initiation as a monk, and placing Abhinandana on the throne went on the spiritual self-restraint path. As a king Abhinandana ruled his kingdom in the best way and in his reign, taught his subjects about justice and to dispense their duties. In a detached manner after ruling peacefully and justly for thirty-six-and-ahalf lakh p rvas he decided to take initiation. On the request of the lok ntika gods and giving charities for one year, on the 12th day of the bright fortnight of the month M gha under the constellation Abhijita, pulling out five fistfuls of hair, and giving up all the bad karmas, along with one thousand other kings, he renounced the worldly life
He did the two days 'bel'penance at the time of his initiation. The next day he broke his fast at the house of king Indradatta. The gods cried out, "aho d nam, aho d nam” (‘Ah! the beautiful gift!') making a shower of five substances, flowers, etc. After initiation, for many years, he observed severe austerities and wandered about. Devoid of passions in the attitude of self restraint after wandering as a mendicant for 18 years, he attained pure knowledge and kevaladar ana in Ayodhya, on the 14th day of the bright fortnight of the month Pau a under the Abhijita constellation, after completely destroying the four obscuring karmas,
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namely, knowledge obscuring (
jn vara ya), Intution obscuring (dar an vara ya), Deluding (mohan ya) and Interfering (antar ya). Thereafter, he gave a sermon in the assembly of gods and men, explaining the difference between good and bad and showing the path towards well-being and established the four-fold order ultimately becoming a T rthamkara.
Lord Abhinandana spent 12 lakh p rvas as a youth, 8 lakh p rv mgas plus 36-and-a-half lakh p rvas as king, and 8 p rv mgas less than 1 lakh p rvas as a monk, and this way, after spending a life of 50 lakh p rvas, when his life came to an end, he undertook a fast for one month along with 1000 monks, and destroying all karmas, attained nirva on the eighth day of the bright half of the month Vai kha under the constellation Pu ya. Innumerable souls found their means of salvation through his pure teachings. 116 ga as and Ga adharas, 14000 omniscient, 11600 telepaths, 9800 Avadhij n, 1500 who knew the 14 purvas (p rvadh ris), 19000 Vaikriya, 11000 v ds, 300000 monks, 630000 female-monks, 288000 votaries and 527000 female votaries were part of his large congregation.
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Lord r Sumatin tha
After a large time gap of nine lakh crores s garas from fourth T rthamkara, Abhinandana came the fifth Trthamkara, Lord r Sumatin tha.
There was a beautiful town full of happy and prosperous people called Pu kal vat Vijaya in Jamb dv pa. A king named Vijayasena ruled there. King Vijayasena's wife was Sudar an . They did not have any children.
One day, on some occasion, people of all classes gathered for some fun and frolic in a large garden. Sitting on her palanquin queen Sudar an saw in that garden a woman enjoying herself and surrounded by eight newly-wed women. She was curious to find out about that woman. Her female attendant told her that she is the merchant Nandi e a's wife Sulak a . She has two sons and these are her eight daughters-in-law
Hearing this, Sudar an felt very sad at her childless state. She disliked herself that she could not become a mother of even a single child. She started thinking of what use is a woman's life, youth, wealth and prosperity if she did not have the joy of having a child. With these thoughts the queen went into deep depression. The ambience of the garden started to feel like a graveyard to her. Immediately, she returned to the palace.
Reaching her bedroom in the palace, she began to cry her heart out. A female attendant immediately informed the king of the situation. On hearing this, the king rushed to Sudar an at once. He wanted to know the reason for her sorrow so the person responsible may be punished.
The queen said, “Lord, I am responsible for this state of mine. I dislike this meaningless life of mine that I could not beget even a single child." King Vijayasena reassured her in every way and said, “I shall not leave a stone unturned to fulfill your desire through appropriate remedies, medicines, etc.”
One day, king Vijayasena undertook the bel fast and worshipped the family goddess, thus pleasing the goddess who visited him in his dream and said, “You needn't lose hope. Soon you will get a glorious son.”
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Within a few days, in the last lap of the night the queen saw a young lion entering her mouth. Hearing about her dream the king cheerfully said, "Oh queen! As per the goddess' words, you are going to get an illustrious son, brave as a lion.”
In good time queen Sudar an gave birth to an extremely bright son. She was filled with joy and happiness. A celebration was held in the palace. Prisoners were freed and people were made content with gifts. The naming ceremony was arranged with great fanfare and the prince was named Puru asimha.
The prince was brought up in royal splendour. In time, he was trained in all kinds of skills and the arts by able teachers. This way, when he became young, endowed with all good qualities, his parents got him married with pomp and gaiety to eight extremely beautiful and well qualified princesses. Prince Puru asimha started spending his life happily amid all the worldly pleasures.
One day, Prince Puru asimha reached a garden near amkhapura for some pleasure. There he saw a c rya, named Vinay nanda, surrounded by monks at a beautiful spot. Seeing him his heart was filled with intense joy and he got goose pimples in excitement. He wondered who this great man was who, in full youth, has conquered lust (k madeva) and has become a rama a. Let me go to him and gain some special important knowledge from him about religion. He presented himself before the
c rya. After paying his respects he said to him, "Lord! Though I have understood that this world is meaningless, all the worldly pleasures are insipid, perfection over karmas extremely difficult, yet would you kindly tell me as to which religion is capable of (helping us) cross the ocean of worldliness?”
Very happy with the question of the prince, c rya Vinay nanda said, “Oh gentle one, you are blessed that despite possessing incomparable form and youth your mind has the curiosity for religious matters. From the aspects of sacrifice / giving, conduct, austerity, dharma is of four types. D na (giving) is also of four types - giving of knowledge ( nad na), giving protection from fear (abhaya -d na), gift of the right path (dharmo-pagrahad na) and gift of compassion (anukamp d na). Dharma has a second category - conduct. Adherence to the five
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mah vratas, forgiveness, gentleness / sweetness, simplicity, contentment, control of mind, to be ever alert towards carelessness through constantly being immersed in knowledge, to consider all living beings as friends and indifference to all the goings-on in the world by being without desires, unbiased and detached - this is la-dharma (conduct).
Dharma has a third category - tapa (austerity) dharma. Austerities are of two kinds - external and internal austerities. Fasting, eating only a small portion of food, etc are external austerities, and study of scriptures, meditation, suppression of the senses, etc are internal austerities. Gradually increasing the practice of thee two types of austerities is tapadharma.
The fourth kind of dharma is 'mental attitude (bh van dharma)'. There are 12 types of attitudes hence bh van dharma is also of 12 kinds. These are: 1 anitya bh van (attitude towards impermanence) 2 a ara a bh van (helplessness) 3sams ra bh van (transitory-ness) 4 ekatva bh van (solitariness) 5 anyatva bh van (otherness) 6 a uci bh van (impure thoughts / impurity) 7 srava bh van (karmic influx) 8 samvara bh van (stopping karmic influx) 9 nirjar bh van (dissociation of karmas) 10 lokaswar pa bh van (cosmos and its structure) 11 bodhidurlabha bh van (rarity of enlightenment) and 12 dharma bh van (spiritual conduct). If a person desirous of attaining salvation reflects, contemplates and focuses on even one of these 12 bh van s intensely, that person certainly becomes eligible for salvation very soon. This way the c rya gave an elaborate exposition on d na- la-tapa dharma.
Hearing from c rya Vinay nanda of the true form dharma, prince Puru asimha opened his mental eye. With folded hands, prostrating before the c rya he requested, “Revered one! A new path becomes visible to me based on the beautiful form of dharma you have spoken to me of. I am now disgusted with worldly affairs. I request you to initiate me into rama adharma and let me take refuge in you."
Thus taking permission from his parents, prince Puru asimha took initiation from c rya Vinay nanda into rama a-dharma (mendicancy). After accepting the path of mendicancy he studied the gamas under his teacher with great dedication, and for a long time, adhering to selfdiscipline (observing austerities), he attained the n ma karma of a T rthamkara out of excellent veneration of several causes /reflections out
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of twenty. In the end, dying by fasting, he emerged as a powerful god of 33 ocean measured periods in the Vaijayanta palace (vim na).
Birth of Sumatin tha and naming Ceremony
After completing the stage of residence in the Vaijayanta vim na, the soul of Puru asimha descended from there and entered into the womb of queen Mamgal vat on the second day of the bright half of rava a month under the Magh constellation. Thereafter, mother Mamgal vat dreamt the 14 auspicious dreams and was very happy. On completion of her pregnancy period she happily gave birth to a son on the eighth day of the bright fortnight of Vai kha at the midnight hour under Magh constellation. When he was in her womb, she had resolved fairly complex problems using her balanced intellect hence the son was named Sumatin tha.
Marriage, Kingship and Initiation
When prince Sumatin tha became a young man, the king married him off to suitable brides. Up to 29 lakh p rvas, after enjoying the king's position, he became inclined towards the path of perfection. On request by the lok ntika gods, after giving charities for one year, he along with a thousand other kings, pulled out five fistfuls of hair and on the ninth day of the bright fortnight of Vai kha, under Magh constellation, giving up bad karmas, turned monk.
Pure knowledge and Sermon
At the time of initiation he was observing a fast. On the second day, the Lord reached Vijayapura and there he agreed to break his fast at king Padma's house. After initiation he remained a mendicant for 20 years, wandering about and practicing many kinds of austerities He stopped the influx of karmas through adherence to dharma. Then he reached Sahasr mravana where he entered the meditative state and after destroying the obscuring karmas, attained pure knowledge and pure intuition on the eleventh day of the Caitra month under Magh constellation. After attaining pure knowledge the Lord gave a sermon in the assembly of gods, men and celestial beings on the mok am rga (path to salvation) and established the four-fold order, thereby becoming T rthamkara.
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Out of 40 lakh p rvas Lord Sumatin tha spent 10 lakh prvas as a young man, 29 lakh 11 p rv mgas as a king, 12 p ry mgas less of 1 lakh prvas as mendicant and monk and sensing the end of his life-span, he remained on fast for a month and on the ninth day of the bright half of the Caitra month under Punarvasu constellation, destroying the 4 non obscuring karmas also attained nirva.
Besides 100 Ga adharas, Lord Sumatin tha's religious congregation had 13000 omniscient, 10450 telepaths, 11000 clairvoyants, 2400 14
vadh rs, 18400 vaikriya-labdhidh rs, 10650 v ds, 320000 monks, 530000 female-monks, 281000 votaries and 516000 female votaries
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Lord r Padmaprabha
Lord r Padmaprabha was the sixth T rthamkara of Jain religion. He was born in the house of the king of Kau mb. He gained the n makarma of T rthamkara in his previous life as king Apar jita.
Previous Incarnation
King Apar jita ruled over the city of Sus m . He used to behave in accordance with justice and righteousness. One day, disgusted with worldly things, he accepted the path of perfection (the holy path) at the feet of the monk Pihit rava and by veneration of the arihantas and twenty causes / reflections gained the T rthamkara n makarma. At the end of his life, through meditation, after death, he became an excellent god of 31 s garas of Graiveyaka.
Birth and Naming
After completing the life-span of a Graiveyaka god, the soul of Apar jita descended from the devaloka into the womb of Sus m , queen of the king of Kau mb , on the sixth day of the dark half of the M gha month under the constellation Citr. The queen saw the 14 auspicious dreams. He was born on the 12th day of the dark fortnight of K rtika month under Citr constellation. During pregnancy, queen mother Sus m had the whim of sleeping on a lotus bed and the child's body reflected the splendour of the lotus. Hence the parents named him Padmaprabha.
Marriage and Initiation
After completing his childhood the moment Padmaprabha became a young man. King Dhara married him off to suitable womer remaining a young man for 8 lakh prvas, r Padmaprabha became king. After ruling for more than 21 lakh p rvas, realizing how futile are the karmas associated with enjoyment (or worldly things), he became inclined towards the path of salvation. On request by the lok ntika gods after giving charities for a year, he formally took initiation observing a day or two's fast. On the 13th day of the dark fortnight of K rtika month, at the same time a thousand princes and others took initiation with him.
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The next day he broke his fast at Brahmasthala at the house of king Somadeva. The gods showered flowers, etc, to bless the giving (d na).
Pure knowledge (Omniscience)
After wandering about as a mendicant and observing intense austerities for 6 months he reached Sahasr mravana. There observing a fast under the Banyan tree, staying fixed in the k yotsarga (standing, both arms downwards) posture, in deep meditation, he destroyed the obscuring karmas and on the full moon day of Caitra month under Citra constellation, obtained omniscience. Upon obtaining pure knowledge, he gave religious sermon, established the four-fold order and became a T rthamkara who is the possessor of four infinites (ananta catu aya), a knower of all the worlds, a visionary and preceptor.
His grand congregation had 107 Ga adharas, 12000 omniscient, 10300 telepaths, 10000 clairvoyants, 2300 14-p rvadh rs, 16800 vaikriyalabdhidh rs, 9600 v ds, 330000 monks, 420000 female-monks, 276000 votaries and 505000 female votaries.
Lord Padmaprabha instructed about the meritorious path for many years after becoming a keval . At the end of his life-span, sensing the same, fasting for one month, on the eleventh day of the dark half of Mrgar a month under the constellation Citr, stopping all activities, he became enlightened and liberated. His total life-span was 30 lakh p rvas of which 6 p rv mgas less of 7-and-a-half p rvas were spent as a youth, 21-and-a-half lakh p rvas as king and a little less of a lakh p rvas as mendicant following the caritra-dharma after which he gained nirva.
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Lord r Sup r van tha
The seventh T rthamkara after Lord Padmaprabha was r Sup r van tha. In his previous incarnation Lord Sup r van tha was king Nandisena of K emapur. Taking initiation into the right path from
c rya Aridamana, he gained the n makarma of T rthamkara by venerating the 20 causes /reflections. Eventually, at the end of his life, he became a powerful god in the sixth Graiveyaka heaven. Completing his term in the Graiveyaka, on the eighth day of the dark fortnight of Bh drapada month under constellation Vi kh , he entered the womb of P thv , the queen of King Prati hasena of V r as . That same night the queen saw the 14 dreams indicating the birth of a great person and at the end of her pregnancy period, she happily gave birth to a son on the 12" day of the bright half of the Jye ha month under the constellation Vi kh.
On the 12th day at the time of the naming ceremony, recounting that the mother should maintain her rear beautiful during pregnancy, the king named the son Sup r van tha. At marriageable age, Sup r van tha was married off to suitable women and thereafter, he was crowned king. The Lord enjoyed the king's position for some 14 lakh p rvas or more directing subjects on the path of righteousness and justice.
After ruling for a long time, considering useless the sensual karmas, he wished to accept the spiritual path. Upon request by the lok ntika gods, he gave charities for one year, and on the 13th day of the bright half of Jye ha, took initiation along with 1000 other kings. Having fasted he pulled out five fistfuls of hair in the garden and getting rid of all faults forever, became a monk. Next day his first fast-breaking happened at the house of Mahendra, the king of Palikha da.
He wandered about for 9 months observing various austerities as a mendicant. Then, reaching Sahasr mravana, entered into deep meditation. Destroying the four obscuring karmas such as knowledge deluding, he attained pure knowledge and pure intuition on the sixth day of the bright fortnight of F Iguna under Vi kh constellation. On becoming a keval he gave religious discourse at a grand assembly attended by gods and men, explaining the difference between inanimate and animate, said all things in the apparent world, including even the
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body, are not ours. To consider the outer / apparent things as one's own is the root cause of sorrow. Hearing this sermon of his, thousands of men and women became followers of the path of self-restraint. The Lord founded the four-fold creed (t rtha) and got the status of T rthamkara.
His congregation had 95 ga as and Ga adharas, the chief among them being Vidarbha. There were also 1100 omniscient, 9150 telepaths, 9000 clairvoyants, 2350 14 - p rvadh rs, 15300 vaikriyalabdhidh rs, 8400 V ds, 300000 monks, 430000 female-monks, 257000 votaries and 493000 female-votaries.
Out of a total life-span of 20 lakh p rvas, after spending 5 lakh p rvas as a youth, a little more than 14 lakh p rvas as king, 20 p rv mgas less than 1 lakh p rvas in the spiritual path of self-restraint, when he sensed his life coming to an end, after a month's fast, he attained enlightenment and nirv a, destroying the four obscuring karmas on the 7th day of the dark half of F lgun and, with him 500 monks, too, became liberated.
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Lord r Candraprabha Sw m
Following Lord Sup r van tha, r Candrprabha Sw m became the 8th T rthamkara. In his previous incarnation as king Padma of Mamgal vat city in Dh tak kha da, he practised various austerities and consequently developed detachment and taking initiation from the monk Yugandhara he practiced right conduct and by 20 instruments (sth nakas) gained the T rthamkara n makarma (karmas responsible for embodiment). At the end of his lifespan he became a powerful god in Vijaya palace.
From Vijaya his soul descended into the womb of Sulak a , queen of king Mah sena of Candrapur on the fifth day of the dark fortnight of Caitra month under the Anur dh constellation. The queen saw the 14 highly auspicious dreams that same night. After completing her
cy queen Sulak a gave birth to a jewel of a son at the midnight hour on the 11th (12th) day of the dark half of the Pau a month under Anur dh constellation. His birth ceremony was celebrated with great pomp and joy by the gods and celestial beings on the Ati-P duKambala hillock.
Inviting people to his son's naming ceremony on eth 12th day king Padmasena said the pregnancy whim of the boy's mother was to enjoy the moon and the child's body reflects the aura of the moon, hence the boy is named Candraprabha.
When Candraprabha became a young man the king got him married to suitable princesses. After remaining a prince for two-and-a-half lakh p rvas he was crowned king and he conducted the affairs of the kingdom for a little more than 6 lakh p rvas and propagated righteousness. Realising the futility of the worldly pleasures the Lord resolved to get initiated as a monk. Upon prayers by the lok ntika gods and a year's giving of charities, he observed a a abhakta fast with thousand other kings. On the 12th day of the dark half of the Pau a month under Anur dh constellation, completely ridding himself of all bad karmas Lord Candraprabha was initiated into monkhood. The next day he broke the fast at the house of Somadatta, the king of Padmakha da by accepting milk, the gods showered five kinds of rain and established the importance of charity / donations.
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Wandering for three months as mendicant Candraprabha reached Sahasr mravana. There he went into a deep meditative state under the Priyamgu tree. On the 7th day of the dark fortnight of the F lguna month, destroying four obscuringkarmas including knowledge deluding, he attained poure intuition and pure knowledge. Then in a large gathering of gods and men gave a sermon about ruta and caritra dharma (scripture and conduct) and re-established the four-fold order. Remaining omniscient for a little less than 1 lakh p rvas the Lord blessed all beings.
His congregation had 93 ga as and Ga adharas, 10000 omniscient. 8000 telepaths, 8000 clairvoyants, 2000 14-p rvadh rs, 14000 vaikriyalabdhidh rs, 7600 V ds, 250000 monks, 380000 female-monks, 250000 votaries and 491000 female-votaries.
When the Lord saw his end approaching, he fasted for a month on Sammeta ikhara along with 1000 monks and in unobstructed meditation (state of inactivity or 14th gu asth na) he destroyed the remaining four non obscuring karmas and on the 7th day of the dark fortnight of Bh drapada under Anur dh constellation, he attained enlightenment and nirva.
His age was 10 lakh p rvas out of which he spent two-and-a-half lakh p rvas as prince, three-and-a-half lakh p rvas as king, and a little less than 1 lakh p rvas as mendicant before attaining liberation.
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Lord r Suvidhin tha
The ninth T rthamkara after r Candraprabha was r Suvidhin tha. He is also known as Pu padanta. King Sugr va of K kand city and queen R m dev were his parents.
In a previous life(incarnation) as the king Mah padma of Pu kal vat Vijaya he had developed disinterest in worldly matters and taken initiation from the monk Jagannanda and through excellent austerities obtained the T rthamkara n makarma. At the end of his life-span observing a fast unto death, he became a powerful god in Vaijayanta vim na (celestial vehicle). After leaving the Vaijayanta vim na, Mah padma's soul entered into the womb of queen R m dev on the ninth day of the dark fortnight of the month of F Iguna under M la constellation. Rm dev got the 14 auspicious dreams the same night. Upon completion of her pregnancy period R m dev gave birth to a son on the fifth day of the dark fortnight of Mrgar a under M la constellation. The gods and the parents celebrated the joy of his birth and for ten days the atmosphere of K kand city was one of gaiety.
During her pregnancy the mother was happy in all ways so the king Sugr va named the boy Suvidhin tha. Durinmg her pregnancy the queen R m dev had craving for flowers so the child was also named Pu padanta. When he had completed a thousand p rvas he was married to suitable women. After his marriage, considering him eligible, he was crowned king. For a little more than 50000 p rvas he ably managed the kingdom being unattached to it.
After thus ruling r Suvidhin tha desired to take up the path of selfretrain. The lok ntikagods dutifully requested him. After giving charities for one year, he took initiation with 1000 kings. On the 6h day of the dark fortnight of Mrgar a the Lord reached Sahasr mravana and under the constellation M la, destroying all sinful karmas he became a mendicant. Soon after becoming a mendicant he attained telepathic knowledge. The next day he broke his fast with rice pudding at the house of the king of vetapura. The gods showered five kinds of things to express the greatness of the giving.
Bearing with many hardships for four months he wandered from village to village. Then coming to the same garden the Lord ascended the
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accelerated class of annihilating karmas (K apaka re ) and in deep meditation, destroying the obscuring karmas, under the M 1 ra tree on the 3rd day of the bright fortnight of Krtika month under the constellation M la, he attained pure knowledge. Becoming an omniscient he addressed a large gathering of gods and men and established the fourfold order being called a T rthamkara.
The Lord's congregation consisted of 88 Ga adharas, 7500 omniscient, 7500 telepaths, 8400 clairvoyants, 1500 14-p rvadh rs, 13000 vaikriyalabdhidh rs, 6000 v ds, 200000 monks, 120000 female-monks, 229000 votaries and 472000 female-votaries.
Adhering to the spiritual path for a little less than 1 lakh p rvas, the Lord, sensing the end of his life-span, observed a one-month long fast on Sammeta ikhara with 1000 monks. Then, stopping all activities, destroying the 4 non obscuring karmas, he attained enlightenment and nirva on the 9th day of the dark fortnight of Bh drapada. It is said that because of a fault of the time-period after Suvidhin tha, the monkorder discontinued and votaries began to give instructions of their own accord on charity, etc. It is possible that this was the important time of propagation of Brahminical culture.
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Lord r
talan tha
Lord r talan tha became the 10thT rthamkara after Lord r Suvidhin tha. He was born as the son of Nand dev , queen of the king of Bhaddilapura, D dharatha.
Lord r talan tha in his previous incarnation as king Padmottara of Sus m city ruled for many years and then took initiation into monkhood from the crya 'Strast gha’and after difficult austerities gained the n makarma of T rthamkara. At the end of his time, observing fast and completing the life-span he became a god of 20 s garas in the Prata heaven. His soul entered the womb of Nand dev after leaving the Pr nat heaven on the sixth day of the dark fortnight of Vai kha under the Prvādh constellation. The queen saw the 14 auspicious dreams. After completion of her pregnancy she gave birth to a son on the 12th day of the dark fortnight of M gha under P ryādhāconstellation. King Dşdharatha celebrated the birth to his heart's fill.
The king's body used to burn terribly and nothing would cure him of this. During her pregnancy one day by the mere touch of queen Nand dev the long-term pain and burning sensation of the king was cured and he felt coolness and soothing feeling in his mind and body. Hence he named the boy talan tha.
From boyhood talan tha entered his youth. The parents got him married to suitable brides. After remaining in the role of prince for 25000 prvas, on constant pleas of his father, with a detached attitude he riled the kingdom for 50000 p rvas and then, sensing the end of the cycle of sensual enjoyments, he expressed desire to take initiation.
Coming to know of Lord talan tha's desire, the lok ntika gods accordingly requested him to do so. After giving one year of charities the Lord reached Sahasr mravana and observing fast, got rid of all the bad karmas and on the 12th day of the dark fortnight of M gha under P rv ādhā constellation, became a mendicant and immediately thereafter obtained telepathic knowledge. The next day at the home of the king of Ari apura, Punarvasu, he broke his fast with rice pudding. After this for three months bearing with many kinds of ordeals as a mendicant he again reached Sahasr mravana and under a P pala tree
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observed deep meditation. In deep meditation he destroyed the four obscuring karmas and on the 14h day of the dark fortnight of Pau a under P rv ādhā constellation he attained pure knowledge.
After becoming a keval , he gave a sermon in the assembly of gods, celestial beings and men. Speaking of the sad desire for impermanent things in the world, he instructed about the efforts to walk on the path of salvation (mok am rga) and established the four-fold order, thus becoming a T rthamkara.
A little less than 25000 p rvas he observed the spiritual path of restraint and thereafter sensing his life span coming to an end, observed a month's fast with 1000 monks. Eventually, stopping the activities of the mind, speech and body, destroying all karmas on the 2nd day of the dark half of Vai kha under P rv ādhāconstellation, he attained enlightenment and nirva.
His congregation had 81 ga as and Ga adharas, 7000 omniscient, 7500 telepaths, 7200 clairvoyants, 1400 14-p rvadh rs, 12000 vaikriya labdhidh rs, 5800 v ds, 100000 monks, 100006 female-monks, 289000 votaries and 458000 female-votaries.
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Lord rrey msan tha
The 11" T rthamkara after Lord r talan tha was r rey msan tha.
r rey msan tha was the son of Vi udev , queen of the king Vi u of Siddhapur city. In his previous incarnation he was the king Nalinagulma of the island Pu kara. Giving up royal enjoyments which seemed akin to the disease of (obsession for) royalty he took initiation under monk Vajradanta and wandering about and devoid of passions he obtained the T rthamkara n makarma by 20 instruments / reflections (sth nakas). Ultimately, completing his life-span in pure meditation Nalinagulma became a god with extraordinary powers (ddhidh r ) in the Mah ukra kalpa (heaven).
On the 6th day of the dark half of the month Jye ha under rava a constellation Nalinagulma's soul left the heavenly abode and entered queen Vi udev's womb. The mother saw 14 auspicious dreams that night. Completing her pregnancy period, she gave birth to a son on the 12th day of the dark fortnight of F Iguna. The entire royal family and the kingdom benefitted from the birth of the boy hence his parents named him rey msan tha. When he entered his youth, on his father's request he married suitable women. At the age of 21 lakh years he became the king. For 22 lakh years he managed the kingdom judiciously.
After his karmas of enjoyment became futile when he expressed the desire to follow the spiritual path accordingly the lok ntika gods requested him. For a year he gave charities and on the 13" day of the dark fortnight of F lguna under constellation rava a; he, along with 1000 other kings, observed the 'bel’ fast, taking initiation as a mendicant. At Sahasr mravana under the A oka tree, renouncing all bad karmas he became a monk / renouncer. The next day he broke his fast at the home of king Nanda of Siddh rthapura with rice pudding. After initiation he wandered about for two months as mendicant, bearing with all kinds of hardships with determination and firmness. Observing a fast, ascending the k apaka re on the day of the new moon in conjunction in the month of M gha, destroying obscuring karmas, he attained pure intuition and pure knowledge. This way, becoming a keval , Lord
rey msan tha addressed a large gathering of gods-men about scripture and conduct and establishing the four-fold order, became a T rthamkara. After attaining pure knowledge, Lord rey msan tha,
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wandering about, reached Potanapura. Trip ha became delighted at the news of his coming and reached to offer worship at the feet of the Lord with his elder brother Acala Baldeva. Hearing the speech like a shower of nectar of samyakdharma both brothers accepted the path of selfdiscipline. Prince Trip ha and Acala Baladeva were the sons of king Praj pati and the first Vasudeva and first Baladeva, respectively, of avasarpi cycle.
The previous incarnation of Lord Mah v ra, Mar ci's soul, in fact, was born as Trip ha. When the first PratiVasudeva, A vagr va, heard the prophecy from his occult astrologers about the birth of one who would kill him, worried, he started looking out for his rival.
When he learnt of Trip hakum ra slaying the fearsome lion in 1 kheta and freeing people from its terror, he understood that Trip hakum ra would be his slayer. Knowing this he decided to get both the brothers killed on the sly by inviting them and sent a message through king Praj pati. In response to this message Trip ha sent the message – “We are not ready to take any rewards from a king who could not even kill a lion.” Hearing this A vagr va was filled with anger and attacked Praj pati with an army. In order to prevent unnecessary killing of men on the battlefield, Trip ha challenged A vagr va to a duel, whereby, killing A vagr va, Trip ha became sovereign of half of Bharata.
One day, while enjoying sweet music, when it was time for him to sleep, he instructed the doorkeeper of the sleep chamber that if he fell asleep the music must be stopped. Lost in the melodious music, the attendant forgot the instructions of Trip ha. When Trip ha woke up and found the music still playing, in anger he ordered hot glass to be poured into the ears of the doorkeeper, who died in pain. Trip ha's restraint was destroyed by this cruel act and he attained to a life in hell. After 84 lakh p rvas of life-span he went to the seventh hell.
When Baladeva heard of the death of his brother, becoming overwhelmed by grief due to brotherly love, losing reason, he cried pitiably and fainted. Recovering consciousness, being advised by elders to self-reflect, he realised the meaninglessness of the world and turning his back to worldly matters, taking initiation from c rya Dharmagho a,
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destroying all karmas through austerities and restraint, became enlightened and liberated. His life span was 85 lakh p rvas.
After attaining pure knowledge Lord rey msan tha wandered for two months less than 21 lakh years around the world, showing the path of self-salvation to living beings. Sensing his life coming to an end, observing fast along with 1000 monks, in the third stage of deep meditation, stopping all activities and getting rid of all karmas, he became enlightened and liberated on the 3rd day of the dark fortnight of rava a month under constellation Dhani h.
He was 84 lakh years old. The congregation of Lord rey msan tha had 76Ga adharas, 6500 omniscient, 6000 telepaths, 6000 clairvoyants, 1300 14-p rvadh rs, 11000 vaikriyalabdhidh rs, 5000 v ds, 84000 monks, 103000 female-monks, 279000 votaries and 448000 female-votaries.
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Lord r V sup jya
Lord r V sup jya was the 12thT rthamkara after rey msan tha. In his previous incarnation he was king Padmottara of the Mamgal vat Vijaya on the island of Pu kar rdha. As Padmottara he constantly devoted himself to the Jina's teachings. He always knew in his mind that wealth is finite and deeds of merit destructible. Hence the true well-being rests in attaining salvation alone. By coincidence he met guru Vajran bha. Becoming is interested after hearing hi instructions, king Padmottara took initiation and contemplating and practicing insrruments (sth nakas) through intense, difficult austerities. obtained the Trthamkara n makarma. At the end of his life, in deep meditation, he became a powerful god in the Prata heaven.
India's famous city of Camp had for its king Vasup jya, and his queen was Jay dev. The soul of Padmottara, after its time in Prata heaven, entered the womb of queen Jay dev on the 9th day of the bright half of the Jye ha month under constellation atabhi. The queen saw the 14 auspicious reams and after completing her pregnancy period, gave birth to a son on the 14th day of the dark half of F Iguna under constellation
atabhi . Since he was the son of king V sup jya, he was named V sup jya.
According to c rya Hemacandra, V sup jya was considered unmarried I a celibate since birth. Jinasena and the Digambara tradition too, have the same view. According to Hemcandra when prince V sup jya became eligible for marriage the king Vasup jya expressed his desire that you, too, should, like the previous T rthamkara, follow the former tradition of marriage, kingship, initiation and mendicancy. Responding to his father V sup jya told him those people had certain bhoga-karmas (karmas of enjoyment of worldly pleasures) left while I do not have any. In future, too, Mallin tha, Nemin tha, etc will take initiation unmarried; hence you may grant me permission to take the spiritual path of self-restraint. According to Hemcandra his parents agreed with him and he took initiation without enjoying married life or kingship. However, c rya Sl mka mentions his having married and ruled for some time before taking initiation. In fact, the activities of T rthamkara as householder happens in accordance with their bhoga-karmas, hence his being married
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or not does not have any special meaning here. Marriage is not an obstruction to T rthamkara -hood of a T rthamkara.
Completing 18 lakh years, on the lok ntika gods' prayers, V sup jya gave charities for a year and thereafter with 600 other kings, took initiation with a one-day fast (called caturthabhakta) and on the dark half of the moon being in conjunction in the F Iguna month, under the constellation atabhi , renouncing all bad deeds, became a rama a. On the second day, at the home of king Sunanda he broke his first fast with rice pudding. The gods showered the five auspicious things to express the greatness of the giving/ charity (d na).
After taking initiation the Lord wandered as a mendicant for a month and in that same garden under the P al tree became meditative. In the second stage of deep meditation, destroying the four gh tikarmas, on the second day of the bright half of M gha month under the constellation
atabhi , he obtained pure knowledge after a day's fast. As a keval the Lord gave a sermon to the gods, demigods and men in a grand assembly, and explaining the ten-fold dharma including k nti etc, founded the four-fold creed and became T rthamkara of the period. While wandering when Lord V sup jya arrived at Dw rik , the second Vasudeva of the time, Dvip ha, hearing the news of his arrival, presented himself there and accepted the path of self-restraint hearing the detached speech. Baladeva Vijaya also accepted the spiritual path and in time became a monk and attained liberation.
This way, like Lord rey msan tha, Lord V sup jya also had a vast influence over the royalty of that time. One month less of 54 lakh years he wandered as a keval , preaching lakhs of people and in the end at Camp city, along with 600 monks, he observed a month-long fast and in the fourth stage of deep meditation, stopped all activities, breaking all karmas and attained enlightenment and nirva on the 14" day of the bright half of ādha under the constellation Uttar bh drapada.
His congregation had 66 ga as and Ga adharas, 6000 omniscient, 6100 telepaths,5400 clairvoyants, 1200 14-p rvadh rs, 10000 vaikriyalabdhidh rs, 4700 v ds, 72000 monks, 100000 female-monks, 215000 votaries (r vakas) and 436000 female-votaries.
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Lord r Vimalan tha
After the 12thT rthamkara Lord V sup jya Lord Vimalan tha was the 13thT rthamkara. His birthplace was Kampilapura. King K tavarm of flawless fame was his father, and his pious and virtuous queen, y m was his mother.
In his past incarnation Lord r Vimalan tha was king Padmasena of the great city Mah pur in Dh tak kha da. He became disinterested after listening to the discourse of monk Sarvagupta. Taking initiation with flawless feeling he observed the vows and 20 instruments /reflections (sth nakas) attained the T rthamkara n makarma, and ending his life in fasting, he became a god in the 8" Sahasr ra-kalpa. Leaving his heavenly abode his soul entered the womb of queen hy m of Kampilapura on the bright 12th day of Vai kha month under constellation Uttar bh drapada. The mother saw the 14 auspicious dreams the same night and after a happy pregnancy, gave birth to her son on the 3rd day of the bright fortnight of M gha month with the moon being in conjunction in Uttar bh drapada. During the time that the child was in her womb the mother remained pure in body and mind hence the child was named Vimalan tha.
When Vimalan tha became a young boy he got married to suitable women on the request of his parents. After spending 15 lakh years as a youth he accepted the king's responsibilities. He conducted the affairs of the kingdom for 30 lakh years judiciously and righteously. After completing 45 lakh years he expressed the desire to get initiated into the arihanta-dharma. Requested by lok ntika gods he gave the year-long charities and later on the 4" day of the bright half of the M gha month, under constellation Uttar bh drapada, along with 1000 other kings, observed a fast at Sahasr mravana, and giving up all bad karmas, became a mendicant. The next day he broke his fast at the home of Jaya, king of Dh nyaka apura with rice pudding. From hereon, the Lord wandered for two years bearing with different kinds of hardships with equanimity. The, reaching the place where he took initiation, ascending the k apaka re , breaking the four gh tikarmas, on the 6th day of the bright half of Pau a month, under constellation Uttar bh drapada, observing a fast, he attained pure intuition and knowledge.
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Following his attainment of pure knowledge, wandering about, the Lord reached Dv rik . The Vasudeva Svayambh of the time also was present in the auspicious religious gathering (samava ara a). He accepted the dharma of self restraint and many men and women accepted the doctrine and the practice hearing the Lord's discourse. The Lord established the four-fold order and rendered meaningful the position of T rthamkara.
His congregation had Mandara etc 56 ga as and Ga adharas, 5500 omniscient, 5500 telepaths, 4800 clairvoyants, 1100 Fourteenprvadh rs, 9000 vaikriyalabdhidh rs, 3200 v ds, 68000 monks, 100800 female-monks, 208000 votaries and 424000 female-votaries.
The 3" Prati Vasudeva of that era, Meraka, Vasudeva Svayambh and Baladeva Bhadra were contemporaries of Lord Vimalan tha. During His tenure the Jain religion had influenced ordinary people as well as leaders. Vasudeva Svayambh and Baladeva Bhadra accepted samyaktva (right path) on hearing Lord's discourse. After Svayambh 's death, Bhadra became a monk and after living for 65 lakh years, attained liberation in the end.
Lord Vimalan tha preached the message of truthful path among people as an omniscient for 2 years less than 15 lakh years. Sensing the end of his life-span he, along with 600 monks, observed a month's fast and destroying non obscuring karmas (agh tikarmas), attained liberation and nirva on the seventh day of the dark half of ādha under Revati constellation. He was aged 65 lakh years.
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Lord r Anantan tha
Following Lord Vimalan tha, r Anantan tha became the 14th T rthamkara. In his previous incarnation r Anantan tha was Padmaratha, the king of Ari city in Dh tak kha da. He was a courageous and brave king. Though he conquered the entire earth by his prowess yet after a while he took initiation from the preceptor Cittarak a and became immersed in the attainment of liberation. By the strength of his austerities and restraint he attained the T rthamkara n makarma. At the end, leaving his material body, in pure meditation, he became a powerful god in the tenth heaven.
On the seventh day of the dark half of the rava a month under Revat constellation, his soul left the heaven and entered the womb of Suya, queen of king Simhasena of Ayodhya. The mother saw the 14 auspicious dreams and at the end of her pregnancy period delivered a son on the 13 day of the dark half of Vai kha month under constellation Revat. After celebrating the birth of the son for ten days, the king, thinking that 'when the child was in the womb, a huge and difficult army that came to attack had been won over', named the son Anantan tha.
Completing 7 lakh 50 thousand years of his life as a boy when Anantan tha became a young man the king got him married to suitable women and seated him on the royal throne. Having ruled the kingdom justly for 15 lakh years, he resolved to become a monk on prayers by the lok ntika gods. He gave charities for a year and on the 14h day of the dark half of the month Vai kha under Revat constellation, along with 1000 other kings, got initiated as a monk, and renounced all past bad deeds. He observed a fast (bel ) which he broke the next day at the home of the king of Varddham napura, Vijaya Bh pa, with rice pudding.
After wandering as a mendicant for three years, Lord Anantan tha reached Sahasr mravana and became meditative under the A oka tree. In the second stage of deep meditation through k apaka re , relieving himself of passions broke all obscuring karmas, and on the 14" day of the dark fortnight of Vai kha under Revat constellation, through a fast, attained pure knowledge. Upon attaining pure knowledge, Lord Anantan tha gave religious sermon and establishing the four-fold creed. He became the T rthamkara of the period. When he was close to Dw rik , the Vasudeva of that period Puru ottama and the Baladeva
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Suprabha listened to his sermon and attained samyaktva (right perception). Baladeva Suprabha became a monk, having become disenchanted after killing his brother and in the end attained liberation.
The congregation of Lord Anantan tha had 50 ga as and ga adharas, 5000 omniscient, 5000 telepaths, 4300 clairvoyants, 900 14-p rvadh rs, 8000 vaikriyalabdhidh rs, 3200 v ds, 66000 monks, 62000 femalemonks, 206000 votaries and 414000 female votaries.
After wandering as an omniscient for three years less than 7 lakh years, the Lord observed a month-long fast unto death along with 1000 monks and on the 5th day of the bright fortnight of Caitra under constellation Revat , having completed a life-span of 30 lakh years, destroying all karmas, became enlightened and attained salvation.
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Lord r Dharman tha
The 15thT rthamkara of Jain religion was Lord r Dharman tha. In his past life he was Simharatha, the king of Bhaddilapura, located in east Videha in Dh tak kha da. He was valorous and ruled over a vast empire. He was very interested in religion, considering insipid all worldly pleasures and renouncing them, became a Jain mendicant taking initiation from the monk Vimalav hana and observing all austerities obtained the T rthamkara n makarma. After spending a contemplative existence with equanimity and endurance for a long time he became a powerful god in the Vaijayanta vim na (celestial transport vehicle). Completing his term there Simharatha's soul entered the womb of Suvrat , the queen of the valiant king Bh nu of Ratnapura on the 7th day of the bright half of the Vai kha month under constellation Pu ya. Queen Suvrat was delighted to see the 14 great dreams. Upon completion of her pregnancy she gave birth to a son on the third day of the bright fortnight of M gha under constellation Pu ya. The birth was celebrated with gaiety. When the child was in her womb the mother used to get a pregnancy whim of religious merit, thinking thus the son was named Dharman tha.
When he became a young man, to fulfill his father's desires, Dharman tha married and then for 2 lakh 50 thousand years ruled the kingdom. After managing the affairs of the kingdom for 5 lakh years he became inclined towards initiation. On request by the lok ntikagods Dharman tha gave charities for a year and observing fast with 1000 kings, on the 13th day of the bright fortnight of M gha under Pu ya constellation, renouncing all bad karmas, he became an initiate/monk. The next day he broke his fast at the home of the king of Somanasa city, Dharmasimha, by taking rice pudding.
After becoming a monk, bearing with many difficulties and trials Lord Dharman tha roamed about as mendicant for 2 years. Thereafter, reaching the place of initiation, moving from deep meditation to k apaka re under the Dadhipar a tree, destroying obscuring karmas, he attained pure intuition and knowledge on the full moon of Pau a month under Pu ya constellation. After becoming omniscient, in a grand assembly of gods and men he said in his sermon – "you fight with your own internal flaws /impurities, understand your own self and its nature, and by giving up worldly pleasures, enjoy a state of bliss.” Hearing his
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sermon thousands accepted the path of right conduct. Establishing the four-fold creed the Lord became T rthamkara of the time.
The congregation of Lord Dharman tha included 43 ga adharas including Ari a, etc. 4500 omniscient, 4500 telepaths, 3600 clairvoyants, 900 14-p rvadh rs, 7000 vaikriyalabdhidh r s, 2800 v ds, 64000 monks, 62400 female-monks, 244000 votaries and 413000 female-votaries.
Two years less than two-and-a-half lakh years Lord Dharman tha wandered as an Omniscient uplifting lakhs of people. Sensing the time of his salvation, he observed a fast unto death for one month at Sammeta ikhara with 800 monks and on the fifth day of the bright fortnight of Jye ha under constellation Pu ya, stopping all activities and destroying all karmas, attained liberation and nirva at the age of 10 lakh years.
The Bright Gems of Lord Dharman tha's Period
On hearing the greatness of Lord Dharman tha, Vasudeva Puru asimha and Baladeva Sudar ana became initiatees into the true religion. Puru asimha became Vasudeva of three regions (khaņdas) by killing Prati Vasudeva Ni umbha, and because of his major ill deeds went to the sixth hell. Grieving over his brother, Sudar ana took the vow and observing right austerities, attained liberation.
In the period of Lord Dharman tha, after his nirva there were two world-emperors (cakravart s) – the third cakravart Maghav and the fourth Sanatkum ra. A brief introduction to these two cakravart s follows.
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Cakravart Maghav
In the Bharata region of Jamb dy pa a great king named Samudra Vijaya used to rule over a city named S vatth. His chief queen was named Bhadr. Both the king and queen were religious and just. One night the queen saw the 14 great dreams. Interpreters of dreams told the king that according to these dreams the soul that has entered the queen's womb shall grow up to be a cakravart emperor. Upon completion of her pregnancy period the queen gave birth to a bright and beautiful son. King SamudraVijaya named him Maghav . With proper training and upbringing when Maghav became a young boy he was married off to virtuous girls. After 25000 years of youth, immersed in learning and knowledge, King Samudra Vijaya anointed him over the throne. For 25000 years he ruled as a provincial king. In his reign a cakrajewel appeared in the armoury / weaponry on account of which king Maghav spent 10,000 years in expedition of conquest of six khandas (divisions). Ruling over the six khandas of Bh ratavar a for 39000 years as cakravart emperor, he became a monk. For 50,000 years he observed the conduct of a rama a monk and in the end, completing 5 lakh years, he became a god in the third heaven.
Concerning heavenly abode of cakravart Maghav , Verse number 57 of Titthog 1 Painnaya states that eight out twelve cakravart s attained liberation. Two cakravart s namely Subhuma and Brahmadatta attained seventh hell while other two cakravart s namely Sanatkum ra and Maghav attained abode in third heaven.
Few scholars believe that Maghav cakravart attained liberation, and didn't go to heaven. To corroborate this, they cite references in the Uttar dhyayana S tra, 18th chapter ‘Sajaijjam', where, among the souls that gained mok a, are included Bharata, Maghav and Sanatkum ra cakravart s. In the aforesaid chapter, in the 35th verse the term 'parinivvude’ is used for Bharata and Sagara cakravart ; the 38th to the 43rd verses (G th s) use the term 'patto gaima uttaram' for Lord
mtin tha, Kumthun tha, Aran tha and cakravarts Mah Padma, Hari e a and Jayasena. In contrast to this in the 36th G th the term ‘pavvajjamabhuvagao' for Maghav cakravart and in the 37th G th , 'sovi r y tavam care' is used for Sanatkum ra. If the last portions of the G th 37 and 38 had been, respectively, “Maghavam parinivvudo' and
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'patto gaima uttaram', then it can be certainly concurred that they attained liberation. At the same time, in the Sth n mga S tra, the verse d he am pariye am sijjhai j va savvadukkh amamtam karei' is used for Sanatkum ra, which means he became liberated.
“Caittbh raham v sa, cakkava mahiddhio Caitt uttame bhoe, mah paume tavam care”
In this, "mah paume tavam care” is used for Mah padma, which on account of an error in printing in the first edition of the “Basic / Fundamental History of Jain Religion”, 1% volume, was printed as "patto gaima uttaram" and 37th Gth for Sanatkum ra, 41 G th for Mah padma “tavam care” being used, even then, Mah padma unquestionably is considered to have attained mok a while Sanatkum ra (not in the Titthog 1 but according to h mga) is considered to have been liberated. Thus, it is possible that all the souls described in 18th chapter gained mok a.
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Cakravart Sanatkum ra
In the city of Hastin pura, in Bharata region (k etra) of Jamb dy pa, ruled the king A vasena, He was a man of courage and character. His pious queen Sahadev during her pregnancy saw the 14 auspicious dreams and was very happy. At appropriate and good time she gave birth to a bright son with a gold-like aura, who was named Sanatkum ra. With appropriate upbringing Sanatkum ra crossed the stage from boyhood to youth. Sanatkum ra had a brave friend of good qualities, named Mahendra.
One day, king A vasena received a gift of a very fine breed of horses. Prince Sanatkum ra climbed onto the finest of these. The moment he did so, the horse started to run with the speed of the wind. The prince tried to stop the horse but the horse would only run faster. Mahendrasimha and other friends tried to chase him but could not catch up with Sanatkum ra. Hearing the news of his son disappearing thus, king A vasena was very unhappy and started on his own too, in search of him. Seeing all his efforts go in vain, Mahendrasimha somehow convinced him to return and left alone in search of Sanatkum ra. After searching for one year, there was no trace of Sanatkum ra.
One day, in the forest he heard the sweet sounds of various birds and from the same direction the whiff of a pleasant fragrance came. Hopeful, Mahendrasimha started to move in that direction. After going some distance, he heard the pleasant sounds of beautiful women at play. When he went closer he was pleasantly surprised and happy to see his friend Sanatkum ra in the midst of the beautiful women. Sanatkum ra too recognised Mahendrasimha, embraced and welcomed him. After mutual exchange of enquiries after each other's well-being, Mahendrasimha asked Sanatkum ra about his experiences upon which Sanatkum ra pointed at one of the women and said instead of hearing my story from my mouth it would be better to hear it from the Vidy dhara's daughter, Bakulamat.
Bakulamat briefly narrated to Mahendrasimha as to how Sanatkum ra defeated the demonic forces of the Yak a and accepted them as his companions. Mahendrasimha was delighted to hear of Sanatkum ra's heroic exploits and reminded him of his parents at Hastin pura.
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Sanatkum ra happily started with his family to meet his parents. Hearing of his arrival king A vasena was overjoyed. He welcomed the prince with great pomp and ceremony and at an appropriate time crowned him king. Mahendrasimha was appointed the Commander-in-Chief of the army and the king himself took initiation from an elderly monk.
Sanatkum ra ruled the kingdom justly and dutifully. After the emergence of a cakra jewel in his armoury he set out on an expedition to conquer the six khaņdas and became a cakravart emperor. Sanatkum ra's beauty began to be discussed even in the heavens. As a result, two gods came to see him in the guise of Brahmins. At that moment, Sanatkum ra was seated naked on the bathing platform, and seeing his charming form the gods were awestruck. Sanatkum ra said to them, "what are you seeing now? After the bath when I sit on the royal throne adorned with fine robes and jewellery, see me then." The Brahmins did just that; but by then there was a change in the form of Sanatkum ra and the Brahmins began to lament in their minds. When the king asked them the reason for their disappointment they said – “king, worms infest your beautiful body now.”
Seeing the transient nature of the body and its destructibility Sanatkum ra immediately became disenchanted and, giving up all the glorious possessions, became a monk. After initiation he started observing many fasts as a result of which he got a lot of powers. Once again his praises were heard in the heaven and one god came to test him. The god disguised as a physician came to the monk. The monk said – “Oh physician! If you can cure disease of the mind (spiritual) then it is fine, else even I can cure the disease of the body.” Saying thus, the monk spat on his blood-oozing fingers which at once started to shine like gold. Ashamed, the god apologised to the monk and went back to his place. This way, the great monk Sanatkum ra spent 1 lakh years observing austerities and in the end became enlightened and liberated.
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Lord r
mtin tha
The 16thT rthamkara after Lord Dharman tha was Lord mtin tha. His life was beneficial to the world and very inspiring. He had gained the T rthamkara status after many past lives. Among his incarnations as
r e a, Yugalika, etc, here is given a brief description of his past life as Vajr yudha:
In the eastern Videha, in the province called Mamgal vat Vijaya was a city named Ratnasamcay . Vajr yudha was born to Ratnam 1 , queen of king Kemamkara of Ratnasamcay . When he grew up he was married to Lak m vat Dev. After some years Lak m vat gave birth to a son who was named Sahasr yudha. At some point in the heavens, in the presence of gods, Indra praised Vajr yudha's samyaktva (right belief). All the gods were pleased to hear this from Indra but one god named Citrac la expressed desire to test him and appeared in K emamkara's court. In the court he said there is nothing called soul, the other world, good, meritorious and bad deeds (p pa, pu ya), etc; people fall into blind beliefs and bear with pain as a result. Vajr yudha replied, “Oh God! If you used avadhij na (clairvoyant knowledge) you will find that you have done some special deed in your past life as a result of which you have attained a god's position. The present affluence / accomplishment are the result of a past merit. The god was impressed by Vajr yudha's firmness and asked him to make a wish. Vajr yudha said to him - I only wish that you would adhere to samyaktva (right path). Pleased with Vajr yudha's selflessness the god gifted him with a divine adornment and praised his samyaktva.
After some time K emamkara left the royal affairs in the care of Vajr yudha and became a renouncer, attained pure knowledge and was called as psychic T rthamkara. Here a cakra jewel appeared in Vajr yudha's armouryand he conquered the six parts of the world and gained the title of universal emperor (cakravart) and made Sahasr yudha the crown prince. In time, giving him the kingdom, he took initiation and self-discipline and observing p dopagamana fast, became a Graiveyaka god. Descending form Graiveyaka, he was born as a son from the womb of Priyamat , queen of Ghanaratha, king of Pu dar kicity. He was named Megharatha. Megharatha was very courageous, brave and
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compassionate. When king Ghanaratha took initiation, Megharatha became the king. He performed his religious duties even as a king.
One day, observing a vrata he was in his pau adhahall (hall of observing austerities). A pigeon / dove came and fell on his lap, trembling with fear. The king lovingly ran his fingers over its back, and reassured it. Then a hawk came and demanded that the dove be given to it. The king expressed inability to return someone who had taken his refuge. To this the hawk said – “I cannot stay alive without fresh flesh. This way, protecting the dove you are forcing me to die. If you are truly a great person, protect both.” Hearing this king Megharatha said - "if it is so, I shall give you my flesh equivalent to the dove, eat it and let the dove go.” A weighing scale was brought. On one side the king placed the dove and on the other side of the scales he started to place flesh sliced form his body. When the dove's scale did not move at all, the king gladly placed himself on the other side. Seeing this unique sacrifice the hawk presented itself in its true form and said – "I disbelieved Indra and caused you pain. Please forgive me. Your dedication and compassion are worth emulating.”
After sometime, Megharatha again took the a ama-tapa (fast) in his fasting hall. Indra of na respectfully bowed to him from the heaven but his consorts, the Indr S, wished to test his determination. Entering the fasting - hall they tried in various ways to disturb Megharatha's concentration but failed to do so and accepting their defeat, left. At the end of the fast when the king resolved to take initiation he left the kingdom to his son and took initiation along with many companions from the monk Dhanaratha. In the past by showing compassion towards living beings and from austerities and restraints, having stopped the influx of karmas, he gained the T rthamkaran makarma. At the end, with a fast unto death, he became a god of 33 s garas life-span in the Sarv rthasiddha palace.
Lord mtin tha's father was the king of Hastin pura, Vi vasena. His mother was the queen of Vi vasena, Acir dev. The soul of Megharatha descended from Sarv rthasiddha vim na and entered queen Acir 's womb on the seventh day of the dark fortnight of Bh drapada under Bhara constellation. The queen saw the auspicious 14 dreams that night. At the end of her pregnancy at the midnight hour on the 13th day of
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the dark fortnight of Jye ha under Bhara to her son.
constellation, she gave birth
Before mtin tha entered the womb, the region around Hastin pura was struck by a plague. Everyone was worried. The moment queen Acir dev became pregnant the plague began to recede and gradually normalcy returned. Hence the parents named the boy mtin tha.
When the boy mtin tha was 25 thousand years old, and entered youth, king Vi vasena got him married to various princesses. Soon after this, leaving the kingdom to him he became a monk and took the path of soulcleansing. mtin tha became the king and from his queen Ya omat a son was born who was named Cakr yudha. Having ruled as provincial king for 25000 years, upon the emergence of the cakra jewel in his armoury, he established his suzerainty over six parts and became a cakravart. After managing his empire as cakravart for 25000 years he wished to take initiation.
Upon the request of the lok ntika gods he started a year of charities and upon its completion on the 14th day of the dark fortnight of Jye ha under Bhara constellation, along with 1000 kings, observing a fast (cha habhakta), acepted initiation. Surrounded by gods and men, reaching Sahasr mravana with Siddhas as witness, giving up all bad deeds (p pa), he became an initiate. The next day he broke his fast at the home of the king of Mamdirapura, Sumitra, with rice pudding. The gods showered the blessings of five substances. After initiation he wandered about for one year observing austerities. Thereafter, he came to eth Sahasr mravana and Hastin pura and became engrossed in meditation. Having mounted the k apaka re in deep meditation he destroyed all the obscuring karmas and on the ninth day of the bright half of Pau a, under Bhara constellation, attained pure intuition and pure knowledge.
As an omniscient Lord mtin tha said in his sermon in the assembly of gods and men - "The soul is the loftiest in this world, and that work which raises the level of the soul, is the best. Wasted and fruitless is the life of that person who, having attained human life, does not work towards salvation." Hearing his excellent religious discourse thousands accepted the samyama dharma (the path of self restraint). Establishing the four-fold creed the Lord became T rthamkara.
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The Lord spent 1 year less than 25 thousand years as an omniscient and spread the message of self-awareness / welfare among people. Sensing the end of his life, alongwith 900 monks, he observed a month's fast and on the 13th day of the dark half of the Jye ha month under Bhara constellation, destroying the four non obscuring karmas also, attained enlightenment, liberation and nirva on Sammeta ikhara.
His life span was 1 lakh years. His congregation had 36 ga as and Ga adharas, 4300 omniscient, 4000 telepaths, 3000 clairvoyants, 800 14
adh rs, 6000 vaikriyalabdhidh rs, 2400 v ds, 62000 monks, 61600 female-monks, 290000 votaries and 393000 female-votaries.
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Lord r Kumthun tha
After Lord r mtin tha the 17' T rthamkara was rKumthun tha. Kumthun tha's father was the king of Hastin pura, king Vasu and his mother was queen r dev .
In his previous incarnation Lord Kumthun tha was king Simh vaha of Khadg city in east Videha. Becoming disenchanted with worldly things he took initiation from crya Samvara and through arihanta-bhakti gained the T rthamkara n makarma. Completing his life-span by fasting he emerged as a god in the Sarv rthasiddha vim na.
Descending form there the soul of Simh vaha entered into the womb of queen r dev on the ninth day of dark fortnight of rava a month under the constellation K rtika. The queen got the 14 dreams. On completion of her pregnancy, queen r dev gave birth to a son on the 14" day of the dark part of the Vai kha month under K rtika constellation. When the child was in her womb she saw the kumthu jewels in a heap, hence the boy was named Kumthun tha.
When Kumthun tha became a young man, he was married to suitable princesses. After some time, the king anointed Kumthun tha to the throne. He ruled for 22000 years as provincial king. When a cakra jewel appeared in his armouryking Kumthun tha raised his banner of victory over six parts and became cakravart emperor, ruling for 23750 years.
Disenchanted with sensual enjoyments, sensing his desire for initiation the lok ntikagods requested him to take the spiritual path. The Lord gave charities for a year and on the fifth day of the dark half of Vai kha under K rtika constellation along with 1000 kings he accepted to be initiated into monkhood and reaching Sahasr mravana, observing fast, renouncing all demerits, appropriately became a mendicant. The moment he took initiation he attained telepathic knowledge (manah paryavaj na). The next day, wandering, he broke his fast at the house of king Vy ghrasimha at Cakrapura. This way, observing austerities as a mendicant for 16 years, he reached Sahasr mravana and became meditative. On the third day of the bright fortnight of Caitra under Krtika constellation, in the second stage of deep meditation,
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under the Tilaka tree, destroying delusion and ignorance forever, he obtained pure knowledge.
As an omniscient, Lord Kumthun tha gave the discourse of scripture and conducts at an assembly (samava ara a) of gods and men and established the four-fold creed thereby becoming a T rthamkara. His congregation had 35 Ga adharas and ga as, including Svayambh, 3200 omniscient, 3340 telepaths, 2500 clairvoyants, 670 14-p rvadh rs, 5100 vaikriyalabdhidh rs, 2000 v ds, 60000 monks, 60600 female-monks, 179000 votaries and 381000 female-votaries.
Sensing the end of his time the Lord went to Sammeta ikhara. There he fasted for one month along with 1000 monks and on the first day of the bright lunar fortnight of Vai kha month under constellation Krtika, breaking all his karmas, he became enlightened and attained nirva. As an omniscient, he spent 23,750 years. He was 95000 years old.
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Lord r Aran tha
After Lord r Kumthun tha the 18th T rthamkara was Lord r Aran tha. In his past life Lord Aran tha, as king Dhanapati of Sus m city in Mah videha, had given valuable and inspiring instructions to his subjects to live with restraint and order. After sometime the king, disinclined towards worldly affairs, accepted initiation from Samvaramuni and began to wander observing discipline. He obtained the T rthamkara n makarma from discipline and devotion to gods, preceptor and religion. In the end, dying in meditative state, he became a powerful god in the Graiveyaka.
Descending from there, his soul came into the womb of Mah dev , queen of king Sudar ana of Hastin pura on the 2nd day of the bright fortnight of F Iguna. The queen saw the 14 auspicious dreams and was very happy. Upon completion of her pregnancy she gave birth to a son on the 10th day of the bright half of Mrgar a under Revat constellation. During her pregnancy the mother had seen the spoke of an invaluable bejewelled wheel hence the child was named Aran tha.
When Aran tha became a young man king Sudar ana got him married to suitable girls. After 21000 years passed the prince was crowned king. After ruling as provincial chief for 21000 years, the jewelled cakra appeared in his armouryand he started on his expedition of conquest of six kha ds upon completion of which he became a cakravart emperor and for the next 21000 years caused the increase of knowledge, prosperity and peace in his empire through just rule.
After his worldly life when the impact of his active and rising karma declined, then renouncing the worldly splendours he desired the life of self-discipline. Upon request by the lok ntika gods having given charities for a year, the king placed the kingdom in the hands of his son prince Aravinda and along with 1000 kings in a due procession went for initiation into monkhood. Reaching Sahasr mravana, on the 11th day of the bright fortnight of Mrgar a under Revat constellation, observing fast, renouncing all bad deeds / activities, he accepted initiation formally. Soon thereafter he accrued telepathic knowledge (manah paryavaj na). On the second day he broke the fast with rice pudding at the home of king Apar jita of R japura city. Observing many restraints, totally giving up sleep, not lying down for three years, the Lord remained a mendicant,
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in contemplation. Thereafter he reached Sahasr mravana and became meditative. On the 10th day of the bright half of the K rtika month under Revat constellation, in deep meditation, ascending the k apaka re , destroying all obscuring karmas, he attained pure intuition and knowledge. After becoming an omniscient the Lord gave a sermon in the assembly of gods and men and established the four-fold creed and became T rthamkara. Bh van Arihantas are free from the 18 imperfections (do as) and are bearers of anantacatu ayas (four infinities) and eight mah pratih ryas (auspicious entities).
His congregation had 33 ga adharas including Kumbhaj , and 33 ga as, 2800 omniscient, 2551 telepaths, 2600 clairvoyants, 610 14-p rvadh rs, 7300 vaikriyalabdhidh rs, 1600 v ds, 50000 monks, 60000 femalemonks, 184000 votaries and 372000 female votaries.
After wandering around and preaching his creed for about for 3 years less than 21 thousand years as omniscient, sensing his end-time approaching, he went to Sammeta ikhara with 1000 monks, there observed a month's fast and obtaining aile da (14" gu asth na or the state which lasts as long as is necessary to pronounce five short syllables) completely destroying the four non obscuring karmas on the 10h day of the bright half of the M rga r a month under Revat constellation, attained emancipation and siddha state (formless), at the age of 84000 years.
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Lord r Mallin tha
Lord r Mallin tha was the 19th Trthamkara of Jain religion. He was born fifty-five thousand years less than one thousand crore years after the nirv a of the 18" Trthamkara Lord r Aran tha.
Past Life
In his past life Lord r Mallin tha was a king named Mah bala. The story of king Mah bala goes like this:
Long, long ago in Mah Videha province of Jamb dv pa in Salil vat Vijaya was a city named V ta ok . In V ta ok was a king named Bala. One night Bala's queen Dh ri saw in a dream that a lion cub was entering her mouth. Dream interpreters said that the queen is going to give birth to a very strong and brave son. In time, upon the birth of a son king Bala named him Mah bala. In appropriate time Mah bala was married to five hundred extremely beautiful princesses including Kamala r . This way Mah bala began to spend his life enjoying worldly pleasures.
After sometime some older monks arrived at the garden Indrakumbha in V ta ok city. King Bala with his kith and kin went to see the monks and be benefited by their sermon. Hearing the discourse of the monk king Bala desired to be initiated into monkhood. King Bala crowned his son Mah bala as king and in the presence of the older monks, took initiation. After initiation king Bala observed the mendicant's conduct with total dedication and faith. In the end he took the vow of pious death (samlekhan) on Mountain Cr and after one month's fast annihilation all the karmas, attained nirva.
There, after ascending the throne king Mah bala looked after his subjects with justice and moral integrity. His wife Kamala r gave birth to a bright son who was named Balabhadra. The king and queen brought up Balabhadra in royal splendour gave him appropriate education and at an appropriate age, announced him the crown prince
King Mah bala had six inseparable friends Acala, Dhara a, P ra a, Vasu, Vai rama a and Abhicanda. There was such deep friendship
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between the seven friends that one day they resolved to be together for life and would do everything, including austerities for emancipation, together. In time a few elder monks arrived at Indrakumbha garden. All the seven friends went to see the monks and listen to the discourse. After hearing the religious discourse Mah bala said, “I want to hand over the charge of the kingdom to my son and take initiation”. Hearing Mah bala say this all the six friends said, "What special attraction remains for us here, we too shall take initiation along with you.” All the seven friends gave their respective kingdoms over to their sons and each pulled out five fistfuls of hair each and took initiation from an elder monk.
After initiation into the ascetic order all the seven friends studied the Amgas and wandered about, affecting their souls with the power of restraint and penance. After sometime, those seven monks decided that they would do all the penance together to the same extent! As decided, all the seven monks observed the austerities together. After sometime a thought occurred in monk Mah bala's mind that before accepting monkhood I have been ahead of my friends in terms of prosperity, accomplishment and wealth. These people were never at the same level with me hence I should be ahead of them even in penance. The moment this thought occurred in Mah bala's mind, it gave birth to the idea of deceit, and hidden from his friends, but along with them, he began to observe greater methods of penance. Thus when six monks would observe a hama (six days) fast, he would observe a ama (eight days) fast. Consequently, the desire to be greater and a sense of ego polluted Mah bala's right belief.
This way, despite having taken a vow to observe the same penance with his six friends, hiding his inner secret from them, Mah bala gained the woman n makarma. After this, being devoid of all thorns (obstruction) observing 20 causes (sth nakas) again and again, through intense austerities, he gained the T rthamkara n makarma. The seven monks including Mah bala remained immersed in intense and tough penance. In the end, they undertook a fast along with samlekhan on the Cr Mountain. Those seven monks, being in samlekhan for two months and completing their respective eighty-four lakh prva years, became ahamindra gods in the anuttaravim na named Jayanta. Mah bala became
?Jt dharma Kath s tra, Ch.8, s tra 22
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a god of complete 32 s gara years of age. Mallin tha in the form of monk Mah bala is a source of inspiration for any aspirant and inspires that person to remain ever alert and awake in practice.
Birth and Naming
After completing his life as a god in the anuttaravim na named Jayanta, Mah bala monk's soul entered into the womb of Prabh vat Dev , the queen of king Kumbha of Mithil city in Bharata region of Jamb dv pa on the fourth day of the bright fortnight of F lguna month, under the A vin constellation. That same night the queen dreamt the fourteen very auspicious dreams. The next day, the dream interpreters told the king - "Oh king! The queen has seen excellent dreams. The fortunate woman who sees these dreams becomes the mother of a T rthamkara or a cakravart. The dreams the queen saw only infers that you both will soon become the parents of a child who will either be a cakravart emperor or shall establish the religious fold as a T rthamkara.” The royal couple's happiness knew no bounds hearing the dream results. After completion of the pregnancy period on the bright fortnight of the 11" day of the Mrgar a month in the middle of the night with moon conjunct with A vin constellation, the queen gave birth to a baby girl of incomparable beauty and aura. Indras, devendras, the king and subjects all celebrated the child-birth as per norms. During pregnancy the mother had a whim for sleeping on a bed of flowers of five colours, because of which the king named the daughter Mall.
Mall , the princess began to grow by the day. When she was a little less than 100 years old, she found out with her clairvoyance about her six royal friends and knowing all, began to spend her life happily with her female friends. In the meanwhile, she called the men of her family and told them that a huge beautiful hall be built in the grove of A oka trees and in its midst be erected six inner sanctums (garbha-g has) with latticed windows and in those six inner sanctums be made a raised platform.
Upon completion of the same as per her instructions, a message was sent to the princess. The princess got made a golden statue resembling her and placed one each on the raised platforms. The statue was made in such a way that anyone who saw it would feel it was Mall herself. A
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hole was made on the head of the statue and it was covered with a lotus leaf. After that, whatever food Mall ate, some part of it was put into the statue and the hole closed.
The fame of heavenly beauty
The fame of free-spirited, child-like goddess Mall 's heavenly beauty and form and superior qualities began to spread far and wide in all directions. At the same time, there emerged, through distinct factors, an intense love for Mall in her six friends of the past birth. Those factors are described briefly this way:
1.
King Mah bala's past life friend Acala's soul, completing its time as a god in the Jayanta vim na, became the king of Kau ala named Pratibuddhi, born in Ayodhya, the capital city of Kau ala. Once in S ketapura the king Pratibuddhi, seeing a beautiful, attractive bouquet of flowers for the queen Padm vat to be taken to the N gadhara festival procession, asked his minister named Subuddhi, “Have you ever seen such an attractive bouquet?” The minister replied – “Oh king, I once went to Mithil with your message. This bouquet is not even an iota of that heavenly bouquet I saw at the annual birthday celebrations of princess Mall. At the same time, princess Mall too is of unparalleled beauty. Hearing the praise of Mall 's beauty, king Pratibuddhi sent his able messenger to the king of Mithil and said that he may request the king Kumbha that I wish to marry princess Mall and for this I am willing to give up my entire kingdom.
King Mah bala's second past life friend Dhara a's soul completed its god-life in Jayanta vim na and became the king of Amga, Candrach ga, born in Camp city, capital of the republic Amga. In those times there used to be many sea-faring merchants in Camp city, to conduct trade on sea. Those merchants used to go on voyages far and wide on the sea for trade. Among those merchants was one named Arahannaka who was not only wealthy and prosperous but also one totally devoted to the rama a religion Once Arahannaka embarked upon a seavoyage with his merchant friends with many kinds of precious commodities of trade in tow huge vessels. After many days of
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traveling, playing and combating with the high waves of the sea, the ships tearing through the chest of the sea, they went very far. They could not see anything apart from the waves of the sea and an endless stretch of water in all directions. It was night time. Suddenly, different kinds of phenomena occurred in the sky. Suddenly, the merchants saw a huge fearsome demon, as dark as coal, approaching their ship with a peal of loud laughter dancing like the k la-bhairava. Around his neck was a garland of human skulls and in his hands a blood-dripping spear. Seeing this deathlike demon all merchants held on to each other in fear. Only Arahannaka remained steady, standing on a corner of the ship, he meditated upon the Siddhas and observed a fast. Now the demon approached Arahannaka and began to scare him saying many things. Steady, intense and fearless, Arahannaka remained firm in his penance. Seeing Arahannaka so calm and deep in meditation the demon was upset and angry with his unsuccessful attempt. He gave a frightening roar that could shake up the ten directions and picked up Arahannaka with his two fingers and giving a huge leap said, “If you continue to invoke the rama as I shall send your vessel to the depths of the sea.” When he saw that Arahannaka was firm in his religion and his faith as before, he placed the ship slowly on the sea-shore and appearing in his god-form, said, “Arahannaka! I am impressed with your unshakeable faith in the nirgrantha sermon. When king of gods, Indra had praised your devotion and dedication I could not believe his words. Hence I took a demon form and placed all these obstacles in your path about which I regret. In fact no amount of praise is good enough for your dedication to the householder's conduct and devotion to the rama a religion.” Saying so, the god begged for forgiveness again and again and gifting him two pairs of ear-rings, returned to his abode. After the god left, Arahannaka broke his fast and all merchants resumed their sea-voyage.
Led by the wind, their huge vessels reached the port. The merchants anchored the ships at the port and taking lots of material for sale, ultimately reached Mithil city. Arahannaka went to meet the adherent of
rama a religion, the king of Mithil and along with various gift-worthy objects, took the pair of ear-rings given to him by the god. The king
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made Mall put on the ear-rings right in front of Arahannaka. After that he respectfully bade farewell to Arahannaka and his fellow-merchants. Completing their work in Mithil city they moved ahead, and travelling in their vessels, returned to Camp city. Arahannaka went to the king Candrach ga to inform him of the successful trip and the details of the voyage. Along with him he took some gifts and the second pair of earrings given by the god. The king of Camp , Candrach ga, welcomed Arahannaka with love and accepting the gifts happily. He asked him, “You would have gone to many place during your voyages. Did you see any extraordinary sight?" Arahannaka said, “I gifted the same kind of pair of ear-rings to the king Kumbha which he asked the princess Mall to wear in my presence. There can be no human or goddess comparable with Mall."
King Candrach ga bade farewell to Arahannaka and his mates after due respects and hospitality and calling his good messenger instructed him to go to the king of Mithil and request him to marry his princess to me in return for which I shall give him my whole kingdom. The messenger soon started for Mithil with Candrach ga's message.
3.
The third friend of the past life of king Mah bala, P ra a's soul, after completing the time as a god in Jayanta vim na, became the king Rupp of Ku la city, the capital of the republic Ku la. King Rupp ruled over r vast city. His wife Dh ri gave birth to a very beautiful daughter who was named Sub hu. Once, the king organised the bathing festival for his daughter. A special city and a hall was created for that festival The princess was bathed from beautiful gold and silver pitchers and when, bedecked in clothes and ornaments she came to seek blessings from her father, the king Rupp was astonished seeing her heavenly beauty. He asked the var adharas (eunuchs) – have you seen any girl as beautiful as Sub hu? One var adhara replied, "King, once we were present on a similar festival organised for the daughter of the king of Mithil, Mall. Your daughter Sub hu's beauty is not even the one-lakh part of the beauty of Mall.” Hearing this, the pride of the king of Ku la was quashed and he became eager to gain the princess Mall . He sent his messenger to the king of Mithil to ask him to conduct his daughter's marriage with the king of r vast , Rupp.
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The fame of princess Mall 's heavenly beauty reached the king of K as well. The king of K was named amkha and in his past life was king Mah bala's friend Abhicanda. Once when one of the pair of ear-rings gifted by Arahannaka broke the king of Mithil gave it to his goldsmiths to repair, but one of them could do it. Angry with this, king Kumbha expelled all the goldsmiths from his city. Displaced, all the goldsmiths went to the king of K and requested him if they could stay and work there. When the king of K asked the reason for their expulsion, they told him of the ear-rings and along with it, also described the beauty of princess Mall, saying, "Oh king, the heavenly aura that princess Mall exudes is difficult to find in human or celestial women.” Hearing the description of Mall 's beauty from the goldsmiths the king fell for her and became impatient to make her his wife. He immediately sent a messenger with a wedding proposal to Mithil , and also said that the king of K is ready to give in return his kingdom.
The fame of goddess Mall 's beauty slowly reached up to the Kuru province. The fifth friend of king Mah bala, Vasu's soul, completing its time in the Jayanta vim na, became the king of Kuru named Ad na atru in the capital of the Kuru republic, Hastin pura. The younger brother of princess Mall was prince Malladinna. He loved painting and one day he organised a painting exhibition in the pleasure garden. Prince Malladinna, too, went to the exhibition. There he became awe-struck and shy seeing his elder sister Mall. Embarrassed, when he tried to walk away from his sister, his nursing mother told him the person the prince is seeing is not his real sister Mall but a life-like picture of hers. Hearing this he was angry and he ordered death sentence for the painter. When he learnt that the painter had not sketched Mall seeing her but imagined her full form based on sighting the princess' toe, impressed by the unparalleled art of the painter and based on the request of the important people and other great artistes, the artist's thumb was sliced off and he was ordered to be expelled. Displaced from Mithil , the artist reached Hastin pura. At Hastin pura he presented the goddess Mall's painting to the king Ad na atru. Seeing her picture and hearing her description the king Ad na atru became enamoured of her.
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He called an able messenger and instructed him to Mithil and said that the king of Videha is eager to make the daughter of the king Kumbha his principal queen and is also ready to give his entire kingdom in return.
The sixth friend of king Mah bala, Vai rama a's soul, after completing its years as a god in Jayanta vim na, became the king Jita atru of P mc la, in the capital city K mpilyapura, of the republic of P mc la. King Jita atru had a magnificent palace in the city within which was a huge and very beautiful harem. In that harem were the king Jita atru's main queen Dh ri and one thousand queens who were all faultless beauties. During the reign one king Kumbha there was a mendicant in Mithil named Cokh. Cokh was well-versed in the scriptures and an accomplished scholar. She used to detailed instructions and also conduct displays of the purifying religion, charities, and purifying from water of various t rthas. Once she went to the royal palace of Mithil , too, with many mendicants. There she gave a discourse and display of purifying activities and significance of charity in goddess Mall 's internal chamber. After listening to her explanation princess Mallik asked her what is believed to be the basics of religion? Cokh said religion is considered purifying hence cleanliness and purity is very important for religion; hence when something becomes dirty and impure we clean it with mud and water, similarly bathing with water purifies the soul, too. Hearing this, Mall said, “This is like trying to wash blood-stained clothes with blood itself. This will make it dirtier, more blood-stained and the colour of blood. The soul is enveloped in the karma stains of untruth, violence, lust, attachment, vainglory; the dirt on the soul accruing from these karmas cannot go away from bathing or rituals, etc because all these activities are full of violence and evil. Just as blood-stained clothes are soaked in milk, etc, baked in fire and again washed with water to clean and purify them, in the same way the soul enveloped in bad karmas is immersed in the milk of right belief, and baked in the fire of austerities / penance and bathed in the pure water of restraint to free it from the dirt of karmas". Hearing this clear female-monkciation given by Mall, Cokh was speechless and quietly kept looking at Mall. After
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sometime, Cokh left Mithil for Pmc la along with other mendicants. Reaching there, she along with her disciple mendicants reached K mpilya city and started her discourse on purifying religion. King Jita atru welcomed mendicant Cokh and along with his huge family listener to her discourse in his harem. Even while listening to the discourse, Jita atru's mind was on his faultlessly beautiful queens, their invaluable adornments and within he was feeling proud about his incomparable wealth. After the discourse the king asked Cokh – “For your discourse you must be visiting huge and wealthy harems, have you seen such a vast one filled with beyonddescription faultless beauties anywhere else?” Hearing king Jita atru's question; Cokh kept laughing for a while and then said, “We have seen the daughter of king of Mithil , Mall. Truly she is the most beautiful woman of this world. The beauty of all the celestial women and the n ga women pale in front of her beauty. This, your harem, is insignificant and worthless in front of her beauty.” Saying this, Cokh left for her destination. Hearing the description of Mall 's beauty king Jita atru sent his messenger to Mithil with the instructions to convey to the king of Mithil that I am firm in my resolve to marry his daughter in return for my entire P mc la kingdom.
Coincidentally, all the six messengers sent to the king Kumbha by the six kings including Pratibuddhi reached at the same time and after meeting each other, went together to the royal assembly of king Kumbha. After respectful placations the six messengers placed their respective kings' proposals before the king Kumbha. After hearing the wedding proposals for Mall from the six kings, king Kumbha was uncontrollably angry. In an agitated tone, he screamed and told the messengers "Go tell your kings that I shall not wed my daughter to even one of them.” The six messengers left the royal hall and started for their respective kingdoms. Each of them told their kings of the angry and agitated response of the king of Mithil that he would not wed Mall to you at any cost or on any condition.
Hearing the negative response, Jita atru and others sent messages to each other, and decided that king Kumbha had insulted our messengers and sent them out of his palace and rejected out proposal and request, thereby
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insulting us. Hence let all six of us together attack Mithil and defeating king Kumbha, avenge the insult meted out to us. Deciding thus, the six kings started for Mithil together. When king Kumbha found out that the six kings including Pratibuddhi were coming to attack Mithil he readied his army and reached the boundaries of his kingdom to face them even before their arrival.
In a short while all the six kings' huge army came and attacked Mithil . King Kumbha's army could not stay too long to face the might of the six king' army; it got shattered. The six kings surrounded king Kumbha. Seeing his life in danger king Kumbha became despondent. He at once asked his army to retreat and got all the entry points of Mithil closed. This way, closing all the doors to the city and organising people's safety, he started to think about the future course of action.
When king Kumbha returned to Mithil with his army all the six kings with their army followed him and reaching Mithil , surrounded him from all sides. Let alone the king of Mithil getting help from any friendly kings, even the entry and exit of ordinary people became difficult. Seeing Mithil surrounded this way, king Kumbha wondered what to do. Not having seen her father for many days, princess Mall went to her father on her own, but king Kumbha was worried and lost in thought and did not pay attention to Mall . Then Mall asked the king, "father, what is the matter? Why are you so worried that you did not even notice my coming?" King Kumbha replied, "nothing like that. In fact it is you I am worried about. Six kings had sent their respective messengers to me asking to marry you. I rejected their proposals and sent their messengers back, insulting them. Now all of them have collectively attacked Mithil and have surrounded Mithil. I don't understand what to do." Hearing these words of her father, princess Mall said, “You may send separate messages to them saying you are ready to give you daughter to them and calling them each separately in the night, send them to separate inner sanctums, then closing all the entrances of Mithil city, hold all the king here and prepare for self-protection.” King Kumbha did as told, and calling the kings separately, put them up in separate inner sanctums.
The moment sun shone in each of those sanctums each king, thinking the statue of Mall to be Mall herself, stood swept off by the beauty of her form, and kept staring at her without blinking their eyes. At the same
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time when they got closer to the statue of princess Mall and removed the cover on the hole as the entire atmosphere was filled with stench. All the six kings shut their nose with their upper cloth and sat turning the other way.
Seeing this condition of the kings, princess Mall said, “Oh great men! Why are you sitting this way? Why have you shut your nose with a cloth?” The kings replied, 'Oh princess we are unable to bear this stench.” To this princess Mall said, "Everyday one morsel of food prepared for me has been put into this statue. If the minute transformation of the food particles thrown there can cause such a stench, then filled with many kinds of impurities, home to disease, a body made of bones and skin, the ample food that is put into it everyday, how much bad odour would result from it? Hence oh dear ones! Realising this permanent truth you should not get stuck in worldly sensual pleasures”.
Remember in our third birth prior to this one, we were deep and close friends, princes in the V ta ok city, capital of Salil vat Vijaya, in Mah Videha province. We did everything together in life and took initiation into monkhood together and becoming monks, decided that we shall do penance together and din the same manner. But I deceived you fellow monks. In the initial period of monkhood, I did more penance in hiding from you, as a result of which karma I got a female form. Later we did the same kind of tough penance and fasts with pure feeling. I observed tough fasts to obtain the T rthamkara n makarma through 20 sth nakas several times and consequently gained the T rthamkara n makarma. We were all immersed in our austerities. In the end all seven of us took samlekhan together on Cr Mountain and completing our time in observation of the fast, became ahamindras in the anuttaravim nanamed Jayanta. In Jayanta vim na you had fewer years than I did and hence you left there sooner and became kings of six republics. I completed my 32 s gara years and was born here. Remember your god-form, where we had resolved that once we left the godly abode we shall meet each other.
Listening to the description of their previous births the kings were lost in thought. In that state they gained the knowledge of their past. All the six kings went to Mall. Mall said, "I am tired of worldly life and I shall now become a mendicant. You are free to take a decision as per your wishes”. Hearing goddess Mall 's words they said in that case they
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would also like to become mendicants so that like in the previous birth we continue to be guided by you in this birth as well. Goddess Mall took those kings to her father, king Kumbha. The kings saluted him and touched his feet. King Kumbha gave them due honour and respect and they left for their respective kingdoms.
Princess Mall told her father about her decision to take initiation and taking his permission, gave the year-long charities. King Kumbha opened food-serving halls at different places in his kingdom where people got different kinds of delicious food to eat. People got what they desired in gifts. Upon completion of the year-long giving, princess Mall decided to take initiation. The lok ntika gods as per norms requested her to accept the path of spiritual endeavour. King Kumbha instructed the family me to quickly bring the necessary things for the departure ceremony of the T rthamkara. The king of gods, Indra, too, instructed the gods to make all kinds of arrangements on behalf of the gods for goddess Mall 's initiation ceremony. All the articles brought by king Kumbha's men and those of the gods were laid out together. At the appropriate time the king of gods, Indra and king Kumbha bather Mall with water from those pitchers. After the ritual bathing, goddess Mall was seated on a throne and decorated with clothes and adornments. After that king Kumbha asked his men to bring the palanquin named Manoram. The king of gods Indra too asked to bring a heavenly and beautiful palanquin with many poles. By heavenly effect Indra's and king Kumbha's palanquins became combined. Mall, seated on that palanquin, made a round across the main streets of Mithil and came under the A oka tree in Sahasr mravana. Under the tree, goddess Mall herself removed all her clothes and ornaments and removed five fistfuls of hair saying “ amotthu am Siddh am.” Arihanta Mall bowed to the Siddhas and accepted the right conduct. Soon as she accepted the right conduct goddess Mall accrued the telepathic knowledge (knowledge of mental modes of others) and became the beholder of four kinds of knowledge. It was the 11" day of the bright fortnight of Pau a month under constellation A vin. Along with goddess Mall 300 women of her internal council (pari ada) and 300 men of the external council took initiation shaving off their hair. Besides, 8 princes, Namda, Namdimitra, Sumitra, Balamitra, Bh numitra, Amarapati, Amarasena and Mah sena, too, became mendicants. Four kinds of gods sang the glory of goddess
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island named
Mall's departure and observed a hnika on an Namd vara and left for their divine abodes.
Pure knowledge (kevalaj na)
After becoming a mendicant, the same day goddess Mall went into meditation in padm sana posture under the A oka tree. Through auspicious results, extensive perseverance and colour of the purity of her soul she entered the state of that unprecedented purity which destroys dense karmic stains and those which obscure, and within a short while, crossing the 12 gu asth nas, accrued pure intuition and knowledge during the later half of the day. That was the 11th day of the bright fortnight of Pau a under A vin constellation. Thus goddess Mall's mendicancy period was a little more than one measure of the day, that is, one-and-a-half measure of the day. Nobody until the time of T rthamkara Mah v ra after her obtained pure intuition and knowledge in such a short span of time. This was the peculiarity of Lord Mallin tha. Lord Mallin tha's first fast-breaking too happened in pure knowledge in Mithil at the home of king Vi vasena who was a subordinate ruler to king Kumbha.
First sermon and establishing the t rtha
Sensing the obtainment of Lord Mallin tha's pure knowledge the gods and Indras showered the five auspicious things in celebration of pure knowledge and created the samava ara a on that very mango grove. The good news of the Lord's pure knowledge immediately spread everywhere. Along with a huge gathering of Jains, king Kumbha, queen Prabh vat, their entire kith and kin came to participate in the samava ara a. The six kings including Pratibuddhi, too, gave their respective kingdoms to their sons, and seated on grand palanquins, came to the samava ara a with the aim of being initiated there. This way, in the grant samava ara a of gods and goddesses, men and women, seated on a high throne, Mall in her first heavenly sermon explained the true form of religion that ends all kinds of sorrows in the world and benefits living beings. For the listeners present there it was a unique experience of samava ara a. After the sermon, Lord Mallin tha established the fourfold religious order. King Kumbha and queen Prabh vat accepted the householder's conduct. Jita atru and other kings took initiation into
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monkhood. In time they became the knowers of the fourteen p rvas and thereafter, becoming keval s became liberated and emancipated. This way, founding the four-fold order, Lord Mallin tha became known as T rthamkara.
The first disciple and principal Ga adhara of Lord Mallin tha was Bhi aka and the preceptor of the entire group of female-monks was Bandhumat who was also the Lord's first female disciple. Before and after Mallin tha all T rthamkara had only one council. But Lord Mallin tha had an internal council (pari ada) of female-monks and an external pari ada of monks. Lord Mallin tha wandered across many regions inspiring people on the path of religion and benefiting them for 54900 years. In the end the Lord reached Sammeta ikhara. There, with her 1000 monks – female-monks she observed penance with one month of fasting without food and water. In a tranquil and pure manner the Lord destroyed the four non obscuring karmas and completing her 55thousand years of life-span, on the fourth day of the bright fortnight of Caitra month on the midnight hour, under Bhara constellation, completing one month of fasting, attained nirva along with thousand monks-female-monks.
The congregation of Lord Mallin tha comprised of 28 ga as and 28 Ga adharas, 3200 omniscient, 800 telepaths, 2000 clairvoyants, 600 fourteen-p rvadh rs, 3500 vaikriyalabdhidh r s. 1400 v ds, 40000 monks, 55000 female-monks, 2000 anuttaropap tika monks, 184000 votaries and 365000 female-votaries.
*****
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Cakravart Subh ma
The eighth cakravart of Bharata, emperor Subh ma, came in the intervening period between the Jain religion's 18 T rthamkara and seventh cakravart Lord Aran tha and the 19thT rthamkara, Lord Mallin tha.Subh ma was the son of the famous, mighty king of Hastin pura, K rtav rya Sahasr rjuna. His mother's name was Tr. We find the introduction to emperor Subh ma in crya SI mka's "Caupanna Mah puru a Cariyam.”
According to that:
In Bharata region of Jamb dy pa was a city named Hastin pura. Near that city in a vast forest was a hermitage of ascetics. The main ascetic of that hermitage was named Jama or Yama. One day, an orphan Brahmin boy, separated from his friends, wandering about lost his way, reached the hermitage. Ascetic Jama kept that boy with him. After sometime that boy became an ascetic and was named Agni. Later, with the name of the teacher added to his name, he became famous as Jamadagni. After severe penance Jamadagni began to be reckoned among the great sages.
One night when the great sage Jamadagni was deep in meditation under a tree in his hermitage, the gods with the aim of testing him, sat on that tree in the form of a male and female partridge. The female partridge asked the male one, "Will the ascetic doing penance on one leg under this tree be eligible for the joys of heaven on account of his penance”? The male partridge replied, "No." To this the female partridge asked, with surprise in her tone, “But why? If such a great ascetic cannot gain the joys of heaven then who else will?” The male partridge replied, “ ‘aputrasya gatirn sti’, according to this apt statement the one who does not have a son cannot gain salvation /liberation no matter how great an ascetic he may be. This ascetic has no son”.
Hearing the above conversation Jamadagni started thinking. He thought the two birds were right. Doing penance without a son is like chasing Mar cik in the form of a deer. Hence I shall first get married to a beautiful girl of good descent and try to beget a son. With this thought the next day Jamadagni left for Mithil with his staff and pitcher. Reaching Mithil he told the king, 'I want to get married, give me one of
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your 100 princesses'. Fearing if he disobeyed an ascetic he might do something inauspicious, he told the ascetic - Lord, you may chose any one of my daughters yourself. Jamadagni chose one named Re uk and after marrying her, left for the hermitage.
Re uk had a sister named Tr. Tr was married to the king of Hastin pura, K rtav rya Sahasr rjuna. After sometime, Re uk gave birth to a son. Jamadagni gave his son his battle-axe and named him Para ur ma. One day, Re uk went to her sister Tr's house. At Hastin pura, T r extended royal hospitality to her sister. Attracted by the pleasures of the royal palace Re uk became enamoured of K rtav rya and started living with him indulging in sensual pleasures. When Jamadagni learnt of this, he brought Re uk back to the hermitage. When he told his son Para ur ma of Re uk 's bad behaviour, he chopped her head off his axe. Hearing of Re uk 's killing K rtav rya reached Jamadagni's hermitage. When he did not find Para ur ma who killed her, he killed Jamadagni instead. Hearing the news of the killing of his father by Krtav rya, Para ur ma's anger knew no bounds. He went to Hastin pura and killed K rtav rya and resolved to wipe off the K atriya race. To rid this earth of K atriyas, Para ur ma roamed all over seven times and killed them in hordes.
At the time of K rtav rya's death, his queen Tr was pregnant. To save her life she left her palace in disguise and reached an ascetic's hermitage. There she started staying underground. In time she gave birth to a son there who from his birth had jaw-tooth and teeth. As soon as he emerged form his mother's womb, the child held on to the earth's surface holding it with his jaws and stood up. Hence the mother named him Subh ma. The child was reared and brought up underground and grew up there. The hermits of the hermitage gave Subh ma knowledge of al kinds of scriptures and skills. When he grew up Subh ma asked his mother who his father was and why is he being retained underground. On his requesting her persistently Tr told Subh ma the entire episode. Hearing the name of his father's murderer, Subh ma raged in anger. He asked, "mother, tell me where is that foe of mine who killed my father?” Mother T r said, “That savage stays in a city close by. To keep count of the Katriyas killed by him he has removed each Katriya's jaw-tooth and collected them in a huge platter. An astrologer told him sometime in future there will be a man upon whose ascending the throne that plate
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filled with jaw-teeth will turn into rice pudding. That man will eat it up and kill you.
Listening to the astrologer's prediction Para ur ma made an asylum. He has placed a high seat in one of the raised platforms therein, close to which he has kept the jaw-teeth-filled plate. To protect that throne he has placed many soldiers." Hearing about Para ur ma's account from his mother, Subh ma at once started for that place. Killing all the soldiers there he sat on the throne. Seated on the throne the moment he rested his eyes upon the teeth-filled plate, by an unseen power it became a plate filled with rice pudding. Subh ma started eating that pudding. The injured soldiers gave this news to Para ur ma.
Hearing the entire account from the soldiers Para ur ma was reminded of the astrologer's prediction. At once he reached the asylum. There he saw the boy Subh ma eating rice pudding fearlessly and uninhibitedly. He told Subh ma firmly, 'O Brahmin child, who are you and upon whose instructions are you sitting on the throne? Don't you know that plate contains teeth of the K atriyas killed by me, which you are eating with such relish? If you are so hungry there is arrangement for the best food in my asylum, which you can fill you stomach with.' Subh ma fearlessly kept listening to Para ur ma and eating the rice pudding simultaneously. When Para ur ma had finished speaking he said, 'I am sitting on this throne not instructed by anyone but on account of my own bravery. I know this plate contained human jaw-teeth, but I am eating rice pudding that it got converted into by an unseen power and I may look like an ascetic Brahmin but I am not, in fact, a Brahmin. I am a K atriya's son and have come to kill you. My arms are twitching to be free of my father's debt. So stop talking and pick up your weapons and show your valour. I am the son of K rtav rya Sahasr rjuna. You have got rid of K atriyas seven times on this earth and I shall make this earth free of Brahmins 21 times only then will my anger cool down.'
Hearing this battle-cry of Subh ma Para ur ma's whole body began to tremble. He at once released a strong of arrows from his bow at Subh ma but the thick and firm body of Subh ma rendered all of the arrows useless. Seeing this Para ur ma became shocked and bewildered. Keeping his bow and arrow aside he picked up his battle axe but seeing even the battle axe ineffective he was very disappointed. After
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contemplating for sometime quietly when he threw his axe towards Subh ma with the aim of beheading him, the axe fell at Subh ma's feet. Subh ma laughed and picked up the plate in his hands, it seemed like a shining cakra. Subh ma, aiming at Para ur ma's neck, threw the plate, by which Para ur ma's head fell off like a fruit from a tree, on the ground. Subh ma's anger did not cool off even after killing Para ur ma. Through fearsome battle he made the earth free of Brahmins 21 times.
After sometime Subh ma brought the entire Bharata under his power and obtained the status of cakravart. With nine treasures and 14 jewels
h ma remained ruler of a vast empire for a long time and after enjoying all pleasures, at the end of his life he died and was born in a horrifying hell.
*****
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Lord Munisuvratan tha
The twentieth Trthamkara of Jain religion was Lord r Munisuvratan tha. In his past life he was the king of Camp city, called Sura re ha. He accepted the spiritual path under monk Namdana and on account of devotion to the arihanta with 20 instruments and their reflections (sth nakas) he obtained the T rthamkara n makarma. In the end he completed his time in meditation and became a god in the Prata heaven. After completing his time in the Prata heaven his soul entered his mother's womb on the full moon day of rava a month under
rava aconstellation. The king of R jag ha, Sumitra and queen Padm vat were his parents. On completion of pregnancy period he was born on the ninth day of the dark fortnight of Jye ha month under
rava a constellation. During her pregnancy the mother kept observing right belief like a monk hence king Sumitra named him Munisuvratan tha.
When he became a young man his father got him married to many eligible women including Prabh vat and after some time, handing over the kingdom to him, he took initiation. After his father he took over the kingdom, but remained unsullied by royal glory and sensual pleasures. After ruling for 15,000 years, upon request by the lok ntika gods, and a year-long charity giving, leaving the kingdom over to his eldest son, he took initiation along with a thousand princes on the eighth day of the dark fortnight of F Iguna under rava a constellation. On the second day, he broke his fast at the home of king Brahmadatta of R jag ha.
After wandering for eleven months as mendicant he obtained pure intuition and knowledge at the same garden where he took initiation, while meditating under the Camp tree on the 12th day of the dark fortnight of F lguna month. After becoming an omniscient Lord Munisuvratan tha gave a sermon on right scripture, and right conduct and after initiating thousands of people, established the four-fold order His congregation comprised of 18 ga as and 18 ga adharas, 1800 omniscient, 1500 telepaths, 1800 clairvoyants, 500 fourteen-p rvadh rs, 2000 vaikriyalabdhidh rs, 1200 v ds, 30000 monks, 50000 femalemonks, 172000 votaries and 350000 female votaries.
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Out of a total life-span of 30 thousand years after observing tranquility / restraint for seven thousand years in the end the Lord along with thousand monks observed a month long fast without even water and on the ninth day of the dark fortnight of Jye ha under the constellation A vin, became liberated, emancipated and free. According to Jain history and Pur as the most venerated of men R ma (Padma Baladeva) and Vasudeva Lak ma a belonged to his time-period. R ma obtained Siddhi through intense practice and St's soul became eligible for the 12th heaven.
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Cakravart Mah padma
In the present avasarpi time in Bharata region of Jamb dv pa at Hastin pura came the ninth world emperor (cakravart) Mah padma. He was contemporary of Lord Munisuvratan tha.
In the ancient times in Bharata, Hastin pura of ry varta division was a famous and prosperous city. There ruled a brave king named Padmottara who belonged to the lineage of Lord V abhan tha. His queen was named Jv 1. One day queen Jv 1 dreamt that a lion cub had entered into her mouth. The queen told the king about the dream. The dream interpreters through calculations said that a great and pious soul has entered the queen's womb who will gain immortal fame as he grows up. Upon completion of her pregnancy the queen gave birth to a very beautiful and bright son who was named Vi ukum ra.
Later queen Jv 1 saw the 14 great dreams. The dream interpreters, satisfying the curiosity of the royal couple, said the son born from the queen's womb will become the cakravart emperor of Bharata when he grows up. After completion of her pregnancy the queen gave birth to a very bright son with all auspicious traits, who was named Mah padma. Vi ukum ra and Mah padma were both brought up with royal majesty and appropriate education was organised for the princes. Both brothers had a sharp intellect and soon mastered all the arts and from childhood, blossomed into youth. Vi ukum ra was disinclined towards worldly affairs and pleasurable activities since childhood; hence he took permission from his parents and accepted initiation as a monk, and studied the Amgas, stras and started observing severe penance. As a result he obtained easily many kinds of knowledge and accomplishments. There in Mah padma developed due qualities of an able ruler and emperor, hence king Padmottara declared him crown prince and gave him the responsibility of the kingdom.
At that time the disciple of Lord Munisuvratan tha, crya Suvrata, wandering unhindered, came to Ujjayin . Hearing of the c rya's arrival the king of Ujjayin, r varm , his Prime Minister Namuci, along with many important people came to see him. Namuci was very proud of his knowledge. Sitting there, praising the Vedic rituals, he began to criticize the rama a tradition. c rya Suvrata was silent but one of his younger disciples engaged in debate with him and defeated him in front of people.
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Namuci was hurt and he decided in his mind to avenge this insult. Gripped by the feeling of revenge Namuci came to that garden in the darkness of the night with a naked sword, and seeing everyone fast asleep, he moved freely towards the young monk. He held the sword with both his hands in order to kill the monk and lifted his hands. He was about to bring down his hands with full force when he became still in that very posture, his hands remained in eth air and he could not even lift his legs. By mere thought of his bad condition, disgrace and stigma his face lost colour. The next day even before dawn the monks saw Namuci in this state, then the devotees who came to see the monks saw him, and slowly the word spread and the whole city came over to see Namuci in this state. People began to discuss about Namuci. The moment the effect of the stupefaction ended, hiding his face with hurt he went home. It was impossible for him to stay in Ujjayin ; hence he quietly left Ujjayin and wandering, reached Hastin pura.
Reaching Hastin pura Namuci came in contact with the crown prince Mah padma and slowly became his trusted aide. Mah padma also made him a minister. At that time a subordinate ruler of Hastin pura named Simharatha turned hostile. Looting the surrounding areas he would return to his fortress. The crown prince sent his army to capture Simharatha but did not succeed. In the end Mah padma instructed Namuci to capture and bring Simharatha. Namuci surrounded Simharatha's fortress from all sides and put obstructions at all the entry and exit points. Namuci also played a trick and bribed some of Simharatha's fortress gatekeepers and took them on his side and one day he entered Simharathaa's fortress with his army through a secret pathway and captured Simharatha. Mah padma was very pleased with this venture of Namuci's and asked him to ask for something. Namuci thanked Mah padma for this gesture and said 'O king, you may keep this promise of yours as my deposit I shall take it when the occasion arises.' Crown Prince Mah padma accepted the request of Namuci's. In time a heavenly cakra jewel appeared in Mah padma's armouryand he gained victory over the six divisions and became the master of nine treasures and 14 jewels and adorned with the title of cakravart. When he was seated on the throne of Hastin pura as cakravart emperor of Bharata, monk Suvrata came to Hastin pura with his disciples and upon request by the people there, agreed to stay during rainy season halt at a garden on the outskirts.
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Namuci found an apt time for his revenge and reminded Mah padma of his promise and said ‘I want to conduct a great sacrifice for heavenly accomplishments, for the successful completion of which you may make me the Lord of your kingdom until its completion and make my command binding and may it not be transgressed. Emperor Mah padma accepted Namuci's request.
Small and big officials, important subjects, the supervisor of religious affairs, all went to Namuci and blessed him for successful completion of the sacrifice. Keeping in mind the norm of rama a tradition to keep away from worldly affairs, crya Suvrata did not go to Namuci. He became angry with this. For, after all, it was to show his animosity towards crya Suvrata and the rama a tradition that he had planned all this. Raging with anger he went to crya Suvrata and told him 'you monks leave the boundaries of my kingdom within seven days. After this if any monk is seen in this kingdom he will be put to death.' To protect the rama a tradition from this very difficult situation Suvrata called upon his disciple and one of great attainments, Vi ukum ra. He tried explaining to Namuci, but he was adamant. In the end he told Namuci 'never mind, at least give me land to the extent of three steps.' Namuci agreed and said 'ok, whichever monk stays outside of these three steps shall be killed. But then Vi ukum ra through his art of transformation started expanding his body. Within moments his body reached as far as the sky. Seeing this form of Vi ukum ra, Namuci fell to the ground in fear. Monk Vi ukum ra placed one of his steps on the east coast of the sea, and the second step on the west coast. Then, roaring like the end of the world, said – Now tell me, Namuci, where do I place my third step?' Namuci could not utter a word; he was shaking like a p pala leaf. Cakravart came out form his palace, reaching the spot, recognised Vi ukum ra, paid obeisance to him and sought pardon for this condemnable crime. Monk Vi ukum ra calmed down. He returned to his normal self. He bestowed a forgiving glance at Namuci and repented usage of his labdhis (attainments) to protect the order of the monks and again went back to his austerities. Through penance he annihilated completely all the eight karmas and attained blissful mok a. Cakravart Mah padma took initiation at the age of twenty thousand years; through penance destroying all the eight karmas, and ultimately attained liberation.
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Lord r Namin tha
After Lord Munisuvratan tha, Lord Namin tha was the 21ST rthamkara. In his past life he was the king Siddh rtha of Kau mb city in the western Videha province. On account of some factors he became disenchanted in worldly affairs. At the same time monk Sudar ana arrived, from whom he took initiation and observed special form of penance and restraint and obtained the T rthamkara n makarma. In the end, with a good feeling upon the end of his time span he became a god in the heaven named Apar jita.
After completing his years as a god, king Siddh rtha's soul left heaven and entered the womb of Vipr, the queen of the king Vijaya of Mithil , on the full moon of the bright fortnight of r va a month under A vin constellation. Queen Vipr saw the 14 auspicious dreams and started to protect the womb with appropriate food, relaxation, and conduct. On completion of the time the mother gave birth to a son of golden hue on the 8th day of the dark fortnight of the r va a month under A vin constellation. On the day of the naming ceremony the king told people that when the boy was in his mother's womb enemies had surrounded Mithil . Mother Vipr cast a kind glance at the enemies from the terrace which transformed the heart of the enemy kings and they prostrated at my feet. This was the effect of the boy in the womb; hence it would be apt to name the child Namin tha.
When Namin tha became a young man his father got him married to suitable princesses and when he was two thousand five hundred years old, prince Nami's coronation as king was held with great respect. Namin tha ruled for five thousand years and then, thought of being initiated. Lok ntika gods requested Namin tha to establish the t rthas.
After a year of gift giving, king Namin tha handed over his kingdom to prince Suprabha, and with one thousand princes proceeded to Sahasr mravana for initiation. Reaching there, observing the fast of cha habhakta, duly renouncing all the bad deeds, accepted initiation on the ninth day of the dark fortnight of ādha month. The next day, wandering, the Lord went to V rapura where he broke his fast at the house of king Datta, with rice pudding. To enhance the glory of the giving, the gods showered blessings of the five auspicious things. After
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being initiated Lord Namin tha wandered, while observing different kinds of penance as a mendicant, and then in the same garden under the Bora al tree, entered into a meditative state. There, on the 11th day of the dark fortnight of M ga ira in the fire of deep meditation, he burnt all the gh tikarmas and obtaining kevaladar ana and pure knowledge, became known as bh va Arihanta. As a keval he gave a religious sermon to a huge gathering of gods and humans and, establishing the four-fold order, became a T rthamkara.
His congregation had 17 ga as and 17 ga adharas, 1600 omniscient, 1207 telepaths, 1600 clairvoyants, 450 fourteen-p rvadh rs, 5000 vaikriya labdhidh rs, 1000 vadis, 20000 monks, 41000 female-monks, 170000 votaries and 348000 female votaries.
After nine months less than 2500 thousand years as a keval, giving religious discourse, the Lord, with one thousand monks, went to Sammeta ikhara and started a fast. After a month, in the end, in the last stage of deep meditation, stopping the influx of activities, on the tenth day of the dark fortnight of Vai kha under the A vin constellation, destroying all karmas, the Lord became omniscient and free. He was ten thousand years old.
Six lakh years after Lord Munisuvratan tha, Lord Namin tha attained liberation. The T rthamkara Namin tha and Namir jar i of Mithil are not one and the same but different. Because of the name and the city some writers consider them to be the same.
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Cakravart Hari e a
In the time of the 21ST rthamkara Lord Namin tha, came the tenth cakravart of Bharata, emperor Hari e a. In the P mc la region of Bharata in Jamb dy pa was a city named K mpilya ruled by the Ik v ku king Mah hari. Queen Mahi one night saw the 14 auspicious dreams. Upon completion of the pregnancy period queen Mahi gave birth to a bright son endowed with all qualities of a cakravart. The parents named their son Hari e a. The prince was brought up with a lot of love and royal splendour and was trained in suitable skills and arts. When he became young he was married to princesses of good lineage. When he was 325 years old, king Mah hari placed him on the throne.
Ruling as a provincial king, when 325 years had passed, a heavenly cakra jewel appeared in his armoury. In 150 years, king Hari e a won over the entire Bharata and became cakravart emperor and the Lord of 14 jewels and nine treasures. He ruled over Bharata as a cakravart emperor for 8850 years. Thereafter, he developed disinterest in his mind. Sacrificing all sensual pleasures and wealth, he took initiation as a mendicant. Monk Hari e a did intense penance and observed pure restraint for 350 years and ending all the eight karmas, obtained the blissful state of liberation/ salvationat the age of ten thousand years.
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Cakravart Jayasena
After the liberation /salvation of Lord r Namin tha, in his T rthamkara period, emperor Jayasena was the 11th cakravart .
Many years ago a king named Vijaya ruled over the city R jag ha in Magadha kingdom. His queen was named Vapr . Queen Vapr once saw the 14 great dreams. The dream interpreters told her this dream is counted among the best dreams and the woman who sees them becomes the mother of a great valorous cakravart son.
The king and queen and the family members rejoiced on hearing the interpretation. In time, the queen gave birth to a son bright and pleasing to the eye who was named Jayasena. The royal couple brought up their son very well and gave him the best education and training and in time, married him to suitable women. When he was 300 years old the king Vijaya placed Jayasena on the throne and became a monk.
After ruling as a regional king for 300 years, a divine cakra jewel appeared in his armoury. He started on the victory campaign of six divisions and in 100 years, became the ruler of the entire Bharata. As a cakravart emperor he became the Lord of nine treasures and fourteen jewels. Up to 1900 years, emperor Jayasena ruled as a cakravart and then renouncing all his wealth, took initiation into monkhood. He spent 400 years in restraint as a monk and through penance, destroying all karmas completing 3000 years of age, attained liberation /salvation.
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Lord r Ari anemi
The 22nd T rthamkara of Jain religion is Lord Ari anemi.
Past Life
In his past life Lord rAri anemi was amkhakum ra, the son of the king of Hastin pura, r e a and queen r mat. When he grew up he became famous as amkhar ja. Prince amkha was still a child when his father re a got the message that the Pall chieftain Samaraketu had wrecked havoc at the borders of his kingdom. If Samaraketu was not suppressed in time, he would whip up other troubles too. Hearing this news the king gave instructions to prepare his army and decided to go to the battlefield himself. When prince amkha learnt of this he requested his father to send him to fight such an ordinary king so he could get a chance to learn the tactics of war and prove his bravery. Hearing the prince's brave request he gave him permission to go to war with the army. Very easily the prince captured the Palli chieftain and returned all the things looted by him to their respective owners and taking the prisoners with him, started for Hastin pura. On the way, prince amkha faced the Vidy dhara Ma i ekhara who had kidnapped the daughter of Jit ri, Ya omati and was taking her with him. The prince defeated him, too. Impressed by his bravery, Ya omatiaccepted him in her mind as her Lord. Impressed by the prince's courage and ability, king r e a handed over his kingdom to him and taking initiation became a mendicant and in time attained pure knowledge.
King amkha was enamoured of and attached to his queen Ya omati. Once, king amkha went to listen to the discourse of monk r e a. At the end of the discourse he asked the monk - Lord, why am I so attracted to and enamoured of Ya omati? Even if I wish to, I am unable to accept the rama a path. After staying quiet for sometime the omniscient monk said - the two of you have been in a relationship spanning seven births, and many times you were husband and wife. It is only because of the long relationship of the past births that your love is so deep. After this, completing your time as a god you shall be the 22ndT rthamkara Nemin tha in your next birth. Listening to his past life story, king
amkha became disenchanted and giving his kingdom over to his son, he became a mendicant. After becoming a mendicant, by showing great
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inclination towards being devoted to the arihanta, Siddhas and monks, through penance and restraint, he obtained the Trthamkara n makarma, and completing his life in meditation, became a minor god in the Apar jitavim na.
Birth and Naming
Completing a full life in Apar jita vim na, king amkha's soul entered the womb of iv dev , the pious queen of king Samudravijaya on the 12th day of the dark fortnight of K rtika month under the Citr constellation. She saw the fourteen great dreams and was very happy. On completion of pregnancy she gave birth to a son on the fifth day of the bright fortnight of the rava a month under the Citr constellation. The gods celebrated the birth, king Samudravijaya, too, gave gifts with a free hand and made people content. Ari anemi was very handsome. On a darkhued lustrous body, he had 1008 auspicious qualities, a firm body like the thunderbolt with a face that was very charming. On the 12th day during the naming ceremony the king said that during pregnancy we were all protected from all kinds of calamities and the mother saw the ari a gem-studded cakra hence the name Ari anemi for the child would be apt. Ari anemi's father king Samudravijaya was a valorous king of the Harivam a lineage. The introduction to his lineage's origin is given below as per requirement.
The Origin of the Harivam a Lineage
In the period of the T rthamkara Lord talan tha there was a king named Sum ha in the Kau mb city in Vatsade a. He kept with him the very beautiful Vanam 1, wife of a person named V raka, and she started to stay at king Sum ha's palace enjoying all pleasures. There V raka became perturbed being separated from his wife and began to live in the forest as a young ascetic. One day, the king went for a stroll with Vanam 1 to the forest. There both of them became sad seeing the pitiable state of V raka and began to repent their bad deed. Suddenly a lightning struck them and both died and in the next birth were born as twins in the pleasure consuming realm named Hariv sa. After sometime
too, died and became a kilvi god in the Saudharma kalpa. Through his clairvoyance he saw that Sum ha and Vanam 1 have been born as twins Hari and Hari and are happily spending their lives
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together. He thought, despite having wronged me they are living happily, enjoying the pleasures of the pleasure-consuming realm. They cannot be killed but they can be sent to such a place where, while enjoying intense bond, they get sucked into a cycle of sorrow.
He learnt that the king of Camp had died and people were looking for an able person to make him the king. He at once sent the Hari twins, who had a life-span of one crore p rvas, along with the Cittarasa kalpav k a tree (wish fulfilling tree) to Camp city, reducing their life-span to one lakh years and their height to 100 dhanu a and gave a call from the skies saying, make these two the king and queen and you shall spend your lives happily. Thinking that to be a god's call from the skies, the people placed Hari on the throne. On account of passion-inducing food and attraction towards sensual pleasures, Hari and Hari died and went to hell. This was a surprising incident because the twins do not go to hell.
It is this Hari-Hari twins who gave rise to the Harivam a lineage. Many powerful, brave and pious kings belonged to this lineage and many cities settled by them are still around. The emergence of the Harivam a lineage is considered to be post-nirv a of T rthamkara talan tha and before the time of Lord rey msan tha.
The Harivam a Lineage
After Hari, some of the kings from the Harivam a lineage are as follows: - 1 P thv pati (son of Hari), 2 Mah giri, 3 Him giri, 4 Vasugiri, 5 Nar giri, 6 Indragiri. This way, there were innumerable kings of the Harivam a lineage. Twentieth T rthamkara Muni Suvrata was also form this lineage.
The son of M dhava Indragiri was Dak a Praj pati, whose queen was named Il and son was named Il . For some reason Il was annoyed with her husband Dak a praj pati and taking her son Il with her, went to T mralipti where she established a city called Il varddhana and the son built a city named M he var. After Il , his son Pulina ascended the throne. At one place, he saw a dog facing a lion making a circular gesture and thinking it to be the power of that place; he established a city named Kumdi over there. After Pulina, Varima established the Indrapura city. King Samjat of this lineage established a town called Va av s or
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V av s. Of the same lineage, the king Ku ima was the ruler of Kollayara city. His son was Mahendradatta who had two brave sons Ari anemi and Matsya. Ari anemi settled the Gajapura city while Matsya built up the Bhaddila city. Both of them had hundred sons each. A king of the same Harivam a clan, Ayadha , settled a city named Sojjha. Further in time there was a king named M la, and then Vi la, who settled Mithil city. Vi la was later succeeded by kings Hari e a, Naha e a, Samkha, Bhadra and Abhicandra. Abhicandra's son Vasu was a very powerful and famous king who became famous later on as “Uparicara Vasu" (one who sat on a throne of space in the skies).
Uparicara Vasu
Uparicara Vasu was a famous and valorous king. In his childhood he had studied under a teacher named K rakadambaka. The son of the teacher Parvata and the sage N rada were his study-mates. Seeing those three students together one day some miraculous interpreter told his fellow ascetics that of these three one will become a king, one will go to heaven and the third will go to hell. When Krakadambaka heard this he thought Vasu is the son of a king so he will become a king, but let me find who out of the other two will go to hell. He made an artificial goat and filled it up with lac syrup. K rakadambaka called N rada and said - child, I have stupefied this goat with a chant. Today is the eighth day of Bahul , hence in the evening take it to such a place where nobody can see it and after killing it come back quietly.
N rada took that goat in the evening to an uninhabited place. When he was about to kill the goat he thought that all the stars and planets are watching. He went still further into the forest taking the goat with him, there he said here all the trees and plants and vegetation are watching. Still further ahead was a small shrine and indeed that place was remote. As soon as N rada began to kill the goat he thought the god of this shrine is watching. In the end, he took the goat to the teacher and told him everything. The teacher made him an ascetic and said -child, you did the right thing, you may go, but do not tell anyone about this.
After this K rakadambaka called his son Parvata and handing him the goat, instructed him similarly. Parvata took the goat to an empty lane from where no one could be spotted till a great distance. When he was
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certain nobody was watching then he sliced the goat and came back in the hermitage and told everything to his father. The teacher was very angry after hearing his son's words and said to Parvata, “What did you do, you rogue? Don't you know that the gods in the skies, the vegetation and invisible beings that wander about unseen watch everything we do? Or else you should have thought in your mind that at least you were watching yourself. You have done a heinous crime killing the goat; you will certainly go to hell. It is better that you get out of my sight.”
After completion of their studies each student took leave of the teacher and started returning to their homes. When Vasu went to the teacher K rakadambaka for blessings and requested his teacher to ask his reward as a teacher, the teacher said, “Child, when you grow up to be a king, show love towards your teacher's son Parvata, which will be my reward."
Vasu later became the king of the Cedi country. Once, roaming the forest for a hunt, Vasu released an arrow aimed at a deer, but it fell midway. When he went closer there he found a huge transparent rock, which was between the deer and the arrow, on account of which the deer was visible but the rock was not and the arrow hit that rock and fell to the ground even before it reached the deer. Vasu thought such a transparent rock would be very useful to a king like me. Reaching his palace he narrated the whole incident to his minister who got the rock moved to the palace and placing it in the hall, placed king Vasu's throne on top of it. Because it was placed on a transparent rock people thought Vasu's throne was hanging in space. Hence king Vasu's name became popular as “Uparicara Vasu”.
After the death of the teacher K rakadambaka' his son Parvata became the teacher and began to teach. He began to explain to his students the meaning of “ajairya avyam”, that aja, that is, goat, must be used for sacrificial rituals. This when in the Vedas ‘aja' is used in the context of 'that which is not born'; that is, grain which does not grow - a seed. When N rada learnt of this, he at once went to Parvata and started explaining to him that he must not turn the traditional meaning of the
edas into false meanings. The sages have always that that ‘aja' means "traiy r ika-yava-vr h” that is, "a grain that does not grow”, not a goat. But Parvata did not agree with N rada's statement. He stuck to how own,
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and said if my words are proved fallacious then may my tongue be slashed and if otherwise, let your tongue be slashed. In the end it was decided that this question be placed before the third fellow-student, king Vasu and that his decision shall be binding on us.
When Parvata told his mother this entire account, she said firmly your father considered N radaa diligent student, hence N rada must be right. But Parvata was not ready to accept defeat on any condition. In the end Parvata's mother went to king Vasu. Narrating the account of the debate to him she asked Vasu the meaning of “ajairya avyam" as explained by the teacher. When king Vasu said it was N rada's meaning that was attested by the teacher, Parvata's mother became anxious and worried. She told Vasu, “This decision of yours will destroy my son, it is better that I kill myself first." Saying so, the teacher's wife started to take her own life. Seeing this, the king Vasu decided to take a decision favouring Parvata.
Lots of people gathered the next day. When king Vasu seated himself on the throne that seemed to be on space, N rada and Parvata placed their respective statements before the king. In spite of knowing the true facts king Vasu, giving a decision favouring his teacher's son and wife, said that according to "ajairya avyam" a goat must be sacrificed. Because king Vasu “knowingly favoured untruth', being given up by the gods
ding the truth, his throne fell to the ground, he turned from 'Uparicara' to 'sthalacara' (one whose throne is on the ground). Seeing the proof, because of foolishness, he attested Parvata's statement to be correct. As a result, through unseen powers Vasu was pushed to the netherworld. Because of favouring untruth in an unjust manner, he had to go to hell. N rada went to the realm of gods but Parvata, later on, with the help of a god named Mah k la, who was the enemy of king Sagara, made animal sacrifice mandatory in rituals and was the originator of this tradition.
The Account of Vasu in Mah bh rata
In the ancient times, sages and kings used ‘aja', that is, grains that did not grow, in sacrificial rituals. There was no place for animal slaughter in sacrificial rituals. Animal killing in sacrifice used to be considered bad, heinous and extremely condemnable. This is clear in the Tul dh ra account, the Vicar nu account and in the accounts of the uparicara king
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Vasu in the Mah bh rata. In the ntiparva of Mah bh rata, from all chapters from Vasudevahi d onwards, in most sections there are related accounts. The old and popularly accepted Jain and Vai ava scriptures unanimously agree on the fact that the original source of killing animals for sacrificial rituals was the usage of the term 'goat' in the place of that which does not grow' and the Cedi king Vasu's decision favouring this untruth. That by merely uttering the word of using animal sacrifice in rituals uparicara Vasu had to fall into the dark abyss of the netherworld, in this context, the brief introduction to Vasu as given in the Mah bh rata is as follows:
Seeing king Vasu in intense penance, Indra got a doubt that if he continues this way, he will one day take away my position. Perturbed by this doubt, Indra came to Vasu and in order to disengage him from his penance, gave him, besides the vast Cedi kingdom and a crystalline gemstudded airborne palace, a boon of being omniscient. Vasu's capital was by the banks of the river aktimat. Because he roamed around in the airborne palace given to him by Indra, he became popular as uparicara Vasu. Uparicara Vasu was truthful, non-violent and used to have pure food. Amgirasa son, B haspati was his preceptor. Ruling justly and diligently king Vasu conducted a great sacrifice of the a vameghaSixteen great sages such as B haspati, Hot, lihotra, Kapila, Vai amp yana and Ka va were present in that ritual with total nonviolent feeling. The potion of gods was fixed from the fruits, roots, etc from the forests used for this ritual. Lord Nr ya a, happy with this ritual of Vasu, appeared before him and accepted the sacrificial oblation offered to him. After completing the great a vameghasacrifice, king Vasu looked after his subjects for a long time.
Once, a debate ensued between the gods and sages regarding the oblations used in the sacrifice. The gods told the sages - "ajairya avyam”, that is, goats, should be used for sacrifice – by this, they meant 'aja' should be translated as 'goat'. To this, the sages said – seeds should be used in sacrifice. That is what the Vaidika rutis say. Seeds are called aja, it is not right to sacrifice a goat in the name of aja. Wherever animals are sacrificed in rituals those rituals are not ones in keeping with truth, men or religion.
At the time when this debate was going on between gods and sages, the great king Vasu reached there through the skyway on his palace. Seeing
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him the brahmar is (sages) told the gods – this king will clear our doubt. He is himself one who conducts sacrifices, looks after the well-being of all living beings and is a great man; he cannot go against the stras (scriptures /holy texts). All the sages and gods said, “Oh king! What should be used in a sacrifice; Food or goat?” The king asked them what is dear to each one of them. Who thinks aja means goat and who thinks it means food? Replying to the question of king Vasu the sages said, “Oh king! It is our opinion that food should be used in sacrifice, but the gods think sacrifice must be done with an animal called 'ch ga'. Now you decide.”
King Vasu, taking the side of the gods said, "aja means ch ga, or goat, hence goat should be used." Hearing this, all the sages got angry and said, “Knowing aja's true inference is food, siding with the gods you have said it is goat, hence you will fall from the sky, and your power to roam around in the skies will end. If you have opposed the Veda scriptures, you shall go to the netherworld and if our word is against the scriptures, we shall fall.” As soon as the sages stopped talking, king Uparicara fell to the earth from the sky and at once went into the netherworld.
Out of the eight sons of Vasu, six of them successively ascended the throne, one after the other, but the moment they did that, by some divine power, they got killed. Scared by this, two of the remaining sons, Suvasu and Pihaddhaya' uktimat' ran away form the city. Suvasu settled in Mathur and Pihaddhaya's successor was Sub hu. After Sub hu, came respectively, D rghab hu, Vajrab hu, Ardhab hu, Bh nu and Subh nu. After Subh nu his son Yadu was a brave king of the Harivam a lineage. In Yadu's line, Saur and V ra were two great and powerful kings. King Saur settled in Sauripura while V ra built Sauv ra city.
The Paternal Side of Lord Nemin tha
The Harivam a clan's king Saur had two valorous sons, Amdhakav i and Bhogavi. Amdhakav i had ten sons who were popular by the name Da rha. Among them the eldest, Samudravijaya and the youngest, Vasudeva, were specially talented and influential. Samudravijaya was magnanimous, just and doting king to his subjects. It was Samudravijaya who brought up his younger brother Vasudeva. In time, Vasudeva, too, became famous for his valour.
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The Past Life of Vasudeva
In his past life, Vasudeva was a Brahmin, Nand e a. After his parents' death, his family members threw him out of the house. After he was thrown out of his house he was brought up and cared for by a gardener. The gardener had assured him he would marry one of his daughters to him. He was hurt to know that not even one of them liked him and so went to the forest to commit suicide. There a monk saw him and stopped him from doing so. Listening to the monk's discourse he took initiation and began to lead a life of restraint, and austerities. To make his condemnable life fruitful, he made a resolve that whenever he got news of any sick monk, he would first serve him and only then accept food. On account of severe penance he got many attainments (labdhi) so that whatever medicine he required for a diseased monk, he was able to acquire it. Because of this selfless service he became very popular and accumulated great merit (pu ya). He was unable to forget the insult meted out to him by the gardener's daughters, hence he decided that if his penance bears fruit, in the next birth he would like to be loved by women. After death, because of his penance, he obtained to the realm of gods and after completing his life there he was born as Vasudeva at Amdhakavi's house.
Vasudeva and Kamsa
Vasudeva's childhood passed off happily. He was sent to able teachers for appropriate education. When Vasudeva was studying, one day a merchant came with his son to him and said, “This child, Kamsa, will serve you, please keep him with you." Vasudeva agreed to the merchant's request. Kamsa served him and also started learning at the same time.
One day, Jar samdha sent a messenger to Samudravijaya and said, “Whosoever will capture the rebellious king Simharatha of Simhapura, I shall marry my daughter to him and also give a city as a gift.” When Vasudeva got the message, he requested Samudravijaya that he may be permitted to capture Simharatha and present him. Samudravijaya heeded Vasudeva's request and sent him off with a strong army to fight. Simharatha faced Vasudeva. After a fierce battle, Vasudeva's army was weakened. Seeing this Vasudeva instructed his charioteer Kamsa to take
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him towards Simharatha. Kamsa did as told and in no time Vasudeva made Simharatha's army run helter-skelter. Kamsa showed extraordinary war-skills and breaking Simharatha's chariot wheels, captured him. Simharatha's soldiers ran away. Vasudeva presented Simharatha as captive to Samudravijaya. Very happy with this victory of prince Vasudeva, Samudravijaya organised a welcome ceremony.
When they were alone Samudravijaya told Vasudeva that based on some signs of J vaya , it has been predicted that she will destroy both clans. Hence it doesn't seem beneficial. To this, Vasudeva said, Kamsa has a big role to play in the success of this campaign, hence as a reward J vaya may be given to him. Samudravijaya said how can a high caste woman be married to a merchant's son? Vasudeva said, Kamsa's courageous work has proven him to be a k atriya's son indeed.
To know the truth, when the merchant was questioned, he said – “Oh king! In fact he is not my son. He was found within a bronze casket floating down the river Yamun . Hence he was named Kamsa.” We also found a ring along with him in that casket, in which was inscribed king Ugrasena's name, seeing which Samudravijaya came to believe Kamsa to be his son. At once he went to Jar samdha's house with Kamsa and Simharatha and narrating the incident of Kamsa capturing Simharatha, Samudravijaya said Kamsa is in fact king Ugrasena's son. Hearing this, Jar samdha happily married off his daughter J vaya to Kamsa.
Having come to know the fact that his father left him to float in river Yamun , Kamsa decided to avenge him. The moment he became the son-in-law of Jar samdha, he asked for Mathur kingdom from him and the moment he came there he imprisoned Jar samdha and began to rule there.
Vasudeva's Personality
Vasudeva's personality was very attractive and inspiring. When people would see him going up and down the main streets they would sho free praise on his pleasing to the eye kind of beauty. Women would keep staring at his enchanting glow. But Vasudeva was not even aware of his charming, beautiful youth. One day, he was returning from a stroll in his garden when Samudravijaya told him lovingly, “brother, do not roam
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around outside this way, your delicate body is withering away with dust and dirt. Staying within the palace, you can practise some other arts and skills." Vasudeva listened to his elder brother and started spending time in the palace.
One day, seeing the hunchbacked maid preparing a body-paste for Samudravijaya, Vasudeva asked her, “isn't this paste for me?” The maid said, “You have done a crime, so the king does not give you clothes and ornaments and paste.” When Vasudeva forcibly took away the paste despite the maid's refusal, the maid remarked, "It is because of this kind of behaviour that you have been disallowed in royal halls, you do not give up your immodesty.” Shocked, when lovingly Vasudeva spoke to the maid and pleased her, she said, "Actually, some people have told the king Samudravijaya that when prince Vasudeva takes a stroll along the main streets, women leave all their work and chase him and keep staring at him, spellbound. Some young women in fact keep waiting for his arrival. There is hysteria about you all over. Hearing this, your brother has made this arrangement for you.” Hearing this Vasudeva, was worried and thought in this state, it is better to leave from here quietly. In the evening, he got out of the royal palace with an attendant called Vallabha.
On the way was a graveyard where he saw a dead body. Prince Vasudeva asked his attendant to prepare a funeral pyre with some logs of wood. When it was ready, Vasudeva told the attendant, “Go bring my jewel case. I shall donate something and enter the pyre.” Hearing these words of the prince the attendant began to weep. He said, “If you want to enter the pyre, I too, shall follow you.” The prince said, “Okay, but first bring the jewel-case. And yes, do not tell anyone about this."
The attendant returned to the city. Vasudeva set fire to the pyre. Close by on a tree he wrote, “Despite being one of true character and conduct, people have suspected me, hence I am giving myself up to the fire." Even before the attendant returned, Vasudeva left that place. On the way, he came across a bullock cart, with a woman who was going from her inlaw's place to her mother's. An old man was accompanying her. Seeing Vasudeva walking on foot, she felt pity and she asked the old man to take him in the cart; he will rest in our home for a night and leave. Listening to the old man, Vasudeva sat in the bullock cart and, reaching his house, after a bath and a meal, began to prepare for rest. When he was resting he overheard people discussing outside a Yak a shrine that
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finding out about Vasudeva's jumping into the fire the members reached the graveyard and seeing the reasons for his doing so written on the tree, they were very sad and worried and completing all the last rites, returned home. Vasudeva felt worldly bonds are unfathomable, mysterious and transient. It is good. People believe I am no more. Hence they will not try to look for me and I can now uninhibitedly and freely move about.
After resting that night Vasudeva left that place and kept wandering about through different places. In the meantime, he learnt many things, undertook the study of various kinds of skills and on many occasions, put his courage and valour to use. This way, wandering about, Vasudeva reached Ari apura, the main city in the Kau ala republic. There he found out that the king of Kau ala, Rudhira, was organising a svayamvara (the woman selecting a groom for her) for his daughter, princess Rohi , for which many great kings like Jar samdha, Damagho a, P mdu, Samudravijaya, Candr bha, Kamsa, etc were to be present. Vasudeva, too, sat with a pa ava musical instrument in his hand in a corner at the svayamvarahall. Accompanied by countless maids, the moment Rohi entered with a garland in her hands, the entire hall looked like a painting with her aura blinding it. The faces of the kings (to whom Rohi would go with the garland) would glow like the sun, but the moment she moved on ahead, their faces would turn pale and dark, losing sheen, just as the sun under the effect of the plant R hu. Vasudeva made a soft, melodious tune with his musical instrument with the sound of which Rohi , like an enchanted peacock, moved towards Vasudeva leaving all the great kings, and reaching him, placed the garland around his neck and went quietly into her chambers.
There was furor in the hall. Many called out aloud, "after all, she chose a musician.” Many kings felt it was not right. One of them said to the king of Kau ala, “If your daughter already likes a singer, what was the necessity for the theatrics of a svayamvara to insult the kings?” To this, king of Kau ala said, "a girl has the right to choose her groom in a svayamvara. She selects the one she finds suitable or her.” Vasudeva said, “Is a k atriya not allowed to sing or play music? Seeing the pa ava in my hands how did you all think I am not a k atriya?”' Hearing this, a king named Damagho a said, “Insulting kings of pure clans by choosing a man of unknown descent is not right." Seeing the conversation take this turn someone suggested that if the singer claims to be a K atriya, ask him to introduce his lineage. Vasudeva said, "What is the use of all this
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useless debate, the strength of my arms will show my identity." Hearing this Jar samdha said, “The root cause of this insult is the king of Kau ala. Capture the king R dhira." All the kings surrounded the king of Kau ala. Seeing this, astride the chariot dadhimukha' of the Vidy dhara king of Arimjayapura, Vasudeva gave out a battle cry. Hearing Vasudeva's call, when many kings started to attack Vasudeva, king Pmdu said, “No, this does not speak well of k atriyas that so many kings should together attack one person.” Jar samdha too expressed consent to this and said, “Yes, let each king take turns and fight a duel with him, whosoever wins, Rohi will be his.” When Vasudeva within minutes defeated the brave kings such as atrumjaya and many others, Jar samdha told king Samudravijaya, “It would be better if you fought with him and gained Rohi.” On Jar samdha's request Samudravijaya started hurling a string of arrows at Vasudeva. Vasudeva struck all those arrows down but did not attack him. Seeing his arrows broken and fallen to the ground, Samudravijaya was very angry. At that time, Vasudeva released an arrow with his name on it towards his feet. Seeing Vasudeva's name on the arrow Samudravijaya was astonished. Forgetting everything, he leapt in joy at Vasudeva. Vasudeva threw his weapon and fell at Samudravijaya's feet. The elder brother pulled up his younger brother and embraced him. The other eight brothers too met Vasudeva with joy. Jar samdha and other kings praised the good fortune of the king of Kau ala. In everyone's presence he conducted the wedding of Rohi with Vasudeva. After completion of the wedding ceremony, all kings went back to their respective kingdoms. Accepting the invitation of the king of Kau ala, Samudravijaya spent one year there, and giving permission to Vasudeva to stay there for some time, left for Sauripura.
While in Ari apura, Rohi gave birth to a son who was named Balar ma. After spending some more time in Ari apura, Vasudeva, Rohi and other wives and the son Balar ma, taking leave from the king of Kau ala, returned to auripura. After sometime, Kamsa extended a graceful invitation to Vasudeva to stay at Mathura with his family for sometime. Vasudeva accepted Kamsa's request and started staying happily in Mathura's palaces.
Vasudeva-Devak 's Wedding and the killing of Kamsa
One day on Kamsa's request king Vasudeva went to M ttik vat city to see king Devaka's daughter Devak . On the request of Kamsa, Devaka
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got Devak married to Vasudeva. Vasudeva came with a lot of wealth and attendants in dowry to Mathura. Kamsa too reached Mathura on that auspicious occasion and said to Vasudeva with respect, "give me, too, a gift I seek on this happy occasion.” When Vasudeva said “yes”, Kamsa happily asked for seven of Devak 's infants. Obliged by friendship, not expecting anything untoward, Vasudeva agreed. Later, Vasudeva got to know that when Kamsa's wife J vaya had made fun of the young
rama a monk Atimuktaka, showing him Devak's pleasure-clothes, he had angrily said to her, “What are you laughing at and dancing about? The same Devak 's seventh son will kill your husband and father."
g of this Vasudeva understood the reason behind Kamsa's request. Still he decided that he will not go back on his word, no matter how great a loss he may have to suffer for it.
After her marriage Devak became pregnant six times, the infants born thereby would be sent by divine grace of god Hari aigame to the laywoman Sulas and her still-born children would be sent to Devak. Vasudeva would give the same over to Kamsa who would throw them away since they were still-born. When Devak became pregnant a seventh time, she woke up with seven auspicious dreams. Vasudeva, interpreting the dreams said, - “You will give birth to a great, fortunate son, who will destroy both Kamsa and Jar samdha, when he grows up." Devak said, “Lord, we must protect this son by all means; at least one son of mine should remain alive."
Kamsa suspected that even if he was bound by his promise, Vasudeva might try to protect his children, so he had imprisoned Devak and Vasudeva. When after nine months Devak gave birth to a son, by divine force, the prison-keepers fell asleep. Vasudeva took his son to Gokula and at that time, there was a slight drizzle, the gods had taken a form of an unseen umbrella. Crossing the river Yamun , he reached Nanda's house where Ya od had given birth to a daughter. Vasudeva placed his son in the place of the daughter and took her with him to Devak. When the attendants woke up, they placed her in front of Kamsa. Kamsa became reassured that his fears had been allayed. There in Gokul K a was being brought up by Nanda and Ya od . When Kamsa learnt of K a's extraordinary courage and brave acts since childhood he got suspicious about him and tried to kill him several times through many methods but always failed.
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When K a grew up a little, Kamsa organised a wrestling competition in palace. K a and Balar ma went there, too. Kamsa prepared two giant wrestlers, C ra and Mu ika and also kept an elephant in rut to trample them. But along with Balar ma, K. a killed the wrestlers and the elephant. Seeing his plans fail Kamsa became angry. He instructed his soldiers to kill Balaram and K a. Balar ma started killing Kamsa's soldiers and K a, pouncing angrily as a tiger, threw Kamsa from his throne to the ground and killing him, freed his subjects from his atrocities.
The Wrath of Jar samdha
After killing Kamsa king Samudravijaya released Ugrasena from the prison and made him the king of Mathur . Ugrasena conducted the wedding of his daughter Satyabh m in a grand way with K a. Angry with Kamsa's death, J vaya went to R jag ha saying that she would put an end to Balar ma and K. a and all the ten offspring. Reaching R jag ha, she narrated the whole account to her father Jar samdha. Jar samdha was very unhappy with his daughter's widowhood. He resolved to destroy the Y dava clan. He instructed his son, K lakum ra to attack the Y davas with a huge army and kill them all. K lakum ra took an oath, "I shall return only after killing the Y davas. If they enter the fire fearing me, I shall chase them there, too."
When the Y davas found out that K lakum ra was coming with his petty
y towards them, Samudravijaya and Ugrasena went towards the south-west sea with 18 crore Y davas. Later they camped on the valleys of the Vindhya Mountains. The deity of the Harivam a clan created a huge mountain with just one entrance on that pathway with her powers, and lit numerous burning pyres on it. When K lakum ra's army reached there chasing the Y davas, it became stunned seeing the burning pyres. Nearby was an old woman, weeping. When she was questioned she said the Y davas were running away fearing Jar samdha. When they learnt that K lakum ra was chasing them with a huge army, seeing no way of saving their lives, they lit these pyres and fell into them. Seeing my clan destroyed this way, I am also going to enter into the flames. Saying this, she jumped into the flames. Seeing this, K lakum ra told his brothers and other kings that he had taken an oath that he shall kill the Y davas even after they entered into the flames. "Hence I shall chase them
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jumping into the fire.' Saying this, with a naked sword in his hand, he jumped into the fire and turned into ashes. Jar samdha's army returned to R jag ha wringing its hands in despair.
Building Dv rik City
When the Y davas found out that K lakum ra had entered the flames and that Jar samdha's army had returned to R jag ha city, they moved towards the sea-coast happily. They settled on the Raivata Mountain in Saur ra region. There, Satyabh m have birth to two sons, Bh nu and Bh mara. K a observed a three-day fast and meditated upon the deity, Susthita, of the salt ocean. On the third day, in the night time, the Susthita god appeared and giving rk a the p mcajanya conch and Balar ma the conch named sugho a, gems and clothes, asked the reason for being invoked. rk a said, 'Please return now the Dv rik city of the earlier arddhacakris you have enveloped within your expanse.' The god immediately pulled back the sea-water from there. Instructed by Devendra, Vai rava a created overnight a Dv rik city 12 yojanas long and 9 yojanas wide, with huge palaces filled with limitless wealth, beautiful tanks-wells, streams and gardens and wide roads. Seeing an auspicious time, the Y davas entered Dv rik city and began to live there and enjoying the great prosperity.
War with Jar samdha
Fearing Jar samdha's anger, when the Y davas were moving towards Dv rik , at that time child Ari anemi was barely four-and-a-half years old. He was being brought up in Dy rik . The Y davas, too, while in Dv rik , gradually expanded their kingdom and the glory of their wealth and prosperity soon was being sung far and wide. When Jar samdha found out about the increasing fame of the Y davas, he sent one of his messengers to Dv rik and said 'the deceitful tactics you people employed to kill my son K lakum ra shall be certainly avenged by Jar samdha. You cannot save yourself on land, or the netherworld from the oath he has taken to destroy the Y davas.' The Y dava heroes were filled with unbound anger hearing the message, but Samudravijaya calmed them down with a gesture of his hands and told the messenger that whatever happened was on account of a divine power, not the
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conspiracy of the Y davas. You tell your king that what he has started, he must finish.
After the messenger left, Samudravijaya discussed the war-strategy with his ten brothers and king Bhoja, Ugrasena, Balar ma, K. a, etc to face Jar samdha. King Bhoja said the only strategy to be used for Jar samdha is punishment but this will only prove useful and best when we shall always follow the most important norm of the war, that every person engaged in the war shall fight till the end, putting his life at stake, without desire for even a moment's rest. Everybody agreed with king Bhoja's words and looked for consent at Samudravijaya when he said. “To break the ego of Jar samdha we must resort to punishment by not sitting in our fortress but by fighting with him on the borders with our army. This will prove our machismo and will keep a large part of the kingdom protected. This unsettles and impacts the enemy and it increases confidence of our army and subjects”. Agreeing with Samudravijaya's suggestion the Y dava army started off, and within a few days, set up their camp on the banks of the river Sarasvat , 45 yojanas or 360 miles from Dv rik , near Sin pall village, 4 yojanas away from where Jar samdha's army had set up base.
At the time when the Y dava army set up base at Sin pall, a Vidy dhara leader came to king Samudravijaya with his armies and said, “Oh king, your army has great warriors such as Ari anemi, K a, Balar ma, Pradyumna, mba, etc. Hence we are at your service and we may be allowed to render service and assistance as per our abilities. We want that Vasudeva be our army general and mba and Pradyumna be there to assist him. Many Vidy dhara kings are friends of the king of Magadha, Jar samdha and are extending help to him with their armies. You may allow us to keep them occupied in battle on the way.” Samudravijaya accepted their request and placed Vasudeva, mba and Pradyumna with them. At that time Ari anemi gave Vasudeva a medicine that would annul the effect of the weapons used by the gods.
There, Jar samdha's emissary ‘Hansa' trying to explain to him said, “Oh king, you should consider very well what is beneficial to you and what is not, before commencing any work. You are well aware of the strength of Samudravijaya and Vasudeva. At the time of Rohi 's svayamvara Vasudeva single-handedly defeated all the kings. His sons, Balar ma and
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K
a are both valorous. All gods and minor deities bow their heads to Ari anemi, Balar ma and K a. Ari anemi can single-handedly win over the entire earth by the might of his arms. In your army, leaving aside you, who is that brave and strong? Most of the great ones in your army use deceit and trickery to do their work. Your son K lakum ra was destroyed by the trick of a clan-goddess. Doesn't this show you that even destiny is not in your favour? The Y davas too went far from you to Dv rik ,but you have provoked them to a war with you. Even now if you stop this war they will readily return to Dv rik.” But Jar samdha did not pay heed to Hansa's rightful speech, but insulted and condemned him.
Both armies created their battalion-placements. After preparing the placements, Jar samdha appointed Hira yan bha, the king of Kau ala his army general. Samudravijaya appointed K a's elder brother, An dh i as the army general of the Y davas. The air was filled with sounds of conch-shells, trumpets and other war musical instruments. The warriors from both sides pounced on each other like hungry lions. When Ari anemi got ready for war, the king of gods, Indra, sent a chariot, Jaivaratha, filled with divine weapons, with his charioteer M tali. Upon the request of M tali, Ari anemi got on to that chariot. For a long time there was intense fighting. Neither side could break through each other's battalion placements. In the end, when Jar samdha's army succeeded in breaking past the portion of a placement at the forefront which protected
ir da placement, K. a unfurled the Gar da flag and steadied the army. Mah nemi, Arjuna and An dh i, after intense battle, crushed the army of Jar samdha. The Y dav army entered the enemy posts, breaking and defeating them. Intense fighting continued. Many great warriors came to be of use on both sides. Both army generals fought with weapons which lasted a long while. In the end, An dh i beheaded Hira yan bha. There was chaos in Jar samdha's army. By coincidence, the sun had set as well, hence both armies returned to their respective camps.
On the second day, Jar samdha declared i up la his army general. Both armies created their respective circular placements (cakravy ha) and stood facing each other in the battlefield. With a twang of his bow-string, Jar samdha moved towards Balar ma and K a. Jar samdha's son. prince Yavana, too, began to attack the sons of Vasudeva with great speed. S ra akum ra chopped off the head of Yavan kum ra with his
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sword. i up la started hurling both weapons and verbal abuses at K a . K a broke i up la’s bow to pieces, as well as his armour and chariot.
i up la had just about leapt at K a with his sword when the latter cut and brought to the ground his sword, crown and head. Seeing his army general killed thus, Jar samdha leapt at K a like the dreaded time of death itself. Many Y dava warriors jumped at Jar samdha, but singlehandedly he killed them all. Jar samdha's 28 sons attacked Balar ma. After fighting for sometime, Balar ma killed them with his plough. Seeing his sons killed this way, Jar samdha attacked Balar ma with his goad. Balar ma fell unconscious. He was about to attack a second time with his goad when Arjuna appeared before him with lighting speed and both started fighting. In this meanwhile K a killed the remaining 19 sons of Jar samdha. Jar samdha was red with fury. He said – “
K a ! Consider Balaram dead and you get ready to die too." Saying this, he leapt at K a when M tali beseeched Ari anemi, “Lord! Though you are averse to all murderous activities, yet now you must save your clan from bang destroyed. This Jar samdha is like a mere worm in front of you. Lord, show some of your miraculous deeds."
Ari anemi's miraculous deeds and killing of Jar samdha
As requested by M tali, without any agitation, Ari anemi blew the Paurandara conch. All the four directions began to tremble by the sound of that conch-shell. Reassured, the Y dava army resumed fighting with renewed vigour. As advised by Ari anemi, M tali whirled the chariot around like a fearsome typhoon and Ari anemi started releasing arrows on Jar samdha's army and destroyed the flags and crowns and, in a short while, killed one lakh soldiers. He did not kill Jar samdha, of course, but rendered him almost still as death. The wind-like speed of his was no match for anyone. In this meantime, Balar ma regained consciousness; he got himself together and started killing the enemy soldiers. The entire battlefield was filled with broken chariots, dead elephants, horses, human heads and pots. Seeing this destruction of his army Jar samdha started fuming. He moved his chariot towards K a and said, “
K a! Now I want to put an end forever to your deeds of trickery and deceit. You killed Kamsa and K lakum ra through trickery. Now I will kill you and fulfill J vaya 's oath."
Laughing, r k a said, “That will only be fulfilled by J vaya entering the flames." rk a's words acted like fuel to the fire of Jar samdha's
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rage. Pulling the bow-string, he rained a shower of arrows at K. a. K a kept cutting his arrows mid-way. When Jar samdha saw that none of his weapons were affecting K a, he ultimately threw his effective weapon, the cakra. Seeing the cakra move towards K a, the Y dava army got worried. Many warriors used their effective heavenly weapons on the cakra but they all failed. The cakra kept moving towards rk a. Suddenly, the pivot of the cakra slightly hit K a's chest, and circumambulating him, stopped at the forefinger of his right hand. K a soon held the cakra in his right hand on the forefinger. Showers of scented water and flowers began to pour down on K. a and a heavenly voice said – “the ninth Vasudeva has emerged.” K a told Jar samdha, “Oh king of Magadha! Do you still see trickery in this?” The egotistic Jar samdha said, “Just try hurling that cakra of mine towards me.” K a then whirled the cakra towards Jar samdha and Jar samdha's head fell to the ground. The sky resounded with cries of cheer and victory of the Y davas. Ari anemi too stopped his chariot. All the kings fell at his feet and begged forgiveness. Ari anemi took them all to K a. K a embraced Ari anemi. As per Ari anemi's suggestion, K. a returned all their kingdoms to them. On Samudravijaya's suggestion, Jar samdha's son Sahadeva was given the kingdom of Magadha. At that time Samudravijaya was informed by three Vidy dharas that "Vasudeva, Pradyumna and mba had been engaging the Vidy dhara kings who had come to assist Jar samdha. Hearing the news of Jar samdha's death, all of them took refuge at Vasudeva's feet. All of them are now coming here.' In a while all of them reached there. The Y davas celebrated their success happily and then reached Dv rik. Samudravijaya tried to get Ari anemi married several times but wasn't successful.
Ari anemi and K
a
Once, wandering about, Ari anemi entered K a's armoury. There he saw an extremely bright cakra, a fearsome bow like the e an ga (serpent), goad, sword and a huge p mcajanya conch-shell. The prince became inquisitive seeing the conch. Seeing him reach for the conch the guard of the armourysaid, “Oh prince! Only rk a can lift and blow this conch. Let alone blowing it, an ordinary person cannot even lift it." The guard had not even completed his sentence when prince Ari anemi lifted the conch and, bringing it to his lips, blew it. The waves of the sea in Dv rik rose and hit each other at great speed. People's homes in
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Dv rik and its surrounds began to tremble. Elephants blew their trumpets and many people fell unconscious. Even Balar ma and K a wondered what happened. The armouryguard informed them that prince Ari anemi had blown the conch out of curiosity. K a could not believe his ears; just then Ari anemi came there. K a seated him next to him and said, “Did you blow the p mcajanya conch?” Ari anemi said – "Yes!" K a embraced him with great fondness and said, "I am happy that you blew my conch. I was of the assumption that none apart from me could blow it. Why don't we go to the gymnasium and test our strengths?” Ari anemi gladly agreed. He was aware of his strength so he thought K a might have some pain if they wrestled. Thinking thus, he said to K a, 'we can test our strength by bending each other's arms.' Sensing the prince's feelings, K. a extended his right arm and asked him to bend it. Without much effort the prince bent K a's arm as though it was a tender stalk of a lotus plant.
K a tried to bend his arm but in spite of using all his strength, he could not. K a was astonished by the prince's boundless strength. He said, 'Oh prince, I am very happy to see your divine strength. K a took the prince to his internal chambers and fed him. Knowing that Ari anemi was completely free of passions, K a instructed the guards of his internal chambers to allow him free access at all times to the chambers.
Seeing the boundless strength of his younger brother Ari anemi, K a was astonished and pleased at the same time. Even a cakravart and Indra do not have this kind of unlimited strength. With such kind of immortal strength, why does he not try to bring the six divisions of Bh rata under his control? Balar ma explained that he has no desire for ruling. Rukami and other queens used to look after him very well. K a himself would spend a lot of time with him. Suddenly a thought occurred to him, that 'my brotherly love will be fruitful when prince Nemi shall get married and enjoy the pleasures of a married life and all the wealth of the kingdom. This will only be possible when the prince's mind is attracted towards worldly pleasures.' Thinking thus, he instructed all his queens to try to attract Ari anemi's attention towards worldly matters.
As per rk a's instructions, R kmi , Satyabh m , etc organized the spring festival. With persuasion and request rk a took Ari anemi to see, and participate in the spring festival. Prince Nemi started seeing all the play devoid of passion, and did not get attracted towards any of that dalliance of his brother K a with his sisters-in-law. In spite of the
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failure of the spring festival, R kmi and Satyabh m did not stop their efforts. Whenever they found an occasion, they would try to induce in Ari anemi the desire for the world and would tell him that if he stopped being a loner and made someone his life-companion, he would understand the joys of life. K a would occasionally, at opportune moments, keep giving him hints about selecting an eligible girl. Thus, seeing his family members persuading him. Ari anemi would think, ‘how strange is the attraction for the world that people are themselves tied to it and if someone does not wish to be so, they want him too, to get bound by it. It would be better for me to agree to them as mere lip service and do the needful when time comes. With this thought prince Nemi agreed to get married.
Everyone was delighted by the acceptance of prince Ari anemi. rk a began the search for a suitable bride for him. Satyabh m told K a that ‘my younger sister R j mat is in all ways suitable for the prince. K a was very happy with Satyabh m's suggestion and immediately went to king Ugrasena. Hearing a proposal about Ari anemi for his daughter Rj mat from K a's mouth made Ugrasena very happy. He immediately accepted the proposal. Getting Ugrasena's acceptance,
rk a went to Samudravijaya and told him everything. Samudravijaya was beyond himself with joy. After all, which father would not feel happy with his son's wedding proposal? The time of wedding was decided upon and both sides got busy with the preparations.
On the set date, prince Ari anemi's wedding procession moved towards king Ugrasena's palace. The sight of the bridegroom's wedding procession was very charming, beautiful and worth seeing. In the midst of beautiful, prosperous and well-decked people in the procession, prince Nemikum ra was looking like a crown jewel of the three worlds. A huge crowd gathered to see prince Nemikum ra as a bridegroom, and whosoever caught a glimpse of him would consider himself as fortunate. The procession slowly reached king Ugrasena's palace. Princess Rj mat 's female friends saw him and were astonished. Running in, they surrounded R j mat and said, 'you are extremely fortunate that you are to marry the light of the three worlds such as Nemikum ra.' R j mat blushed on hearing the description of Nemikum ra's beauty and was feeling shy. Despite her refusal, her friends took her to the window from where she saw Nemikum ra. R j mat had not even dreamt that such a gem of the three worlds, a gem of a man, would be her husband. She
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could not understand as to what good deeds of hers gave her a groom as beautiful as Nemikum ra. At this end, the princess was happy and enchanted by her fortune seeing the prince again and again and on the other end, on his way, hearing the wailing of animals, knowing all, Nemikum ra asked his charioteer – “What is this sad wailing I hear?” The charioteer said - "Lord! For your wedding feast they are bringing goats, and other wild animals and birds. Every animal holds dear its life, hence they are crying.”
Nemikum ra asked his charioteer to direct the elephant towards the animal enclosures. Reaching there, Nemikum ra observed that innumerable animals were tied with ropes around their necks and legs and innumerable birds were trembling in fear in a pathetic state inside cages, stuck in meshed wires. The heart of compassionate Nemikum ra bled. He told the charioteer to release all the animals and birds. Within no time all the animals and birds were set free. After releasing the animals and birds, Nemikum ra removed all his ornaments and gave it to the charioteer and instructed him to take the elephant back to his palace. King Ugrasena became helpless. K a and other Y davas stood in his way.
Then his father, Samudravijaya asked, "Where are you going turning your face away from this auspicious occasion?” The disenchanted Nemikum ra said, "O! Parents, the same way as these animals and birds were bound, you and I are tied in deep bondage of all karmas. The same way as I have freed them from their bondage, I now want to take the bondage-releasing initiation to free myself from the bondage of karmas forever.”
Hearing Nemikum ra speak of initiation his mother iv dev fell unconscious. Samudra Vijaya stood still. K a said, “Brother, I cannot understand the tale behind your attitude of disenchantment; what happened so suddenly?" Ari anemi said, “Oh Cakrap a! A human being stuck in the cycle of birth and death as a god, as a human being, in hell and in other modes again and again, experiences unbearable pain. This is the main reason of my disenchantment. In innumerable births we had innumerable parents; sons, relatives and friends, but nobody shared the other's sorrows. Everybody has to experience the results of their karmas on their own. I am tired and broken from walking on this horizon-less path of the world and am in unbearable pain. I want to seek
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a strong path for ultimate peace for myself, you and all living beings of this world. I have decided that I shall remove from the root, the karmas that are the basic cause of the endless sorrows. It is not possible to destroy karmas without accepting restraint; hence I shall certainly become a mendicant. You may not put obstacles in my decision unnecessarily.”
Hearing Nemikum ra's words, Samudravijaya said, “Child! From the time of your conception you have spent your life in riches. How will your delicate body bear the intense heart of summer, fearsome cold of winter and unbearable pain of hunger and thirst?” Nemikum ra said, “Father! Those who know the pain of hell, for them the pain you have just enlisted are petty and negligible. By bearing pain in the path of penance the accumulated karmas are burnt to ashes and in the end, you attain unending and imperishable happiness in the form of mok a. Material happiness in the end only opens the gates of the intense pain of hell. Now you tell me, which pathshould a person take?”
Ari anemi's question left everyone speechless. In fact, his words reflected the immortal truth of spiritual thinking. Everyone was certain that Nemikum ra had decided his path. Seeing an opportune moment, the lok ntikagods appeared before Nemikum ra and requested that he establish the religious order. The Lord started the year-long giving.
Hearing the conversation, Rj mat fell unconscious and when she regained consciousness, she started to cry. Her friends consoled her - "So what if that dispassionate one has left you? There are many beautiful and qualified Y davas around. You choose any of them you like.” Hearing this, like an angry lioness, Rj mat said – “There is no one better than Nemi in this world. I have accepted him in my mind. Now I will not bring a stain on my clan. I too shall proceed on that path on which my Lord has resolved to walk."
Departure and Initiation
After the completion of the year-long charities, the Lord's departure ceremony was held in pomp and splendour, organised by men, kings and gods. The Lord's departure procession reached the Sahasr mravana on Ujjayanta Mountain, passing through the main streets, with a lot of people. Alighting from the gem-studded palanquin, under the A oka tree
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Lord Nemin tha removed all his adornments, which were donated by Indra to K a. Thus, staying as a householder for 300 years, the Lord removed five fistfuls of hair, observing a fast for six days and on the sixth day of the bright fortnight of rava a month with the moon being conjunct with the constellation Citr. akra took the Lord's hair in his upper cloth and immersed them in the milk ocean. Then the Lord recited the resolve to sacrifice all, with the Siddhas as witness. The Lord took initiation with thousand men. As soon as he took initiation, he gained telepathy (manah paryavaj na), the fourth knowledge type. The next day, the Lord broke his fast with rice pudding at the house of a Brahmin Varadatta in a cattle-shed. The divine words. "aho d nam, aho d nam" resounded in the sky and the gods showered the five auspicious things. Thereafter, with a resolve to destroy his obscuring karmas, the Lord started severe penance and restraint and went wandering elsewhere.
Omniscience and religious discourse (Samava ara a)
After becoming a mendicant, after observing various kinds of austerities for 54 days, the Lord arrived at Ujjayantagiri-Revatagiri and observing a fast there went into deep meditation. In one night, in the fire of the second stage of deep meditation, destroying the four obscuring karmas like deluding, intuition obscuring, knowledge obscuring etc, forenoon of the new moon day of the dark fortnight of vina, under the Citr constellation, he attained pure intuition and omniscience. The moment the Lord attained omniscience, the gods created the samava ara a on the Raivataka Mountain. K a reached with all the materials of arddhacakr astride his best elephant, along with the ten 'da rho', mothers, kith and kin to attend the samava ara aof Lord Nemin tha. Lord Ari anemi (Nemin tha) was seated on a transparent throne with the eight auspicious emblems(pratih ryas). The Lord's face was visible from all directions in the same manner. After circumambulating and invoking the Lord, everyone stay in their places. The Lord gave a sermon to all in the language they understood, which was like destroying the darkness of ignorance and throwing the light of knowledge.
Founding the T rtha
Listening to the knowledgeable sermon of the Lord, first a king named Varadatta immediately requested the Lord to be initiated at his feet. Lord
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Nemin tha, finding him in all ways eligible, initiated him. At that time K a asked him, 'why does R j mat like you the most?' In response, the Lord narrated the account of his relationship with her of the last eight births. Hearing this account of the past births, three kings who had come for samava ara a at once gained knowledge of their past lives and they at once took initiation under the Lord. The same way, two thousand people took initiation following Varadatta. Among those two thousand and eleven monks, the Lord appointed Varadatta among eleven Ga adharas, imparting them the three fold reality (tripad ) knowledge of origination, decay and permanence. Based on the tripad the monks created the 12 Amgas and came to be called Ga adharas. At that time, many princesses such as Yk i , too, took initiation. The Lord made ry Yk i the preceptor of the female-monk order. The ten da rhos; UgraSena,
rk a, Balabhadra and Pradyumna too accepted the votary's conduct and right belief from the Lord. Queen iv dev , Rohi, Devak, R kmi , etc and many women accepted the female-votary's conduct. This way, the Lord established the four-fold t rtha with monks, femalemonks, male and female votaries for the welfare of living beings and became T rthamkara.
Rj mat and Rathanemi
When Ari anemi returned from the wedding, his younger brother Rathanemi saw Rj mat and became attracted to her. He started gifting something or the other everyday to Rj mat. As a sister-in-law Rj mat behaved in a civilised manner with Rathanemi and kept accepting his gifts quietly. So Rathanemi thought R j mat too was attracted to him. Hence whenever he had an opportunity, he would go to her. One day, finding some time alone with her, he toldR j mat, “Dear one! By not marrying you and sacrificing you, brother has done a foolish thing. In fact it is his bad luck. If you wish you can change his misfortune into my good fortune. Agree to marry me. I shall make you my soul mate and keep you in my heart.” Rj mat was surprised to hear Rathanemi's words. Now she realised what was the real intent behind his loving behaviour. She explained to Rathanemi that she has become Ari wife by a promise of the word and she is like his mother, his sister-in-law and such thoughts should not occur in his mind. Not just that, though your brother did not marry me, being his wife by the promise of word, I am like someone else' food. In the same way as partaking of another
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vomitted food is unacceptable and inedible, and hence avoided, desiring another's woman is condemnable and shameful. It is something that binds you to a life in hell. It is a sin to even bring this thought in your mind.' Listening to Rj mat's tactful words Rathanemi felt ashamed. After sometime Rathanemi became a renouncer and taking initiation, went to Revat cala to serve Lord Nemin tha.
There, Ri mat used to be lost in the thoughts of Nemin tha everyday. forgetting her own self. After a year's long wait, when she heard of the initiation of Ari anemi, all her enthusiasm was quelled. She thought in this situation it is best to follow his path. Deciding thus, she took permission from her parents and with a firm mind, accepted mendicancy. Once, after attaining omniscience Lord Nemin tha was seated at the RevataMountain. The female-monk R j mat went there with other female-monks to pay obeisance to him. On the way, suddenly a heavy downpour occurred. To protect themselves from the rain the femalemonks got scattered looking for shelter. Rj mat too went into cave nearby and removed all her wet clothes and set them to dry. Rathanemi was already seated in that same cave meditating, which Rj mat was unaware of because of the intense darkness. In the glow of a lightning, seeing R j mat 's naked form, Rathanemi's mind became agitated. When Rj mat saw Rathanemi, she suddenly got frightened. Seeing her scared, Rathanemi said, “Oh beautiful one! Accept me now. Come; let us enjoy sensual pleasures for a while. After enjoying pleasures we shall again follow the path of the Jina.”
Seeing Rathanemi with a demoralised conduct, Rj mat fearlessly dressed herself up and said, “Rathanemi! You are an ordinary man; if a vai rama a god or even Indra comes in front of me, I wouldn't like them. There are snakes of the agandhana clan among the serpents who prefer falling into the fire, but do not even take back poison which has been vomited once. You are a man of a good clan. Would you again accept things renounced? Shame on you Rathanemi,!" Rj mat 's words worked like a rein on Rathanemi; his mind became steady on the spiritual path. He purified his soul at the feet of Lord Ari anemi and immersing himself in severe penance, turning to ashes all his accumulated karmas, became pure, emancipated and liberated. R j mat, too, reached the Lord's feet and observing austerities and restraint, obtained omniscience and in the end attained liberation.
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The revelation of an extraordinary secret by Ari anemi
Establishing the religious order, placing many people on the true path, Lord Ari anemi arrived in Bhaddilapura city, travelling through several republics. There, listening to the Lord's sermon, six brothers; An kasena, Ajitasena, etc, becoming disinclined, got initiated at the Lord's feet.
e six brother-monks began to wander around, observing the fasts regularly. Leaving Bhaddilapura, Lord Ari anemi arrived at Dv rik pur with many monks. Taking permission from Arihanta Ari anemi, the six monks including An kasena went to break their fast in groups of two each to Dv rik pur. The first two of them, taking alms from many families, reached Devak 's palace. Seeing the monks, Devak saluted them with devotion and gave them pure food with love. Accepting the alms the monks returned. Within moments, Devak saw the second set of two brothers entering her palace for food offerings. These two monks looked exactly like the previous two. These two also begged for food, their voices were also similar to those of the first two. Devak thought, perhaps what I gave them in alms previously was not sufficient for them, hence they have come again; she again gave them food with respect and sense of joy. Both monks returned after accepting the offering.
After these two monks left, the third set of two brothers too, after going to small and big families, by coincidence, came to Devak 's palace. These two monks, too, looked like the previous two sets of monks. Devak gave offerings with pure feelings, dedication, respect and devotion. After giving the offerings, to clear the agitation in her mind, Devak asked them – “Lord! It is difficult for less fortunate people to see you. It is my great fortune that you have purified this palace by stepping foot here, but I have a doubt, leaving thousands of people serving monks and the qualified ones in Dy rik , how have you came to my house thrice?"
To clear Devak 's suspicion, the two monks said to her – “Oh beloved of gods! We are six brothers, sons of the g th pati Nga and his wife Sulas , of Bhaddilapura. We all look similar in form and shape. All of us six brothers took initiation listening to the sermon of Lord Ari anemi and have taken to a life-time vow of observing the two-days fast. Today, after self-study in the first half of the day, we six brothers took permission of the Lord and came to break our fast in three sets to higher,
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middle and lower caste families and in that course by coincidence, came here in turns. Hence, oh beloved of the gods, the twin-monks who came here first was not the two of us."
After the monks left Devak thought, “In Pol sapura city a monk named Atimuktaka had said about me in my childhood that when I grow up, I would be the mother of eight sons, who would all be similar in every
and of extraordinary beauty and in Bharata no one else except me will give birth to such sons. But seeing these six monk-brothers, that prediction seems wrong. Perhaps some other woman has also given birth to such sons."
Seated on a chariot, Devak reached the Lord's samava ara a and started paying respects to the Lord. Thereafter, the Lord asked Devak - "Oh Devak ! Have you developed a doubt in your mind about the monk Atimuktaka's prediction after seeing the six monks of the same bodily beauty and form? And have you come here to me to resolve that?” Devak confirmed the Lord's statement.
The Lord said - “At that time there was a g th pati named N ga in Bhaddilapura who was very wealthy. His wife's name was Sulas . Sulas was told in her childhood by a soothsayer that when she grew up, she would give birth to still-born babies. Hearing this Sulas became devoted to Hari aigame right from her childhood and started praying to him with great love. Happy with that laywoman's devotion that god would make you both fertile at the same time. You both would become pregnant at the same time. Sulas would beget dead sons. Hari aigame would place her dead sons with you and take your sons to Sulas . Hence, oh Devak ! Those six monks are, in fact, your sons, not Sulas 's.” Hearing this extraordinary revelation a very happy Devak saluted those monks and such a deep love emerged in Devak 's mind that milk started oozing out of her breasts, her eyes were filled with tears and her whole body blossomed and became thrilled. For a long time Devak kept staring at those monks without blinking her eyes. Thereafter, she saluted those monks and again circumambulating Lord Ari anemi, went back to her palace.
The same incident is described in “Cauvanna Mah purisa Cariyam” somewhat this way:
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When Devak asked the third set of two monks if'rama a nirgranthas do not get food in K a's city of gods, Dv rik , that you have entered for offerings from the same family thrice', the monk-twins said, clarifying – “No, it is not like that. In fact, we are six brothers born to the same mother and look similar in form, colour and body. Actually, we were exchanged immediately after we were born, with still-born babies of the lay couple M tavats and Sulas by the god Hari aigame . Sulas brought us up and got us married. When we grew up, hearing the story of the change in our families from the mouth of Lord Nemin tha, we became disinclined and to free ourselves from this illusory web, we accepted initiation from the Lord Nemin tha." Hearing this form the monks, Devak fell unconscious on the ground. When she regained consciousness, her eyes were filled with tears and milk started oozing out of her breasts. Crying, she said – “How unfortunate I am that my six sons were taken away from me and when they meet me, they do so in such a state that they have broken all worldly ties and renounced.” Hearing her pitiable sobbing, other people too reached there. The news spread in the entire Dv rik . The remaining four monk-brothers too reached there and all the six monks tried to explain to Devak – “In this world nobody is a mother or father to anybody. Here all living beings, bound by their karmas, wander about in the cycle of birth and death. A person is born as someone's father in one birth and his son in the next. A Lord of one birth becomes the servant in the next. A mother of the previous birth becomes a lioness in her next birth and kills her sons of the previous birth. In this world, a person is suffering within a web he has created for himself, even if he wants to break free, he cannot. Seeing this horrible, fearsome state of the world, we became disenchanted. We accepted the path of restraint from Lord Nemin tha and since then we are immersed in breaking the root cause of the cycle of coming and going in the world.”
Hearing all this, K a said in a tearful voice – “What a strange thing this is that I am enjoying the wealth of threedivisions and my own brothers are wandering accepting alms. Brothers, think that we are born today. Let the seven of us live together from today and together enjoy the joy and wealth.” Vasudeva too agreed with K a and requested the six monkbrothers to give up the monk status and return to worldly life. The monks said – "In the same way as a deer, which has released itself from a hunter's trap never returns to it, having come out of the horrible web of sensual enjoyments, we do not want to get stuck in it again. Monks,
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break all kinds of bondage and inspire and show the path to others to do the same. How is it better to free oneself from these bonds and again go back to them? We would like it if, instead of pulling us back into the world, you too, accept initiation into monkhood to break the root-cause of sorrow, the karma bondage.” Saying this, they returned to serve Lord Nemin tha.
A sorrowful Devak too reached the Lord's samava ara a following her monk-sons. The Lord soothed the fire of her sorrow with his explanation of how horrible is the bondage of karma.
A description more or less similar to that in Amtagada-S tra is available in Tri a i al k puru acaritra: - Hearing the words of the all-knowing Lord, Devak was filled with joy. Happily, she prayed to the six monks, and praising her luck, said –“One son born form my womb has set up a grand empire and other sons have accepted initiation which gives the ultimate empire. But it is my lack of good deeds that I have remained away from bringing up even a single son from childhood.”
Soothing Devak, the Lord said - "Devak, stop feeling bad unnecessarily. The fact is that in your previous birth, you had stolen your co-wife's seven gems and after her incessant sobbing, you returned one of the gems back and retained six with you. This karma of yours has resulted in six of your sons going elsewhere and just one remaining with
you."
The epitome of compassion, the monk Gajasukum la
Devak returned to her palace after attending the Lord's samava ara a. Hearing the revelation of her six sons form the Lord's mouth, her mind became overwhelmed with love for her sons. In this tension, she stopped eating. K a got worried seeing his mother in this condition. He understood his mother's anguish, and for fulfillment of her desire, invoked the deity with a three-day fast. Hari aigame appeared. K a told him – “I want a younger brother.” The god said, “A soul will exit the realm of gods and shall be born as your brother, but when he has passed childhood and becomes a young adult, he will accept initiation from Lord Ari anemi.” Happily K a told his mother about the birth of a son. In time, Devak gave birth to a son, whose body being as soft as an
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elephant's palate was thence named Gajasukum la. With comprehensive care and upbringing, he grew up to be a young man. A Brahmin named Somila lived in Dv rik. He was a learned person. His wife's name was Soma r . They had a daughter named Som . One day, K. a saw Somila's daughter decked up in good clothes and ornaments, playing with her mats while he was going to see Arihanta Ari anemi with Gajasukum la. Distracted by Som 's beauty; the men of the royal household said, “Go to Somila and request his daughter's hand for Gajasukum la and bring her to the internal chambers with his permission.”
Thereafter, K a began to listen to the sermon of the Lord after paying obeisance him, with his brother Gajasukum la at Sahasr mravana. After the sermon, K. a returned to his palace. But Gajasukum la stayed there and after thinking for sometime told the Lord – "Lord! I have faith in your speech; it is my desire that I seek permission from my parents and accept initiation as a monk." Lord Nemin tha said, “Do as it please you."
Reaching the palace, Gajasukum la expressed to his mother his desire to become a monk. Devak fell unconscious hearing his words. When K a heard this he tried to explain to Gajasukum la, “I give everything of mine to you. What is the need for you to become a monk?" Gajasukum la said, “We have to ultimately let go of all the things in this world, hence I wish to not even accept them. Instead it is better to accept monkhood under Lord Ari anemi and accept the tradition of austerities." Thus, Gajasukum la remained steadfast in his decision and became a monk, getting initiated under Lord Ari anemi After initiation, the same day in the afternoon, with the Lord's permission; he went to Mah k la graveyard, stood like a statue and for one night, became meditative in this state.
There BrahminSomila, who had gone out of the city to get material for a sacrificial ritual, on his way back passed through the graveyard. There seeing Gajasukum la meditating, remembering a past life enmity, became angry and agitatedly started thinking – “This Gajasukum la has left my daughter Som without any fault of hers and become a monk, hence I must take revenge on Gajasukum la.” Thinking thus, he kept a wet-earth basket on Gajasukum la's head and in it, placed burning coal picked up from a burning corpse and looking here and there, went home quietly.
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Gajasukum la did not feel animosity for Somila even in his mind and kept bearing the unbearable pain of burning coal on his head. Even as the nerves and veins in the head started to break by the intense heat of the embers, a pure stream of knowledge began to intensify in the monk's mind. These words were echoing within him – “I am deathless, immortal, and indestructible, even if the body burns nothing of mine is burning. I can neither be burnt by fire nor can any weapon break me."
Mok a, so difficult to attain even after millions of birth, came to him within less than a day from true penance with which he proved that it is not impossible to attain it with intense penance with pure feeling and diligence.
K
a's longing for Gajasukum la
The next morning K a went to pay obeisance to Lord Ari anemi. When he did not see monk Gajasukum la, he asked the Lord. The Lord said – “
K a! Monk Gajasukum la has accomplished his task.” K a asked - "How is that?" Then Lord Ari anemi told him the entire account. K a asked in anger - "Lord, who is that, who took Gajasukum la's life before its time?”' The Lord said – “K a, do not be angry. In the same way as you helped an old Brahminby picking up bricks on your way here, that man too, helped Gajasukum la to attain liberation.” When rk a pleaded, the Lord said – “While returning to Dy rik , the man who, on seeing you, gives up his life, he is Gajasukum la's murderer.” Then, saluting the Lord, K a entered Dv rik . Filled with fear Somila began to think – “
K a has gone to meet the Lord; learning everything from the omniscient Lord, he will destroy me.” Thinking thus, Somila started to run from his house to save his life. By coincidence, he came to the same path from where K a was returning. Seeing K a, Somila fell down with fear and, out of fear, immediately died.
Monk Dhamdha a
Lord Nemin tha's monk order had monks who were all into severe penance and austerities but among all of them Dhamdha a monk is considered to the best even by the Lord Nemin tha himself. The son of Vasudeva K a and queen Dhamdha, DhamDha kum ra became
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disinclined on listening to Lord Nemin tha's discourse. In his full youth, leaving all his beautiful wives and wealth, he took initiation as a monk from Lord Nemin tha. rk a himself arranged a grand departure ceremony for his initiation. Becoming a monk, Dhamdha a began to serve Lord Nemin tha. On account of his kindness and soft-spoken behaviour he soon became dear to, and respected by all. While observing restraint through tough penance, he studied all the scriptures as well. After sometime, his predestined interfering /obstructing (antar ya) karmas emerged. When he would go for his alms he would not get it. Not just that, the monks who went with him also returned empty-handed. This went on for many days. Thus on one day, the monks asked Lord Nemin tha respectfully, “Lord! Dhamdha a monk is a disciple of yours, the Lord of three worlds, and the son of the brave ardhacakr Vasudeva K a. Why is it that he does not get even small offerings from even the big merchants, pious laymen and magnanimous householders? As if this weren't enough, the monks who accompany him also return disappointed."
Dispelling the doubts of the monks, the Lord said – “In his past birth Dhamdha a was a Brahmin named P r ara in Dh nyapura village of Magadha province. There he used to undertake agricultural transactions on behalf of the king. He was harsh by nature, used to make people cultivate the king's land. At lunch time, without giving them a break, he used to make them work. He used to make the hungry-thirsty bullocks draw an extra plough. Due to these bad deeds, he accumulated severe interfering karmas. After many births the same P r ara's soul has taken birth as Dhamdha a. Because of the past obstructing (antar ya) karmas he is unable to get offerings from wealthy families even if they want to give him." Hearing the above account from the Lord he was repentant for his past bad deeds. Saluting the Lord, he said – “I shall break my own bad deeds and shall not accept food obtained through someone else." Because of obstructing (antar ya) karma monk Dhamdha a would not get food and he would not accept food brought by others. As a result, it was a penance without food for several days, yet he was steady in his penance and restraint. One day, at the samava ara a rk a asked - "Who is the monk in your order who does the toughest penance?" Lord Ari anemi said – “Dhamdha a is the monk who does the hardest penance. Despite spending time without food for several days, he has no ill-feeling in his mind.” Hearing this K a was very happy. He was
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returning to his palace after the discourse when he saw Dhamdha a going for his alms. Alighting from his elephant he saluted Dhamdha a with respect. One merchant was seeing all this. This monk is blessed that rk a is saluting him with such devotion.
By coincidence, Dhamdha a muni was going to that same merchant's house to beg for food. Happily the merchant offered sweets to Dhamdha a. Taking this offering, Dhamdha a went to the Lord and saluting him, asked – “Is my antar ya karma destroyed?” The Lord replied – “No, you have got your offering because of the influence of Hari. Hari saluted you, hence influenced by that, the merchant has given you this offering.'
Dhamdha a did not allow any attachment towards the offering. He went to throw the food on a ground. While doing so, pure thoughts entered his mind – “Oh! How difficult it is to destroy karmas accumulated. While doing bad deeds stuck in passion a person does not think one day he has to bear their consequences.” Thinking thus, he went into the second stage of deep meditation. In this state of meditation he destroyed all the four obscuring karmas and attained pure intuition and omniscience. From that bare ground monk Dhamdha a returned to the Lord and, saluting him, sat in the omniscient congregation. After sometime, destroying all karmas, he became omniscient, enlightened and liberated.
The great wonder in Lord Ari anemi's time
rk a doted on the P davas who at that time ruled Hastin pura. Once, sage N rada reached Hastin pura and went to Draupadi's palace. The P davas welcomed N rada and Draupadi did not pay him much attention on account of his being devoid of vows. N rada was upset with this insult and left from there with a feeling of avenging this insult. With that same feeling of unrest he went to the women-loving king Padman bha's palace in Amarakamk city in Dh tak kha da in Bharata. King Padman bha welcomed N rada in a big way and took him to his harem. There, pointing to his queens, each more beautiful than the other, he said – “Oh sage! You must have seen harems of many kings, think and tell me, are there any queens in those harems who can compare with the beauty of my queens?" N rada was just waiting for that occasion. He said - "Oh king! Where have you seen the harems? All your queens look
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like maids in front of Draupadi, the queen of the P davas of Hastin pura.” N rada left but had aimed right. In order to acquire Draupadi, king Padman bha prayed intensely to his god. The god said – "Draupadi is a chaste woman. She does not like any other men except the P davas. Still out of love for you, I shall bring her.” Saying so, the god reached Hastin pura and through his knowledge of avasv pin he put Draupadi to deep sleep and took her to Padman bha.
When Draupadi woke up she realised her situation. She became very worried. Seeing her anxiety, Padman bha said – “Goddess! You needn't be worried. You are in the palace of king Padman bha of Amarakamk . I want to make you my principal queen." Draupadi, understanding the complexity of her situation, and after some thought, replied with some foresight – “oh king! K a of Bharatakha da is my protector; if he does not come searching for me here within six months, I shall think about what you said." Padman bha thought it was impossible for someone to come from another island, so there is nothing wrong in waiting for six months. He agreed with Draupadi's proposal and kept her in the chambers of other women. Draupadi stayed there observing the yambila fast.
The next day, not finding Draupadi in her palace, the Pāņdavas made efforts to trace her. When they couldn't find out, they informed K a . K a was just thinking about this problem when N rada reached there. When K a asked about Draupadi N rada said – “I saw someone like Draupadi in the harem of king Padman bha of Amarakamk in Dhātakīkhanda Island." Hearing N rada's words, he started for Mgadha tīrtha along with the Pāņdavas and there, observing a fast, invoked the deity of the salt ocean, Susthita. With the help of god Susthita, the six chariots of rk a and P davas reached Amarakamk, crossing the Salt Ocean.
K a sent his charioteer D ruka to Padman bha asking that Draupadi be returned. But thinking what can these six men do to him, Padman bha refused to let Draupadi go and declared war. As per the wishes of the P davas, rk a allowed them to fight Padman bha first, but defeated by his army, they returned to K a. Thereafter, hearing the sound of K a's p mcajanya conch and the twang of his S mrga bow, Padman bha's army ran helter-skelter. Padman bha too ran into the city and shutting his city's doors, hid himself in the harem. Taking the form
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of Narasimha (man-lion) K a with a blow of his hands broke to pieces the iron doors and went towards Padman bha's palace. Even the mighty ones' hearts weakened with the lion's roar of K a. Seeing death himself approaching him Padman bha fell at Draupadi's feet and begged for his life - "Goddess, please protect me from this dark death-like Ke ava, I take refuge in you.” Draupadi said – “If you want to save your life then walk behind me wearing my clothes." The scared Padman bha did as told. In female form, walking behind Draupadi, he fell at K a's feet. K a's heart melted and he gave him freedom from fear and took Draupadi to the Pāņdavas.
There Vasudeva Kapila, seated in the samava ara a of the T rthamkara of that time cycle, Munisuvratan tha, in P r abhadra garden in Camp city of Dh tak kha da, hearing K a's conch, asked the Jina Lord - “Whose conch is this which sounds like mine?” Narrating the account of Draupadi's kidnapping Munisuvratan tha said that this is the conch blown by Vasudeva K a of Bh ratakhanda in Jamb dvipa. Kapila said - "Then I must welcome that guest.” Munisuvratan tha said - "In the same way was two T rthamkara and two cakrvartiscannot meet in one place, similarly, two Vasudevas too cannot meet. But yes, you will be able to see the rear part of K a's white-yellow flag."
Hearing Lord Suvrata's words, Kapila Vasudeva, with the desire to meet K a Vasudeva, followed K a's chariot's wheel marks towards the sea-coast and he saw the rear part of K a's white and yellow flag on the chariot that was moving away. He blew his conch with this desire - “this is me Kapila Vasudeva who has come here longing to see you. Please return." K a replied through his conch – “We have come very far. Now do not ask us to return." Kapila reached Amarakamk with K a's reply. Condemning Padman bha, he expelled him and made his son the king of Amarakamk .
Here crossing the salt ocean K a told the P davas – “I will come after thanking Susthita god, in the meanwhile, you may cross the Gamg." The P davas crossed the Gamg on a boat and to check out how K a would cross without a boat, retained it there. After bidding farewell to Susthita god, when K a came to the banks of Gamg Riverhe did not see the boat. He put the chariot into Gamg River, and holding the horses with one hand and using the other hand to swim, he started crossing the
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river. Reaching the middle of the river, he was tired and started thinking the Pāņdavas are strong that they crossed the river without a boat. Reaching the banks he asked the Pāņdavas, “how did you cross the river?' They said – “by a boat.” Upon this K a asked – "Then why didn't you send the boat for me?” Laughing, the P davas said – “To test your strength.” K a became unusually angry and said – “Do you still need to test my strength now? Crossing the limitless ocean, and victory over Amarakamk did not make you realise my strength?” He broke to pieces the Pāņdavas' chariots with an iron staff, and ordering them to leave his kingdom's boundary, started for Dv rik .
The Pāņdavas came to Hastin pura with Draupadi. They narrated the whole incident to mother Kunt. Hearing this Kunt reached Dy rik and told K. a - “
K a! You have expelled my sons from your kingdom; tell me where will they live?” K a said – “Let them settle a new city called Pandu-Mathur on the southern sea-coast and live there." On Kuntī's advice, the Pāņdavas left Hastin pura and settled P du-Mathur on the southern sea-coast and staying there, made it prosperous in all ways. K a anointed his sister Subhadr 's and Arjuna's grandson, Abhimanyu's son, Par k ita, on the throne of Hastin pura. In due course a city named 'Rathamardana' was settled at the place where K a broke the Pāņdavas' chariots.
The Future of Dv rik
Redeeming living beings with his nectar-like sermons Lord Ari anemi arrived at Dv rik . Hearing the news of his arrival K a and Balar ma along with their kith and kin went to the samava ara a.
K a asked the Lord respectfully – “Lord! How will the end of this Dv rik of mine come about?” The Lord said - "
K a! The great ascetic Par ara's son, the celibate monk Dvaip yana, will be killed cruelly by intoxicated
mba and other Y davas. As a result, Dvaip yana in his anger shall resolve to burn Dv rik and the Y davas and take god-form and he will burn everyone to ashes. Your end will come by the arrow of your elder brother Jar kum ra at the forest of Kau mb."
Hearing the reply of the Lord people became silent. They looked at Jar kum ra. Filled with self-contempt, disgusted, to save him from this stigma just for the sake of a bow and arrow, he left Dy rik and became
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a forest-dweller. In the same way, Dvaip yana too started living in a forest to protect the people of Dv rik .
K a was pained and sad hearing the prediction about Dv rik from Ari anemi. He began to think about the destructibility, transience or royal glory and wealth – “J likum ra, etc are blessed that before destruction they have taken the path of renunciation. And I am still unconscious in the path of a vast empire and its wealth." Understanding well K a's internal anguish, Lord Ari anemi reassured K a – “Due to consequences, Vasudevas do not ever renounce even in the three cycles. Hence do not worry unnecessarily. Yes, in the forthcoming utsarpi cycle in this very Bharata, you will be the 12'T rthamkara and in your time, Balar ma too will become emancipated, enlightened and liberated.” K a was happy to hear these words of the Lord.
Returning to Dv rik he informed people - "The end of Dy rik is inevitable, hence whosoever desires may voluntarily take initiation into mendicancy at the Lord's feet. They need not worry about the food and well-being of their kith and kin. The kingdom will look after them." Hearing this magnanimous announcement of K a innumerable people took initiation and became mendicants. On account of the attitude of welfare and service to humanity and the Jina order, K a gained the T rthamkaraN makarma.
Hearing about the burning of Dv rik the brother and charioteer of Balar ma, Siddh rtha, took initiation under the Lord. After becoming a monk, observing severe penance for six months, the soul of Siddh rtha, completing its time, became a god.
Here, the order was given in Dv rik for people to stay away from intoxicants. Since an intoxicant shall cause the destruction of Dv rik in future, all the available stocks of intoxicating liquor in Dv rik were thrown into the Kadamba forests and the caves of K dambar.
An attendant of mba suddenly for some reason went to K dambar cave and dying of thirst, started drinking water from the spring-well near the K dambar. Drinking a few drops, he realised that this is not water, but the best liquor. mba's attendant drank the liquor himself and also collected it in a vessel for his master. When mba drank the liquor he wondered as to how did his attendant get such superior quality liquor.
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Learning about the well from his attendant he took many of his friends to the K dambar cave and all of them got lost in intoxication.
The liquor that had been thrown on the K dambar cave reached the cliffs and ponds below and with the flowers falling into the ponds, the water turned into delicious liquor. The Y dava princes became drunk on the intoxicant they consumed. Roaming about here and there they spotted Dvaip yana deep in meditation. The drunken Y davas thought it is this Dvaip yana who will become the cause for the destruction of our Dv rik , so let us finish him here and at once all of them pounced on him, and half killing him, ran away. When rk a learnt of this incident he got angry with the Y davas and sad at once; taking Balar ma with him, he went to Dvaip yana and begged for forgiveness on behalf of the Y davas. Dvaip yana's anger did not subside. He said – “The Y davas almost killed me beating me up with cruelty, hence I have resolved to kill them, but I shall not do anything to you two brothers.”
Dvaip yana died and became the god Agnikum ra and reached Dv rik to burn it to ashes. But Dy rik had become a land of penance. People were engrossed in different kinds of austerities. Dvaip yana continuously tried to burn Dv rik for eleven years, but did not get a suitable opportunity on account of the religious practice of the people there. Because of Dvaip yana's failed attempts the people of Dv rik started thinking his influence has waned, hence it is not necessary to give trouble to the body anymore. So people started indulging in liquor and eating flesh, etc that is, falling from righteousness turned to bad deeds and consequences. Agnikum ra got his chance and at once started a rain of fire over Dv rik . Intense flames started spreading all over Dv rik . Within moments Dv rik was almost finished. rk a and Balar ma tried to take Vasudeva, Rohi and Devak in a chariot but the chariot would not move from its place. Dvaip yana said – “
K a, I told you then that leaving you two brothers, nobody will be saved. The whole Dv rik burnt and K. a and Balar ma couldn't do anything, just wrung their hands and saw the destruction and after it was all over, left that place.
Facing several ordeals on the way, through constant effort and struggle, they finally reached Kau mb. Dying of thirst, K a asked brother Balar ma to bring him some water and K. a rested under the shade of a tree. Wearing a yellow robe, he was lying down with his right foot over
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the left knee. At that time Jar kum ra came there in search of hunt. Thinking the yellow robed K a to be a deer, he released his arrow which pierced his right foot. K a screamed – “Who is this, who attacks me when sleeping? Come, face me.” Recognising K a's voice, Jar kum ra came forward – “Brother, I am your unfortunate brother Jar kum ra. To save you I kept wandering in forests and today finally I became your killer." K a told him the whole account of Dv rik burning and giving him the kaustubha gem, said – “Showing this, stay with the Pāņdavas. Now without crying for me, leave. In a while Balar ma will be here with water and will not let you alive. The moment Jar kum ra left, K. a died.
After sometime when Balar ma returned with water, he saw K a sleeping. He was surprised as to how could K a sleep with such thirst. Then he saw the injury on the foot and in anger, shouted - "Who wounded my brother in his sleep? Come forward, I shall teach you a lesson for attacking on the sly.” Saying this Balar ma started searching here and there for that killer. When he couldn't find anyone, he tried waking up K a and then taking his body on his shoulders, started walking ahead and would try to wake up K a thinking he is asleep.
This way Balar ma kept wandering in the forest, carrying K a's dead body. The charioteer of Balar ma, Siddh rtha, had taken initiation under Lord Nemin tha and observing austerities, completed his life and become a god. He thought – “How incurable is the result of karma and even people like Balar ma are not immune to it. I must explain to Balar ma. The god tried to explain through various forms and means and again and again kept repeating the words – “
K a is dead.”
In the end Balar ma began to think – “Is K a really no more? All these people are saying the same thing." Seeing this question arise in Balar ma's mind, the god appeared before him and said - "Baladeva! I am your charioteer Siddh rtha. By the grace of the Lord, through austerities and penance I have become a god. You had told me that if I became a god I should come to address you. Oh king! It is the unshakeable rule of the world that one who is born must die one day. Hence, please believe that Vasudeva K a is no more. If a knowledgeable and able person like you will be shaken up by the blow of death, what will be the condition of ordinary people? Hence it is useless to grieve after what is past. Please accept the path of restraint and self
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redemption, with which you will not have to go through the pain of the loss of a dear one."
Baladeva's illusion cleared from Siddh rtha's speech and he performed the last rites of K a's dead body with respect. Knowing the feeling of Balar ma towards initiation, Lord Ari anemi sent the monk Jamgh c ra a to him. Balar ma took initiation from the monk and through the flame of severe penance, started to burn to ashes his karmas.
Once to break his month-long fast monk Balar ma went to a village for alms. His body, withered from penance, was still beautiful. His body was charming, glowing and his long locks of hair attractive and impressive. The women of the village would keep staring at him when he wandered about seeking food. A woman drawing water from a well, while staring at him, tied the rope around the neck of her child instead of the pot. She was about to tighten the rope when another woman alerted her. When the monk learnt of this incident he decided he would not enter a village or a city seeking alms. He decided to stay in the forest and started doing penance in the deep forests of Tumgiy giri. By the impact of his penance the creatures of the forest like lions, deer, etc. forgot their enmity and would sit by his side.
One day Baladeva muni was standing in the k yotsarga posture facing the sun, deep in meditation. At that time, a wood-cutter came to chop wood there. He saluted the monk and started his work. When it was time to eat the wood-cutter sat in the shade of the half-chopped tree and began to eat. Seeing an opportunity the monk too went to him. The deer seated by his side also walked with him that he would see a good deed when the monk breaks his fast. The woodcutter was very pleased to see the monk and with great devotion and faith started to give a part of his food to the monk. At that very moment a strong gust of wind blew and the halfchopped tree fell on all the three. The monk's penance was great and at the same time the wood-cutter and the deer too had pure and lofty feelings. All the three died together and were born as gods in the fifth kalpa of Brahmaloka.
The great monk Th vacc putra
Th vacc putra was among the wealthiest merchants of Dv rik . Because his father had died while he was still a child, the entire business was
the of live toksin because
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taken care of by the elder Th vacc 's wife. She maintained her clan's respect and honour in the same way as her husband did. Because of the popularity of the Th vacc 's wife, her son also became popular as Th vacc putra.
Once upon a time, Lord Ari anemi, along with 18000 monks and 40,000 female-monks, arrived at the Nandanavana Garden on Raivataka Mountain. Hearing the auspicious news of the arrival of the Lord,
rk a and countless people of Dv rik came to the samava ara a. Th vacc putra also came there with his dear ones. The Lord gave his sermon, hearing which Th vacc kum ra became disenchanted and going to his mother, said – “Mother, I have heard the Lord's nectar-like speech. I want to take mendicancy at the Lord's feet to escape from the cycle of birth and death.” Th vacc elder became speechless at her son's words. She tried to explain to him in many ways but seeing him firm in his decision, she gave him permission.
When Vasudeva K a learnt of Th vacc putra's decision he tried to dissuade him, too. But Th vacc putra said – “afraid of the cycle of birth, disease and death, I want to become a monk. If you can protect me from these then I am ready to live in this world enjoying its pleasures." In response to this K a said – “birth, disease, death are irreversible naked truths of the world which cannot be cured by god or man. These can only be addressed by the destruction of karmas." Th vacc putra said – “Well, that is why I want to become a monk.”
Impressed by the firm decision of Th vacc putra, K. a announced that “Th vacc putra is taking initiation under Lord Ari anemi, and if anyone else wants to do the same, he has K a's permission. People dependent on them will be looked after by me.” People from various families and castes, one thousand of them, became ready for initiation with Th vacc putra. K a himself consecrated those people an all of them took initiation under the Lord at his samava ara a. After initiation, Th vacc putra studied the fourteen p rvas and through penance, destroying karmas, wandered about. Impressed by Th vacc putra's penance and intense austerities, Lord Ari anemi gave him the thousand monks as his disciples and the liberty and instructions to roam around with him. The monk Th vacc putra accepted the Lord's command and immersed himself in wandering with great responsibility.
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Wandering with his thousand monks, Th vacc putra came to
ailakapura. Impressed by his discourse the king of ailaka along with 500 men took initiation. From there they reached Saugandhik city. There a well-established merchant named Sudar ana, who had become a devotee of a monk c rya named uka, who was learned, impressed by Th vacc putra monk's religious discourse, became a votary. Learning of his disciple's acceptance of the votary's conduct, uka reached Sudar ana's house. When Sudar ana praised Th vacc monk, uka expressed desire to have a religious discussion with him. Happily, merchant Sudar ana took uka to monk Th vacc. uka discussed with monk Th vacc about various religious and philosophical matters. He was very happy when monk Th vacc resolved with humility and knowledge all his doubts. uka obtained the knowledge of reality listening to Th vacc . He saluted monk Th vacc , accepted to be his disciple and along with his one thousand followers, removing five fistfuls of hair, became a rama a monk. uka studied, along with his followers, the 14 p rvas and 11 Amgas and in sometime, became famous for his self-knowledge. Then Th vacc putra instructed him to wander with his disciples, which uka accepted. Impressed by his discourse, the devotee of rama a tradition, king ailaka, along with his 500 r vaka friends, became a monk. This way, observing restraint and giving religious discourse for many years, Th vacc muni reached Pu dar ka Mountain. There, after one month of samlekhan , he attained nirva. His disciples, uka and ailaka (the sage) also reached Pu dar ka Mountain after sometime and after a month-long samlekhan , a nirva.
Ari anemi's stay at Dv rik and redemption of Bhavyas
Despite being a renouncer and omniscient Lord Ari anemi did not stay at one place. He traveled far and wide. While his monsoon stay was uncertain, it can be certainly said that for most part his place of stay has been Dv rik . The fact that Lord Nemin tha went again and again to Dv rik shows that it was an important religious centre of that time. Once when the Lord was seated in Nandanavana the ten sons of Amdhakav i including Samudra, S gara, etc took initiation. The second time we find mention of the initiation of V 's sons, including Himavanta, etc. The third time there is mention of Baladeva's sons, Sumukha, Durmukha, K paka and Vasudeva's sons, D ruka and
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And i, are also found to be initiated in Dv rik. Then Vasudeva and Dh ri 's sons J li, May li, etc and K a's son Pradyumana and J mbavat 's son S mbakum ra, Vaidarbh kum ra, Anir ddha and Samudravijaya's Satyanemi, Dşdhanemi and Kra's other queens too took initiation at Dv rik . This shows that K a's entire family had unshakeable faith in Lord Ari anemi.
The liberation of Pāņļavas
As instructed by K a Jar kum ra reached the Pāņdavas at P davaMathur and showing them the kaustubha gem give by rk a, told them of the burning of Dv rik , the destruction of Y dava clan and the sudden killing of K a at his own hands. Hearing this heart-rending sorrowful news from Jar kum ra the Pandavas became unhappy. The news of the death of their saviour and friend K a was worse than being stuck by a thunderbolt. The whole world seemed empty to them and their hearts were filled with a feeling of detachment. Sensing the desire of the Pāņdavas for the spiritual path of restraint Lord Ari anemi immediately sent his elder monk Dharmagho a along with 500 monks to P dava - Mathura. The Pāndavas handed over their kingdom to P dusena and accepted initiation under Dharmagho a. Queen Draupadi took initiation under ry Suvrat. After initiation the P davas and Draupadi, respectively, studied the fourteen p rvas and eleven Amgas and observed severe penance.
Burning their accumulated karmas through intense restraint and penance the Pandavas were wandering as mendicants when they heard that Lord Ari anemi was roaming in Saurra region. Taking leave from their preceptor they left for Saur ra. On the way to Saur ra they stayed at Sahasr mravana outside the city Hastakalpa near Ujjayantagiri for a day. Leaving Yudhi hira there the remaining four monks went to the city to break their fast with food offerings. There they learnt that Lord Ari anemi had attained nirva on Ujjayantagiri. The four monks immediately returned to Sahasr mravana. Upon Yudhi hira's advice, leaving the food received, the five monks went to atrumjaya Mountain and observed samlekhan. After two months of samlekhan , obtaining pure knowledge, they attained nirva. Queen Draupadi, after years of severe restraint, penance and austerities, observing a month's samlekhan , became a maharddhika god in the fifth kalpa.
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Parinirv
a(liberation) and the Congregation
After a little less than seven hundred years of being an omniscient, sensing the end of his time, the Lord, observing one month's fast with 536 monks on Ujjayantagiri, became, emancipated and liberated on the eighth day of the bright fortnight of ādha month under Citr constellation at midnight hour, destroying the non obscuring karmas i.e. name, age, status and feeling, while in the ni ady posture. Arihanta Ari anemi was 1000 years old.
The congregation of Lord Ari anemi had 11 Ga adharas like Varadatta, etc, and 11 ga as, 1500 keval s, 1000 manah paryavaj ns, 1500 avadhijns, 400 fourteen-p rvadh rs, 800 v ds, 18000 monks, 40000 female-monks, 169000 votaries, 336000 female-votaries and 1600 of anuttaragatis. 1500 monks, 3000 female-monks i.e. totally 4500 antev ss of the Lord became emancipated, enlightened and liberated.
Historical Backdrop
Modern historians only consider Lord Mah v ra and Lord P r van tha to be historical figures, but for some years now diligent and objective research has proven that Arihanta Ari anemi was also a historical person. In gveda we find mention several times of the term Ari anemi. In the Mah Bh rata, the term t k rya has been used as a synonym for Ari anemi. That t k rya Ari anemi gives the king Sagara a discourse related to liberation, which is found in Jain scriptures on mok a-related matters. In the i-bh ita-Suttra' there are 45 chapters related to Ari anemi and K a, among them twenty enlightened ones are from Ari anemi's time-period. The chapters written by them are proofs of the existence of Ari anemi. Apart from gveda, other Vaidika literature mentions Ari anemi. Moreover, it seems that the influence of Ari anemi was not limited to India alone but also in many other countries. Colonel Todd writes - "I think that there were four enlightened or great men in the ancient times. Among them the first was Adinātha and the second Neminātha. Neminātha was the first “Odina" of the Scandonavians and the first god 'Fo’of the Chinese", Dharm nanda Kaus mbi considers the ghora mgirasa to be Nemin tha.
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The Yajurveda clearly mentions – "the one who showed the spiritual Veda, the one who gave discourse to living beings in the world and the one by whose discourse the soul of living beings becomes strong, we make offerings to that omniscient Ari anemi.” The Mah bh rata gives thousand names of Vi u. Among these there is the term “ rah aurirjane varah.” The last stanza of these lokas is worth paying attention to. The Jain scholar at the beginning of the 19th century in his work “Mok a M rga Praka” writes "Jine vara' in place of 'Jane vara'. Secondly, in this K a is mentioned as “ aurih". Near Ba esara in Agra district is a place named ' auripura'. According to Jain texts this was the capital of the Y davas in the beginning. They left from here to Dv rik . It was here that Ari anemi was born, hence it is called
auri', and he was Jine vara in any case. From the above facts it is clear that Lord Ari anemi was, no doubt, a historical person.
Ari anemi in Vaidika Literature
Many ancient and modern historians world over consider K a to be a historical person. In that case then there should be no two views on accepting the historicity of his uncle's son, Lord Ari anemi nor is there any scope of debate in this matter. Yet there is a puzzle in the mind of historians till date that while Vaidika texts give detached description of the Y davas there, is Ari anemi mentioned or not? Efforts were made to resolve this question but the research was limited to Mah bh rata and
r madbh gavata alone hence even success was limited. As a last resort when Vedavy sa's "Harivam a” was perused minutely, a solution to this question came out clearly. In Harivam a Vedavy sa accepts that K a and Ari anemi were paternal cousins. 'King Yadu had five sons comparable to divine princes, Sahasrada, Payoda, Kro , N la and Amjika.' Kro and his second queen M dr had two sons, Yudh jita and Devamīdhu a. Kro 's elder son, Yudh jita had two sons, V i and Andhaka. V i had two sons, Svaphalka and Citraka. Citraka had 12 sons, P thu, Vip thu, A vagr va, A vab hu, Sup r vaka, Gave a a, Ari anemi, A va, Sudharm, Dharmabh t, Sub hu and Bahub hu and two daughters, ravi h and rava . Along with the clan description of Ari anemi, K a's clan is also described in Harivam a by Vedavy sa this way – “Yadu had Kro Kro 's second son Devamīdhu a' son
ra and ra had ten sons, Vasudeva, etc and five daughters, P thuk rti, etc. Vasudeva had a son K a from his queen Devak . Thus the accepted
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text of Vaidika tradition, Harivam a's description of the Y dava clan also shows that rk a and r Ari anemi were paternal cousins and their great grandfathers were Yudh jita and Devamīdhu a, who were brothers. The only difference between the two traditions is that in Jain literature Ari anemi's father Samudravijaya is considered the elder brother of Vasudeva; while in Harivam a Pura, Citraka and Vasudeva are considered paternal cousins. Possibly, Citraka (Citraratha) was Samudravijaya's other name. But in both traditions there are no two views about K a and Ari anemi being paternal cousins. The dissimilarity in names in the two traditions could be a result of events, bad times, many fierce battles, clan fights, foreign invasions, etc. But the description gathered in Jain literature and gamas about T rthamkara, there is no scope for not considering that proven. Not just that, in Harivam a there is mention of K a's queen Satyabh m 's middle sister by the name of D dhavrata, about whose marriage there is no clear description. D dhavrat , this qualifying name is probably indicative of Rj mat , because in that time there was no greater woman steady in her vow, who by merely being promised by word to her groom, remained unmarried for life after he went back and observed the mah vratas.
*****
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Brahmadatta Cakravart
The last cakravart of this avasarpi cycle, Brahmadatta, was born after the nirv a of Lord Ari anemi and before the birth of Lord P r van tha, that is, during the time cycle of Lord Ari nemi. The life of Brahmadatta was, on the one hand, akin to the darkness of a new moon night, full of extreme sorrows, and on the other, like the moonbeams on a full moon night in winter, full of worldly pleasures. The life of Brahmadatta gives a fearsome picture of an unintelligible course of wandering in a worldly life, which is very inspiring and rouses the feeling of disenchantment.
Brahmadatta was the son of the P mc la king Brahma and his queen Culan . Queen Culan saw the fourteen auspicious dreams signifying the birth at the time of conception and after her pregnancy period, gave birth to a son who had a stunning aura. Seeing the son's face the P mc la king felt happy as if he was taking a stroll in knowledge itself (Brahma), hence he named the child Brahmadatta. The P mc la king Brahma had
endships with the king of K , Ka aka, the king of Hastin pura Ka erudatta, the king of Kau ala D rgha and the king of Camp, Pu pac laka. These five friends used to live together for one year in each other's capitals. Once, as per this arrangement, the five gathered in the P mc la capital, K mpilyapura. The five friends were spending a happy time together in K mpilyapura when suddenly the king of P mc la Brahma died. Staying with the bereaved family of the king of P mc la, the four friends completed the last rites of King Brahma. At that time Brahmadatta was just 12-years old. Hence the four friends discussed and came to the conclusion that until such time as Brahmadatta becomes a young man, for each year one of the four kings would be the care-taker and protector of the P mc la kingdom. As per this arrangement, leaving the king of Kau ala, D rgha at K mpilyacity and rest three kings went to their respective kingdoms.
The king of Kau ala, D rgha gradually took over the treasury of the kingdom as well as the kingdom itself. Not just that, he ensnared his deceased friend Brahma's wife Culan in his web of love. Culan , too, giving up on the family's honour, started assisting D rgha. The prime minister of P mc la, Dhanu, got a sense of this illegitimate relationship and untrustworthy behaviour. He got a suspicion in his mind that blinded by lust, these two would sometime in future kill Brahmadatta, hence he
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advised his son Varadhanu to stay with the prince day and night and to be alert with regard to D rgha and Culan.
Brahmadatta became very sad to learn about his mother and D rgha's illicit relationship. He was also very angry. Through various means he tried to convey his feelings to his mother and to D rgha, but their bad behaviour continued. Drgha was very clever. e understood Brahmadatta's efforts. He told Culan that if we are not careful your son will very soon prove to be our biggest enemy. It would better to trample this snake's head right in the beginning. As a result, Culan began to quench her thirst for her own son's life. To save themselves from infamy, the two decided to get Brahmadatta married and set on fire the wax-hall they would spend their nuptial night in, and burn them to death. Culan chose her own brother Pu pac la's daughter, Pu pavat as the bride and started the wedding preparations.
The Prime Minister Dhanu was completely alert and was keeping abreast of every activity of D rgha and Culan . He got to know of this conspiracy and he began to think about ways to protect the bride and groom's lives. Very politely he requested the king D rgha, "My son has become completely eligible to take up the role of prime minister and due to old age I am unable to show the required agility for the work of the kingdom. Now I want to spend my time in charities etc. Hence I request that I may be released from the duties of the prime minister.” D rgha was not so naïve. In his crooked mind he figured that if he is released from his duties he will find out about my plans and shall destroy them. Hence he answered in very sweet tone, “Friend! Without someone like you with a sharp mind, our kingdom cannot be managed even for a day. Hence while remaining on your position you may carry on your religious activities."
Dhanu heeded D rgha's request and arranged a huge sacrificial hall on the banks of river Gamg. While taking care of all the duties of the kingdom he arranged a massive programme of donating food at the banks of river Gamg . Thousands of people began to get food in this hall every day. With the money he got for conducting these activities; Dhanu with the help of his workers dug up a tunnel from the wax-house all the way up to the sacrificial hall. At the same time, alerting Pu pac la about the conspiracy hatched by D rgha and Culan , asked him to proceed very carefully.
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As advised by the prime minister Pu pac la organised Brahmadatta's wedding very well and giving lots of material in the form of dowry, bid farewell to the newly weds. At K mpilya city, D rgha and Culan sent their son and daughter-in-law to the wax-hall for their nuptial night. As per Dhanu's hint, Pu pac la, who was alert, sent instead of his daughter Pu pavat , her look-alike a maid-s daughter, without anyone finding out. In the night the wax hall became enveloped in red flames all over and within moments the palace that touched the sky melted and started to scatter about. There, being alerted by Varadhanu about the entire situation, Brahmadatta went with him through the tunnel to the sacrificial hall on the banks of river Gamg. The prime minister gave two fast horses to Brahmadatta and Varadhanu and sent them away to a far off place and he himself started off looking for an undisclosed location.
Both the horses, running at the speed of wind, came as far as 50 yojanas from K mpilyapura, but having run at that speed continuously the horses' lungs gave way and they fell to the ground. Now Brahmadatta and Varadhanu began to run on their feet continuously and reached the village Ko haka. Leaving Brahmadatta outside the village, Varadhanu entered the village and came back with a barber. Shaving off his hair with the help of the barber Brahmadatta wore black robes and covered his r vatsa sign. Varadhanu put his sacred thread around Brahmadatta's neck. This way, changing their appearances, they entered the village, where a Brahmin took them to his house and with great respect, fed them and asked them to take rest.
The two friends had just about sat down when the Brahmin's wife came with her daughter Bandhumat and stood with her hands folded in front of Brahmadatta. The two friends started looking at each other in surprise. The Brahmin's wife said, "My daughter has the fortune of being married to a cakravart king. The soothsayers who told me about her groom's signs, I have found that today. They had said the person who comes to your house to eat covering his r vatsa sign with a cloth will be your daughter's groom."
Brahmadatta got married to Bandhumat . After a night's happiness, again the ocean of sorrow appeared. The sun had not even risen when D rgha's soldiers surrounded the Ko haka village. Seeing this both friends got out of the Brahmin's house and like wild animals, began to run hiding
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behind shrubs and bushes. While running Brahmadatta felt extremely thirsty. He told Varadhanu, “Varadhanu! I cannot walk a step more, I am dying of thirst." Brahmadatta sat near a tree. Leaving Brahmadatta there Varadhanu left to get some water. While he was returning with water few soldiers surrounded him and questioned him about Brahmadatta. When Varadhanu did not answer the soldiers began to beat him up. While he was being beaten up Varadhanu gestured to Brahmadatta to leave. Brahmadatta began to run hiding in bushes and shrubs. After running non-stop for three days Brahmadatta saw an ascetic. The ascetic took Brahmadatta to the chief of the hermitage. Seeing Brahmadatta's brilliant personality and the sign of r vatsa on his chest, the astonished chief of the hermitage asked Brahmadatta as to how he got into this situation.
When Brahmadatta told him the entire account he embraced him and said - "Son, your father Brahma was like an elder brother to me. Please consider this hermitage your own and stay here happily.” Brahmadatta stayed there and started studying. Seeing his sharp intellect the chief imparted him knowledge of all kinds of scriptures, skills and use of weapons. Staying in the hermitage as a student, Brahmadatta became healthy all over and a 7 dhanu a tall young man.
One day Brahmadatta went with his friends of the hermitage to collect some fruits and roots from the forest. He saw some fresh footprints of elephants in the forest. He started looking for the elephants and, separated from his friends, went quite far. In the end he saw a wild elephant uprooting a tree with his trunk. Brahmadatta started fighting with the elephant and the elephant pounced on him. Brahmadatta threw his upper cloth on the elephant and the moment the elephant raised his trunk to hold the upper cloth, Brahmadatta put his feet over the elephant's trunk and got on top of it. Sitting astride the elephant for a long time he kept playing around with it when suddenly dark clouds formed and torrential rains poured. Drenched in the rain the elephant blew his trumpet and ran. Brahmadatta held on to a huge tree branch and climbed the tree. When the rain settled down a little, all the directions seemed misty with the effect of the overcast sky. Brahmadatta got down from the tree and started walking towards the hermitage but having lost his way, reached another forest. Wandering here and there and lost, he reached the banks of a river. When he crossed over the river and reached the other banks, he found a village destroyed. When he moved ahead he
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reached a thick bamboo shrub, where he found a sword and a shield placed there. Out of curiosity he started to cut down the bamboo shrubs. While cutting down the bamboo shrubs he found in front of him a chopped off human head fallen to the ground, struggling in pain. When he observed carefully he found that some man was hanging upside down on the bamboo stalks and practising some kind of penance, and he had chopped him off without noticing. He was filled with guilt that needlessly he killed a young man doing penance. Full of remorse as he moved ahead he saw a beautiful garden and a huge palace in the midst. When he started climbing the stairs of the palace he found a beautiful woman seated on a bed in a worried posture. Surprised, he went closer to the woman and said, "Goddess, who are you and why are you sitting in this empty palace?” The young woman was startled seeing this young man addressing her. She asked, “Who are you and what is the reason behind your coming here?" Brahmadatta, reassuring the young woman in a calm and composed manner told her, “Goddess, I am the son of Brahma, the king of P mc la..!"
Brahmadatta had not even completed his sentence when the young woman fell at his feet and said, “Prince! I am your uncle Pu pac la's daughter Pu pavat who was given to you in marriage. But before I got married to you a Vidy dhara named N yonmatta kidnapped me and brought me here. In order to ensnare me he is doing penance in the bushes nearby. I take refuge in you now, please save me.” The prince,
ely reassuring her said, “That Vidy dhara just got killed unknowingly at my hands. You have no fear so long as I am here." Thereafter, Brahmadatta married Pu pavat in the G ndharva tradition and this way, after a period of sorrows again started to sway in happiness.
After the night passed off, hearing the rumbling of the clouds when a startled Brahmadatta started looking here and there. Then Pu pavat said, "This indicates the coming of the Vidy dhara's sisters, Kha d and Vi kh. I am not afraid of them, but knowing that their brother is dead if they bring their other brothers then you may have to face some trouble. It is better you hide. I will talk to them and try to create attraction for you in their minds, and if I find the attempt working I shall wave a red flag and you can come out without worry. Otherwise, I shall wave a white flag to indicate that their anger has not cooled down and you quietly run
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away." Pu pavat went to welcome the Vidy dhara sisters and Brahmadatta kept waiting for an indication from her side. Suddenly he saw a white flag being waved and thinking staying there is not out of danger he slowly went towards the forest.
After crossing the deep forest he reached a huge lake. Unable to resist the attraction of the lake he jumped into it and swimming slowly he reached the other end. There he found a very beautiful woman picking flowers from a creeper nearby. He kept staring at her and he felt she was looking at him too and smiling. Then he saw that she was saying something to her friend pointing towards him and after some time both disappeared from that flower bush. Enchanted, Brahmadatta kept looking in that direction. Then he heard the sound of anklets nearby. When he turned around he found that beautiful woman with her attendant holding in her hands some betel leaves, clothes and ornaments. She told Brahmadatta, “The princess you saw a moment ago has sent you these things and said that I should take you to her father's minister.” Brahmadatta walked behind that attendant as if in a daze.
That beautiful woman was named rk nt. She was the only daughter of the king of Vasantapura. Though rk nt 's father was the king of Vasantapura due to some problems with his stars, he had begun to stay and rule over Caurapall. He welcomed and showered honour and respect on Brahmadatta and married his daughter to him in a grand way. Brahmadatta began to enjoy royal pleasures once again.
One day desiring to go to Vasantapura, he left Caurapall . It became dark midway hence he went to a rest-house in a small town to spend the night. After making arrangements to stay at the rest house, he was about to go to the dining hall when entering inside, he saw a man. When he observed closely, he found him to be none other than Varadhanu, his friend. He ran to Varadhanu and hugged him. Varadhanu too danced with joy and astonishment seeing Brahmadatta. The two friends ate together and went to Brahmadatta's room to sleep. Varadhanu, narrating his story, said, “I was returning with water for you when D rgha's soldiers surrounded me and beat me up and when they asked me about you I told them a lion had eaten you up. They then asked me to show them that place. Keeping them engaged here and there, I gestured to you to run away. After you ran away they beat me black and blue. Seizing the opportunity I ate pills
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to induce fainting, due to which, thinking I was dead, they left me there and went away. After they left I took out the pills from my mouth and stated to look for you but could not find you. Through my father's friend when I found out about my father running away and my mother being harassed I decided to somehow sneak her out of K mpilyapura. In a dramatic way, sneaking out my mother from there, leaving her at my father's close friend's house under his care, I went out in search of you and have come here after wandering about.
After this, Brahmadatta told him his entire account. Brahmadatta had not yet completed his story when he got information about a big battalion of D rgha's army coming there. Both of them, running through forests and caves, reached Kau mb city. At a big garden in Kau mb they saw two wealthy merchants betting their cocks to fight for a bet of one lakh rupees each. Both cocks fought each other for a long time, but finally, despite being a pedigree, S garadatta's cock lost to Buddhila's cock. Brahmadatta was surprised at the defeat of S garadatta's pedigree cock. He observed closely Buddhila's cock and removing the sharp nails stuck in its claws, set both of them again to fight. In a few moments, Buddhila's cock lost. Having won a lost game, S garadatta was very happy and took the prince and Varadhanu to his house and kept them at his place like his own brothers. But the king of Kau mb was searching for Varadhanu and Brahmadatta as requested by D rgha; hence they decided to leave Kau mb.
That midnight, seated on S garadatta's chariot both of them left Kau mb. After going up to a little distance, S garadatta returned. The two friends went forward. There they saw a chariot with weapons with a beautiful young woman sitting in it. Seeing them, the young damsel asked – “Where were you so long? I have been waiting for you so long." The prince, astounded, asked her – “O young lady! Who are you? And how do you recognize us?” The woman seated on the chariot said – “I am Buddhila's sister, Ratnavat. Ever since I saw you at the contest between S garadatta's and Buddhila's cocks, I have been longing to meet you, now I am here to fulfill my desire."
Both friends sat in Ratnavat 's chariot. Varadhanu held the horses' reins. Ratnavati asked him to take the chariot towards the house of her uncle the merchant Dhan vaha in Magadhapur. Varadhanu led the chariot
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towards Magadhapur. The chariot, moving with the speed of the wind, reached the forests outside Kau mb. Brahmadatta reached R jag ha after facing difficulties such as fight with dacoits in the forest, crying over separation from Varadhanu, among others. Leaving Ratnavat at a hermitage outside R jag ha, Brahmadatta went into the city. There he married in the Gāndharva tradition the two sisters, Khaņdā and Vi kh , of the Vidy dhara N yonmatta and then he reached the house of the merchant Dhan vaha. Dhan vaha was very happy to see him and he got him married to R jag ha. Brahmadatta started staying with Ratnavat happily in R jag ha but he was very sad about the missing Varadhanu. He tried a lot to trace Varadhanu but when he did not get any positive results, thinking him to be dead; he performed his last rites, and called some Brahmins over for the death feast.
Suddenly Varadhanu too arrived in the midst of the Brahmins and said, “The food being served to me will enter Varadhanu's stomach." Brahmadatta recognised Varadhanu's voice and embraced him. The sorrowful atmosphere turned into a breeze of joy.
The two friends went to see a festival one day. The entire R jag ha was gathered to see the festival, decked in colourful attire and different kinds of invaluable ornaments. At that very moment, an elephant in rut, which was in the elephant stables, broke its chains and reaching the fair, started to blow its trumpet. People ran helter-skelter, many lost consciousness; the entire atmosphere was filled with cries of women and children. The mad elephant picked up a woman with his trunk. People had their hearts in their mouths. Like lightning Brahmadatta went and stood facing the elephant and started bellowing at it. Leaving the woman, the elephant leapt at Brahmadatta, shaking his long trunk and its tail. Brahmadatta was adept at fighting with elephants: hence in the end he tamed the elephant. He went and tied it up in the elephant stable.
Hearing about the incident of the elephant's account and about its being tamed, the king of Magadha reached there. He was struck by the young handsome man with brilliance of the sun and strength of Indra. When the merchant Dhan vaha introduced Brahmadatta, the king was very happy. He married off his daughter Pu pamat to Brahmadatta in a grand ceremony. The woman whose life Brahmadatta had saved from the elephant was r mat, the daughter of a merchant of R jag ha named
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Vai rava a. Vai rava a got r mat married with pomp and splendour to Brahmadatta. There, the king of Magadha's minister Subuddhi got his daughter Namd married to Varadhanu. This way both friends started to live happily in R jag ha. Shortly, tales of Brahmadatta's courage and beauty spread across homes all over Bh rata. This way, staying in R jag ha, making money and fame Brahmadatta started for Varanasi with Varadhanu, so that he may make necessary preparations to reclaim P mc la kingdom from king D rgha.
When the king of Varanasi heard the news of the arrival of his dear friend Brahma's son Brahmadatta, he came to welcome him filled with love and brought him into the royal palace with great honour. Seeing an appropriate moment he got his daughter Ka akavat married to Brahmadatta and also gave him his army with four divisions as dowry.
Hearing the news of Brahmadatta's arrival at Varanasi the king of Hastin pura Karu adatta, the king of Bh m, Pu pac laka, the Prime Minister Dhanu, etc came with their respective armies to Varanasi. Gathering all the armies together, Brahmadatta made Varadhanu his army general and started his journey towards K mpilyapura to attack king D rgha. When D rgha came to know of this he sent a message to the king of Varanasi not to break his friendship with him as 'we were not five friends but like five brothers'. You were given the kingdom and family of Brahma for safekeeping and protection. The way you have betrayed your brother-like friend, that is an unpardonable crime. Brahmadatta has come on his own to reclaim his kingdom. It is better for you to give him his kingdom back.
D rgha too, gathering all his strengths, came to the battle-field to fight Brahmadatta. There was fierce battle between the two armies. At first D rgha's side seemed to have an upper hand, but when Brahmadatta started attacking with fierce weapons, D rgha's army became disabled. Brahmadatta won over many of the soldiers of D rgha's army tactfully to his side. In the end, there was a duel between D rgha and Brahmadatta. After a long duel, too, there was no knowing who was winning and who was losing. Both warriors seemed invincible for each other. It was a matter of surprise that a bad man full of bad deeds such as D rgha could also be such a fine and brave soldier.
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The fight between Brahmadatta and D rgha was going on and everyone was watching almost like statues with intense attacks and counter-attacks when a heavenly cakra jewel appeared in the sky with a thunderous roar and lightning with an indescribable brightness, almost blinding everyone, which circumambulated Brahmadatta thrice and settled itself on the space about a hand's length higher on his right side. Brahmadatta held the cakra on the forefinger of his right hand and swirling it with speed, hurled it at D rgha. Within a split second, D rgha's head fell to the ground. The victory sounds of various armies on the victory of righteousness and end of bad deeds resounded all over. Brahmadatta entered K mpilyapura with great ceremony. His mother Culan
derstood her unrighteous deeds, even though late, and renouncing the world, left the city even before the entry of Brahmadatta. Seeing an opportune moment the subjects of P mc la held the coronation ceremony of Brahmadatta with happiness and gaiety.
As soon as he sat on the throne of K mpilyapura, he sent for his nine wives from their respective homes. He managed the kingdom as a
ovincial king for 56 years and thereafter, with the strength of his fourfold army, started for a victory campaign over the six regions of Bh rata. After many battles and intense struggles of sixteen years, he returned to K mpilyapura and unfurled his victory flag over the entire Bh rata thus becoming the Lord of fourteen jewels and nine treasures, with all the prosperity of a cakravart emperor.
One day he was immersed in enjoyment with his many queens and dear ones when a female attendant presented a grand and attractive bouquet of flowers to him. The flower vase of colourful flowers had very life-like and attractive swans, peacocks, deer, and other birds and animals. Brahmadatta was watching that beautiful flower vase enchanted and intensely when he got a feeling that he had seen such a flower decoration before. Through single minded reflection, h and poha, and his knowledge obscuring karmas becoming weak, he began to see clearly his life. Unconscious, Brahmadatta fell on the ground.
On seeing Brahmadatta fall unconscious, all the dear ones present there became worried and anxious. With due medication when he regained consciousness; the picture of his past life picture would emerged in his mind and he became unconscious again. For a long time Brahmadatta
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was in this state. When he regained consciousness, he thought the people would ask him the reason for this state and he would tell them it was the result of a gall bladder malfunctioning, thereby hiding the truth.
When he got to know about his five past lives, he remembered his own brother of the five births who on account of karmas, was born elsewhere in this birth. Thinking of the fact that for five births they were together and in the sixth birth they were born separately, he would feel very sad and wonder in this sixth birth in what why and in what form was that brother born. In the end he found a way and he made an announcement across his vast kingdom that the person who would complete the fourth part of the quatrain, he would give half his kingdom to him. The lines were as under:
d s dasa aes, miy k limjare age hams mayamga tr e, sov g k sibhumie dey ya devaloyammi, si amhe mahiddhiy
(We were two slaves, deers, swans, peacocks, in K
... and gods...)
With the greed of gaining half the kingdom many people tried to solve the puzzle, and as a result the half quatrain was on everyone's lips.
One day, a great rama a monk named Citta, wandering about, reached K mpilya city, and seeing a quiet place in a beautiful garden, became meditative there. The gardener was watering the plants there and mumbling the lines of the half-quatrain. Hearing the lines from the gardener's mouth an agitation and h - poha emerged in the monk's mind and he remembered his past life. He too could clearly see his past five lives. Resolving the puzzle, he made the gardener learnt by rote the remaining lines -
im
o cha hiy j , a
ama
ehim j vi
(This is the sixth birth of ours, separated from each other)
The gardener recited all the four lines in front of Brahmadatta. Hearing those words Brahmadatta fell unconscious. Seeing this, the gardener got worried and said "these lines are not mine, but a monk who has come
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to the garden who made me memorise them by rote." On gaining consciousness, Brahmadatta happily gave the gardener his crown and all other ornaments as gift and with all his kith and kin went to see the monk in the garden. The moment he saw Citta monk, Brahmadatta laid his head bedecked in gems and crowns at the feet of the monk and remembering the past love, started crying inconsolably. Barring the monk, everyone's eyes were filled with tears. Surprised, queen Pu pavat asked, “My dear one! In spite of being a cakravart emperor today you cry inconsolably like an ordinary man, what is the reason?” Brahmadatta controlling himself said, “O queen! This monk is my own brother.” The queen asked
e same manner. "How is that, oh king?” Brahmadatta said, "This you hear from the mouth of the great monk.”
Upon the request of the queens the monk Citta started narrating, "Every living being in this world has been wandering, since eternal time in the cycle of birth, disease and death, taking various forms. Every person has been tied up umpteen times in the relationships of mother, father, brother-sister, husband-wife, etc. Even the two of us have been siblings in our last five births. In our first birth we were born to a maid, Jasamat , of Brahmin mờily yana in the r daha village. That Brahmin used to make us work the whole day tirelessly. Once during winter months we were working in the agricultural field when suddenly clouds formed and it began to pour. Shivering, we both sat under the shade of a banyan tree at the corner of the field. It just wouldn't stop raining and there was water all over. In order to sleep in the night both of us were trying to adjust in the cavity of the tree trunk when a poisonous snake bit us and both of us died at once. After that we were both born to a deer as twindeer on the K limjara Mountain. When we became young once we went playfully towards the banks of the Vegavat River to quench our thirst, when a hunter shot his arrow at us. We struggled for some time and then merged with the elements. After that, we were born as swans together to a swan on a lake by the side of the Mayamga River. Playing in the lake we attained youth. One day a bird-hunter caught us in his net and breaking our necks, finished our lives.”
"After the swan's womb we were born as twins to Ahinak , the wife of a prosperous butcher named Bh tad na. My name was Citra and he was named Sambh ta. When we were eight years old, at that time the king of K for some reason ordered death sentence to his priest Nam c and
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handed him over to our father. Our father told Nam c – “If you agree to make my two sons experts in all the arts, I shall keep you safe in my house.” Nam c accepted my father's offer and began to teach us. Our mother used to make arrangements for Nam c's food, etc. In some time the priest and our mother became attracted to each other. Because of our greed for learning, we did not tell our father anything about their relationship and by studying with diligence we became skilled in various arts."
“One day our father learnt of the illicit relationship of our mother and the priest and he decided to kill Nam c. When this was going on, we quietly sent him away from our house. He reached Hastin pura and became the minister of the cakravart Sanatkum ra."
“Being experts in singing we both began to wander about singing on the streets of Varanasi. Impressed by our singing people, especially beautiful women would run to us, forgetting everything. Seeing this, the people complained to the king of K and prohibited entry for us in the city.”
"One day, the Kaumud festival was organised in Varanasi. The two of us entered into the city on the sly to enjoy the festival. A music programme was being conducted at one place. Suddenly musical notes began to pour out from us instinctively. Hearing our voices, people surrounded us and a crowd gathered. Suddenly someone shouted – 'hey, these are the same butcher sons who have been prohibited entry into the city. What then, forgetting all about the music, people ran to beat us up. We ran for our lives, and beaten up, reached the city outskirts. In a quiet uninhabited place, thinking what was the use of this life living like animals and condemned, we both decided to end our lives jumping from the cliff of a mountain.
A top the mountain peak we saw an ascetic deep in meditation in a peaceful posture. We felt peace at the sight of the monk and fell at his feet. We told him our whole story and said we both have come here to take our lives jumping off the cliff. To this the compassionate monk said to us, “suicide will only bring an end to your physical body, not your pain. To end the basic cause of that pain, the accumulated karmas of many births, perform penance.” The monk's words seemed appropriate to us. At that very moment the two of us accepted mendicancy. The kind
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monk imparted to us the knowledge of the basic tenets of the path of liberation. Observing various kinds of fast such as a ama-a ama bhakta etc, and monthly fasts, we made our bodies whither down.”
“Wandering across various places, one day we reached Hastin pura and in a garden outside the city, started doing severe penance."
“Once in order to break a month's fast, monk Sambh ta went to Hastin pura city. Suddenly Nam c spotted him and he recognised him. Thinking he might call his bluff, he ordered his people to throw the monk out of the city. Upon his orders the king's men pounced upon the monk and cruelly beat him up. The monk returned to the garden peacefully. Even at this when Nam c's men did not stop beating him up, the monk got angry. Flames of intense fire started to come out of his mouth. The entire sky turned red with the flames. There was havoc in the entire city. People came on hordes and bowing before him urged him to calm down but the monk's anger was unstoppable. Seeing the flames envelop the skies I reached the spot of the incident and calmed down my brother."
“Sambh ta monk became repentant for what he did. Within moments the flames died down. Both of us monk-brothers started for the garden. Reaching the garden we both reflected that we have to face so many difficulties to feed this destructible body. What is the use of this body or food for us monks? Thinking thus, we observed samlekhan and renounced food for life.”
When cakravart Sanatkum ra learnt of the whole incident, then he tied up the person responsible for it, Nam c and presented him before us and requested us - "Oh monks, he is your criminal. What punishment should he be given?" We said – “Oh king! Free him.” Nam c was released at once and sent out of Hastin pura city.”
"At the same time, the main woman Sunand came to pay respects to us along with 64 thousand co-wives. While bowing at monk Sambh ta's feet Sunand 's scented long hair touched the monk's feet. After paying their respects, the royal family went to the palace.”
"We both completed our life-spans together and became gods in the Nalin gulma (Padmagulma) vim na in the Saudharma kalpa. After
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completing our life span as gods I was born to Nand, the wife of a prosperous merchant of Purimat la, Ga apumja. Despite having all comforts and pleasurable objects my mind was not attracted to them, hence I renounced, taking initiation as a monk. Practising restraint, wandering across several places, I reached this garden. Hearing some words of the quatrain from the gardener I was reminded of my past life. In this sixth birth I do not have any idea as to how we were separated.”
Hearing this all the listeners became stunned. They would either look at Brahmadatta or the monk. Then Brahmadatta said – “Oh great monk! Let me tell you the reason for separation in this life. Seeing the cakravart Sanatkum ra's wealth and the excellent youth of Sunand and other queens I had taken a decision that as a result of that penance of mine I should gain the complete wealth of a cakravart. Until the end I did not criticise this perseverance of mine, hence after completing my time in Saudharma realm of gods, because of that desire of mine, I have become a cakravart. Please consider my vast empire and wealth as yours. This youth is meant for enjoying sensual and worldly pleasures. Hence you may come and stay with me as my brother and enjoy all the comforts. All these austerities are after observed to obtain happiness. If those are obtainable easily, what is the need for penance?"
The monk said in a tranquil and intense manner – “In this meaningless world only religion is meaningful. Body, youth, wealth, friends, and relatives; are all momentary like water bubbles. The victory you have gained over six divisions is but victory over external enemies. Now get ready to become capable of winning over the internal enemies of lust, anger, etc, through which you will get permanent happiness of liberation. I have understood that all sensual joys are deadly like poison and to be renounced hence voluntarily I have happily renounced these and accepted the path of self restraint. You know yourself that we both have borne pain in our lives as attendants, deer, swans and elephant and thereafter, through the effect of penance, went to the realm of gods and enjoyed those pleasures as well. When our good deeds ended we again fell from the gods' realm and have been born on the earth. If you do not use your hard-to get human life in making efforts to gain liberation, then I do not know in what unfortunate circumstances bearing how many unbearable pains you will have to wander in your different births. Oh king! Despite knowing it all why are you drowned in sensual pleasures
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which are the root-cause of endless pain, like an ignorant child? To waste this precious human life in sensual enjoyments is akin to washing one's hands and feet and throwing the water from an urn of nectar into the soil, instead of quenching one's thirst by drinking that nectar.”
Brahmadatta replied – “Lord! Your words are hundred per cent true. I know that desire for worldly objects is the mother of all pain and destruction but the way an elephant stuck in slush cannot come out of it
ay having gained these enjoyments through my desire, I am stuck in this quicksand so deep that accepting self restraint is beyond my reach.” Citta said – “King! Life is moving fast at great speed. Sense and worldly pleasures are not going to remain forever. The same way as birds leave a tree without fruits, these lustful pleasures will also one day leave you. To leave someone even before his leaving us is far better. You say you are incapable of letting go of the pleasures that you gained through your desire, but remain immersed in being friendly with living beings and in activities of service to others, so that you may get blissful happiness."
Saying this, monk Citta went elsewhere to stay. After observing severe penance for many years, he burnt in the flames of his penance all his karmas and obtaining emancipation and enlightenment, gained nirv a.
Brahmadatta, as always, started to enjoy his wealth as cakravart. One day Brahmadatta went out of K mpilya city astride a horse gifted to him by the king of Greece. To test the speed of the horse the moment he hit it with a whip, the horse began to fly at the speed of wind. Brahmadatta tried a lot to stop the horse but the horse leapt across rivers, canals and forests and reaching a thick forest, stopped. Seeing a n ga (serpent) woman making love with an adulterous man besides a lake Brahmadatta became very angry and he beat them up and tore their skins. After sometime Brahmadatta's attendant came there looking for him and they all went together to K mpilyapura.
There the injured n ga (serpent) woman complained against Brahmadatta to her husband the king of serpents – “I was returning from water sports and a stroll in the forests with my friends when Brahmadatta cakravart saw me and tried to molest me. When I refused he beat me up with whiplash and almost beat me to death. I told him I am the wife of the king of serpents, yet he did not pay attention.” Hearing these words from
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his wife the n ga king was very angry. He resolved to kill Brahmadatta and reached his bedroom in the night on the sly. When he was outside the bedroom waiting for the right moment, he heard – Brahmadatta's queen was asking that the queen heard that astride the horse gifted by the Greek king you went very far into thick forests, did you see anything amazing? Brahmadatta told her about the incident involving the female serpent and the adulterous man and said that he had punished them for their uncalled for behaviour. Hearing Brahmadatta's words the serpent king opened his eyes. After some time when Brahmadatta came out of his bedroom the serpent king, his head bowed down, stood before him and said - "Oh king! I am the husband of the n ga woman you have punished. Listening to her words I came here to attack you but hearing the truth from you I have changed my mind. I want to serve you." Brahmadatta said - "I wish there would be no theft, illicit relations and accidental deaths in my kingdom.” The serpent king said -“So it shall be. This attitude of service to others is admirable. You may ask something for yourself too.” Brahmadatta said –“Oh serpent king! I wish I would be able to understand every creature's language.” The n gaking said – “I am so happy with you that I give you even this knowledge that should not be given. But you must remember the unshakable and tough rules of this knowledge that if you share with any other person what that creature spoke, your head will break into seven pieces.” Brahmadatta assured the serpent king and the latter gave him that knowledge and left.
Once when Brahmadatta was sitting with his favourite queen in the make-up room, he heard two house sparrows talking to each other. The female sparrow was pregnant, she told the male sparrow – “I have this whim that you bring the paste from the king's body and apply it on my body.” The male sparrow said – "it seems you are now tired of me hence you are pushing me into my death.” Listening to the birds' conversation Brahmadatta began to laugh aloud. The queen was surprised at the king laughing suddenly. She asked him the reason. Brahmadatta was in a dilemma. He tried to evade the queen's question by engaging her in all kinds of conversations but the queen was adamant. Brahmadatta tried to explain to the queen – "Oh queen! Try to understand. I do not want to hide anything from you, but there is a secret behind this revealing my head will break into seven pieces." The queen said in disbelief -"If that is so, then I too shall give up my life with you, but I cannot live without knowing the secret."
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Seeing this desire in his queen the king instructed for a funeral pyre to be lit for him and the queen and prepared himself to tell her the secret. In order to bring sense into Brahmadatta who was ready to die before his time for the love of a woman, the family deity through her divine powers created a female and male goat. The she-goat said to the he-goat – “The king has kept some green barley for the horse, bring me one of those so I can fulfill my pregnancy whim.” The male-goat said -“The king's men will take my life in this attempt." The she-goat was adamant - "If you do not bring it I shall take my life.” The he-goat said “never mind, I shall make another goat my wife.” The she-goat said "this means you do not love me. See that king, he is dying for the sake of his wife.” The he-goat said -“despite being the Lord of so many queens Brahmadatta is being foolish over one queen, but I am not a fool like him.” Hearing the hegoat's words, Brahmadatta regretted his foolishness and putting his necklace around the goat's neck went into the palace.
When Brahmadatta had spent 584 years enjoying the pleasures of a cakravart his earlier acquaintance, the Brahmin family came to him. Brahmadatta extended respectful hospitality to the Brahmin family. At dinner time the Brahmin told Brahmadatta – “Oh king, I want to eat the same food that is made for you today." Brahmadatta said -“Friend! This food will be indigestible, and will arouse passion in you.” But the Brahmin did not pay heed to Brahmadatta's words. So the Brahmin and his family were fed the food made for the king. In the night the food showed its effects. Every member of the Brahmin's family became aroused with insatiable feeling of lust, and to satisfy it the father-son duo, forgetting all due relationships, started dalliance with the women of their family. When in the morning the effect of that royal feast lessened a little, and the Brahmin family's passions calmed down then everyone understood their respective bad deeds and began to hide their faces in shame. The Brahmin, ashamed of his animal behaviour, left the city abusing Brahmadatta.
Aimlessly roaming around in the forest the Brahmin saw a herdsman who was shedding the soft leaves of a banyan tree down with his pelletbow and feeding them to his sheep. Seeing the sharp aim of the herdsman the Brahmin thought this man can be utilised to avenge Brahmadatta. He gave some money to the herdsman, who with his pellet-bow struck both the eyes of Brahmadatta. The herdsman was caught immediately. When
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the herdsman said he did this on account of the Brahmin, an angry Brahmadatta got the Brahmin and his family killed. When his anger did not subside even then, he instructed the minister that the eyes of all the Brahmins in the city be removed and brought to him on a platter. Instead of eyes the minister placed before the blind Brahmadatta something similar to the eyes, a cluster of mucus-like seedless fruits of the tree Cordia myxa. Thinking those to be Brahmin eyes, Brahmadatta would touch them again and again and feel extreme happiness. He used to keep the platter with him day and night and touching them would feel intense pleasure. This way Brahmadatta spent his last 16 years in persistently intense distress and angry thoughts and after completing 700 years of his life, thinking constantly of his queen Kurumat , died and reached the seventh hell.
A broken link in ancient history
A description of cakravart Brahmadatta almost similar to that found in Jain gamas and texts is found in Veda Vy sa's Mah bh rata and Harivam apur a as well. Some episodes in Brahmadatta's life which are similar to both the traditions are given here for comparative evaluation:
Brahmadatta was a resident of K mpilya city in the P mc la republic.
Brahmadatta's soul in a past life, seeing a king's wealth, had resolved that “if I have done good deeds, observed rules and penance may I be such a king as a result of that.
That Brahmadatta got the knowledge of his past life is similar to both traditions barring a few differences in the cause.
The description of Brahmadatta's past lives is similar in both traditions.
That Brahmadatta got married to a Brahmin woman, even this is similar in both traditions.
There is reference to Brahmadatta understanding the language of animals and birds in both the traditions.
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In the Vaidika tradition, there is mention of a bird named Pjanik who tore Brahmadatta's eyes, whereas in the Jain tradition this is done by a shepherd on being told by a Brahmin acquaintance of Brahmadatta.
In spite of so many similarities there is vast difference when it comes to the time period of Brahmadatta between both the traditions. In "Harivam a” there is reference to Brahmadatta having existed long before the Mah bh rata time but in contrast, the Jain texts and gamas mention Brahmadatta's existence long after the nirva of the P davas. Along with the life history of the T rthamkara, Baladevas, Vasudevas and PratiVasudevas, their time period is given in a similar manner in all the agamic texts of the Jain tradition. Hence, there is no scope for doubt in the Jain tradition regarding their time periods. If historians were to look for mostly the common points of description of Brahmadatta in both these ancient traditions of India, certainly it will be of use in linking up a chain in India's ancient history.
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Lord r P r van tha
After the 22nd T rthamkara Lord Ari anemi, Pr van tha was the 23rd T rthamkara. He was born in 9h - 10th century B.C.E. He came 250 years before the 24" T rthamkara Lord r Mah v ra. Based on historical research today's historians have begun to consider Lord P r van tha a historical person. Major General Furlong has written after due research - “In that time in the entire northern India there was a philosophical religion essentially based on asceticism, that is, Jain religion, based on which an ascetic tradition developed in Brahmin ical, Buddhist and other religions. Before the ryas reached the banks of the Gamg , at least 22 prominent ascetics, or T rthamkara had imparted religious discourse to Jains. After them came P r va, who had the knowledge of all his past 22 T rthamkara or sages. He had the knowledge of various scriptures which are known as Puras on account of their being ancient." A wellestablished western scholar such as Hermann Jacobi considers Lord Pr van tha a historical person and he tried to establish the fact in his edition of Jain gamas and Buddhist pi akas. Many other scholars too agree with Jacobi. Dr. V sama points out that in the Buddhist pi akas Lord Mah v ra is shown to be an opponent of the Buddha, hence his historicity is unambiguous. Dr. Charles Charpentier has written – “We ought also to remember both i.e. the Jain religion is certainly older than Mah v ra and his reputed predecessor P r va having almost certainly existed as a real person. Consequently, the main points of the original doctrine may have been codified long before Mah v ra.”
The religious conditions before Lord P r van tha
In order to understand the specialty of Lord P r van tha's teachings it is important to understand the religious conditions in India at that time. A study of available Vaidika literature shows that before 9th century BC the last grouping (ma dala) of the g-Veda was completed. As a result inquisitiveness regarding reality / truth had begun to emerge in the country resulting in further serious intellectual discussions and analysis of the same. In the time of the Upani adas this reflection and analysis began to take the form of debates between scholars. Dogmas were propounded on the fundamental truths of the world after serious reflection. With increase in thinking related to the question of the Self (tm), it was but natural that interest in sacrifice, other rituals, etc
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declined. Because for individual's mok a, there is no necessity for sacrifice, rituals, etc. As a result of these philosophies, criticisms began to emerge on the question of timelessness of the Vedas or about them being self created (Svayambh ). These thinkers used to spend their time observing silence and quietly reflecting over Brahma, the world, soul, and super-sensual matters living in quiet and remote places in forests, etc. Hence they got identified as sages (muni). These forest dwellers had committed their lives to penance, renunciation, simplicity and straight forwardness, non-violence and truth. According to the Gt such feelings are born directly from god ( vara ortmadeva). In that period while there was the kind of knowledge-oriented yaj a, on the other hand were yaj as held involving killing of animals in the name of sacrifice to please the gods openly. For the ordinary people it was difficult to decide which path was correct and beneficial. It was in this time in India that Lord Pr van tha emerged in Varanasi. At the appropriate time he vehemently opposed the violence in sacrifice and rituals and attracted people's attention to self-reflection and destruction of sensual inclinations. His compassionate, kind heart wanted to show the correct and expansive path to happiness and peace for all living beings.
Some historians imagine that on account of his opposing the violenceridden yaj as, those in favour of yaj as became his arch enemies, because of which Pr van tha had to leave his birthplace and make a place of rya's the land of his religious discourse. In fact this argument is unsubstantiated because the opposition to yaj as was far more aggressive in the time of Lord Mah v ra, but Mah v ra continued to propagate religion in and around his birthplace. Hence, it appears that the travels to non- rya places by Lord P r van tha were not on account of opposition but to propagate religion.
Past Life and Penance
No soul realizes it's potential fully all of a sudden. It is only after noble deeds and practice of right conduct through several births that one attains purity and a condition apt for mok a. In 'Cauvanna Mah purisa Cariyam' and 'Tri a i al k puru a caritra' the past ten lives of Lord Pr va are described as 'in the first birth as Marubh ti and Kama ha, second as an elephant, third as a Sahasr ra god, fourth as Vidy dhara Kira a Deva, fifth as the Acyuta god, sixth as Vajran bha, seventh as a
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graiveyaka god, eighth as Suvar ab hu, ninth as a Prata god and tenth as P r van tha'.
Lord P r van tha accrued the T rthamkara n makarma in his eighth life as Suvar ab hu. A brief description of that birth is given here. Leaving the realm of gods Vajran bha's soul he was born as Suvar ab hu with all qualities of a cakravart to queen Sudar an , the wife of the king of east Videha, Kuli ab hu. When Suvar ab hu became a young man king Kuli ab hu got him married and crowning him king and himself renounced this world as a monk.
Once, Suvar ab hu left on his horse for a pleasure ride, and to enjoy nature. On the way, the horse started running in an uncontrollable manner and took him to a deep forest. When the horse stopped by a lake in the forest, the king got down and washing his face, drinking some water, tying up his horse to a tree, went to take a stroll in the forest. After going some distance he spotted a few young women playing in the garden by a hermitage. His eyes became fixed on a beautiful, charming woman and he kept staring at her without blinking his eyes. Bees began to hover over her face, on account of the sandal paste, on her forehead. While she tried to get rid of them, many more bees began to hover over her face. Troubled, she screamed. Then Suvar ab hu shooed away those bees with his cloth and rid the woman of her fear.
The women thanked Suvar ab hu and said, "She is princess Padm , the daughter of king Khecarendra. After the death of her father she has come here with her mother seeking protection at the hermitage of sage Glava. Yesterday the sage told her that she would get a suitable groom like Suvar ab hu. This has come true." When sage Glava heard about the arrival of Suvar ab hu in his hermitage he reached there, along with queen Ratn val and after extending due respects, got Padm married to him. After spending sometime there king Suvar ab hu returned to his kingdom. While enjoying his royal pleasures a cakra jewel appeared in his place. On that account, winning over six regions, he became a cakravart emperor.
Once at a garden in Purapura, the samava ara a of T rthamkara Jagann tha took place. Happily, Suvar ab hu took his family to pay obeisance to him. Suvar ab hu, greatly inspired thinking again and again of T rthamkara Jagann tha and the gods who had come for the
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samava ara a, and thinking of the glory of renunciation, became reminiscent of his past life. As a result, giving over his kingdom to his son, he accepted initiation under T rthamkara Jagann tha and observing severe penance, obtained the T rthamkaran ma karmaby observing twenty instruments of arihanta devotion.
With penance he used to make several firm and difficult resolutions for
ual purification as well. Once, wandering about, at the Kravar a forest near K ragiri, he stood facing the sun in relaxation (k yotsarga) posture. At that time, the soul of Kama ha which had just exited from the seventh hell and had become a lion, seeing the monk, on account of a past life enmity, leapt on him with a roar. The monk, completing his k yotsarga, became meditative, observing samlekhan. The lion, after attacking him, had begun to tear open his body. The monk remained tranquil and steady. Completing his life in a feeling of equanimity, he became a god in the vim na named Mah prabha and got a life-span of 20 s garas. The lion died, too, and descended to the fourth hell and got a life-span of 10 s garas. On completing his life in hell, for a long time he bore many kinds of pain in animal wombs.
Description of past life in various scriptures
According to Padmacaritra, P r van tha was named nanda in his past life. He was born to V ta oka D mara in S ket city. RaviSena considers Pr van tha as having emerged from Vaijayanta heaven, whereas in Tiloyapa at and Kalpas tra, he is considered to have come from the Prata kalpa. In Uttarapura and P sanh Carium too, there is similar description of the past life of P r van tha. There is also description of his past lives in c rya Hemacandra's Tri a i al k puru a caritra and Lak m vallabha's commentary on Uttar dhyayana S tra, 23chapter. Later c ryas wrote the life-story of P r van tha independently, too.
In the vet mbara tradition, Devabhadra Sri first wrote an independent account called Siri Prasan ha Carium. According to Devabhadra S ri, Marubh ti started remaining sad after his father's death and inspired by the teachings of monk Hari candra, he began to feel detached from his house, family and his wife. Because of this his wife became attracted to a person named Kama ha. Marubh ti learnt of Kama ha and his wife from Kama ha's wife, Varu . To confirm this information Marubh ti feigned
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to be leaving town. In the night, disguised as beggar, he gained permission to spend the night at the same place. There he saw Kama ha and Vasundhar meeting. Thereafter, seeing this misdeed, he went to king Aravinda seeking justice. At that very moment the king called Kama ha and ordered his soldiers that this sinner's face should be painted black and seated on a donkey, he should be thrown out of the city. The soldiers did so and throwing stones at him, sent him away. Condemned this way, he decided to commit suicide in a forest, but reflecting for a moment, became an ascetic and started meditating.
After sometime Marubh ti reflected that he shouldn't have taken family matters to the king and went to Kama ha to beg forgiveness, and seeing him Kama ha got angry and throwing a big stone on his head, killed him. Hearing this, king Aravinda became detached and renouncing everything, took initiation.
This way the soul of Lord P r van tha, going though birth and death, in the 9th birth as Suvar ab hu, accepted the spiritual path and obtained the T rthamkara n makarma when he became a lion's prey (Kama ha's soul) and completing his life, went to Prata realm of gods.
Birth and Parents
Completing 20 s gara years in Prata devaloka, Suvar ab hu's soul entered the womb of V m , queen of king A vasena of Varanasi, on the midnight hour of the fourth day of the dark fortnight of Caitra month under the constellation Vi kha. Seeing the 14 auspicious dreams entering her mouth the queen V m was very happy. On completion of her pregnancy she gladly gave birth to a son on the midnight of the tenth day of the dark fortnight of Pau a month with moon being conjunct with Vi kha constellation. According to Tiloyapa att, Lord P r van tha was born eighty four thousand six hundred and fifty years after the birth of Lord Nemin tha. Happy with the birth of his son the king A vasena performed the birth celebrations for ten days. On the 12th day at the time of naming, A vasena announced – “When the child was in his mother's womb the mother alerted me about a snake (P r va) moving about even in the darkness of night, and saved my life, hence it is appropriate to name the boy Pr van tha.” According to Uttarapur a Indra himself named P r van tha.
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According to Samay y mga and va yaka Niryukti, Pr va's father's name was A vasena and mother's name was V m. c rya Gu abhadra and Pu padamta (in Uttarapur a and Mah pura) mention the father's name as Vi vasena and mother's name as Br hm. In V dir ja's Pr van tha Caritra the mother's name is mentioned as Brahmadatt. In Tiloyapa atti P r va's mother's name is also mentioned as Varmil ; A vasena's synonymous name, Hayasena is also found. Basically, it does not seem to make any difference. Difference in a person's name in terms of qualities, influence and manner of speech is not surprising.
There is no clear reference to Lord P r van tha's clan and lineage in basic gamas such as Samav y mga, etc. Only the va yaka niryukti mentions 22 T rthamkara as belonging K yapa gotra and Munisuvratan tha and Lord Ari anemi as belonging to Gautama gotra. But in Devabhadra S ri's 'Pr van tha Caritra' and Tri a i al k puru a caritra, king A vasenais considered to be of the Ik v ku clan as K yapa and Ik v ku meaning the same. In some places they use K yapa in place of Ik v ku. Pu padamta claims that P r va was from the Ugravam a. Tiloyapa att too, mentions his lineage as Ugravam a and today's historians say Pr va belonged to Uraga or even N ga lineage. Pr van tha was of incomparable strength and of 1008 auspicious qualities. Seeing the boy's brilliance and intelligence queen V m and king A vasena were most delighted and contented. Pr van tha was endowed with mati (mind-based knowledge), ruti (verbal testimony) and avadhij na (clairvoyance) since childhood.
P r va's Valour and Marriage
One day king A vasena was sitting in his royal assembly when a messenger arrived from Ku asthala city. Saluting the king, he said - “The king of Ku asthala, Naravarm , has accepted mendicancy, and right now his son Prasenajita is looking after the kingdom. Ever since his daughter Prabh vat heard about your son prince P r van tha's beauty, being praised, she has taken a vow that she will not marry anyone else but P r van tha. The parents were also happy with their daughter's choice but the king of Kalimga, Yavana, has ordered attack on Ku asthala, saying, "How can Prabh vati be given to P r va when I am around?” King Prasenajita is in great dilemma. He has sent me to let you know of the situation."
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A vasena was enraged with anger when he heard Ku asthala's messenger. He said – “How dare that wicked man think of attacking you when I am here?” Saying this he declared war. When P r vakum ra heard the war-trumpets he went to his father and hearing about the situation, said – “What is the need for you to go? I am enough to teach that Yavana a lesson, I do not foresee any great effort in this.” Hearing his son's excitement he allowed him to go to war. Pr van tha sent a messenger to the king of Kalimga that king Prasenajita has taken refuge in king A vasena, hence he should give up the idea of attacking Ku asthala. The king of Kalimga in turn sent the message that he needn't interfere in this. 'Let us hope you do not lose your life at my hands unnecessarily before your time.' P r van tha was of course the ocean of compassion. He did not get angry with the Yavana king, but sent a messenger back to him to make him understand. Listening to the messenger's words, the Yavana king said – “it seems you have some enmity with your master that you are forcing him to fight with me.”
Hearing these words of the Yavana king his minister said – "Oh king, you are not aware of P r van tha's greatness. Indra too bows down to his strength; hence it is for everybody's well-being that we all take refuge in Pr van tha." The minister's self-beneficial teaching had an impact on the Yavana king and reaching P r van tha, he sought forgiveness. Pr van tha too gave him freedom from fear and respectfully bade him farewell. At the same time the king of Ku asthala Prasenajita came with his daughter Prabh vat and said “In the same way as you have protected us and our kingdom on our request, please heed the prayers of my daughter and myself and marrying her, do us a favour.” Pr van tha said – “Oh king! I came here based on my respected father's permission to protect your kingdom, not to marry your daughter. Hence do not request me at this time in vain.” Saying so P r van tha returned to Varanasi with his army.
Prasenajita too took his daughter and came to Varanasi with P r va. He said to king A vasena - "Please be kind enough to accept my o for prince P r vakum ra." King A vasena called P r va and told him - “Prince! Prasenajita's daughter Prabh vat is endowed with all qualities; we would also like that you accept her as your wife." Unable to put off his father's request, in order to destroy the enjoyment karmas, Pr vakum ra married Prabh vat.
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Differences of opinion on the question of marriage
There is difference of opinion regarding P r van tha being married. There is description of the marriage of Lord P r va in Tri a i al k puru acaritra and Caupanna Mah purisa cariyam, but not in Tiloyapa att, Padmacaritra, Uttarapura, Mah pura and Pr vacarita of V dir ja. There is a description of the marriage after the submission of the Yavana king in Devabhadra's P san ha Cariyam and Tri a i al k puru acaritra. Padmak rti does take up the marriage issue but does not describe the marriage taking place. There is no mention of marriage in the basic gamas Samav yamga and Kalpas tra. The main tenets of vet mbara and Digambara tradition mention that V sup jya, Mall, Nemi, Prva and Mah v ra T rthamkara became renouncers at adolescence and the remaining 19 ruled over kingdoms. Based on this the Digambara tradition considers him unmarried. According to the c ryas of the vet mbara tradition adolescence here means the stage of being a crown prince. Among those who believe P r va to be married say that based on his father's request, despite having married, he remained aloof from enjoyment of pleasures and despite being young and able he did not accept kingship. This is why he is called prince. But other c ryas believe that because he did not marry he is hailed as a prince. This is the root cause of the difference of opinion. abdaratnako a and Vaijayanti also take ‘kum ra' to mean prince.
Redemption of N ga (Serpent)
One day P r van tha was watching the splendour of V r as pur when he saw many people going out of the city carrying with them material for ablutions and prayers. On enquiry he came to know that a great ascetic called Kama ha was observing the pamc gni fire ritual in the garden outside the city and people were going to pay obeisance to him. Out of curiosity the prince too went to see the ascetic. He saw that the ascetic painted with ash was worshipping the big fire. All around him were intense flames and over his head was the intense heat of the summer sun. His blood-shot eyes in the midst of his long locks of hair made the ascetic look fearsome. Crowds of people would come, lay flowers and garlands at his feet, take sacred ash and leave, considering themselves blessed. Through his clairvoyant knowledge, P r vakum ra realized that a serpent (according to Uttarapur a serpent couple) on one of those logs
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of wood was burning in the fire. The prince's heart filled with compassion. He told ascetic Kama ha - "Compassionis the basis of religion. How is it possible to be compassionate through burning of a ritual fire? For by burning the fire so many living beings are killed/ destroyed.” Enraged with anger, the ascetic started fuming at the words of P r va - "Prince! What do you know about religion? Your work is to take pleasure with elephants and horses. It is ascetics like us w the essence of religion. Can you tell me which living being is burning in this fire?” The prince ordered his attendants to remove a burning log of wood from the ritual fire and carefully tore it open when a burning snake emerged. Seeing the snake suffer in pain P r van tha recited the navak ra mantra and made the snake observe paccakh a to free them from cruel and inauspicious meditation, thereby enablingthe snake complete his life in pure feeling. The snake died and was born as Indra called Dhara endra in the realm of serpent-gods. The people present there started praising freely the knowledge and sense of discrimination of Pr van tha. The ascetic's respect declined. He was filled with envy for Pr vakum ra. In the end, completing his time in ignorant penance, he became a god named Megham 1 among the demon princes.
Detachment and Initiation
There are three categories of people who gained knowledge in this world – self-taught / knowing, taught / instructed by others and taught by the enlightened. T rthamkara are counted among the self-knowing / selftaught. They do not become detached gaining knowledge from anyone else. P r van tha was detached till 30 years, despite staying as a householder; he did not become attached to it. Considering the karma of enjoyments to be diminishing and decaying, P r va decided to accept self-restraint and as per norms the lok ntika gods requested him to propound the religious t rtha. Accordingly, P r van tha donated gold coins for a year and on the eleventh day of the dark fortnight of Pau a month at the ramapada mountain in Varanasi, amidst a huge gathering of people, under the A oka tree, removed all his clothes and ornaments on his own and five fistfuls of hair and with a three-day fast without water, under the Vi kh constellation, became a monk along with 300 others, and at that very moment he obtained the fourth type of knowledge namely telepathy (manah paryavaj na).The next day, leaving
ramapada he reached Kopaka aka where he broke his fast at the
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householder Dhanya's house with rice pudding. The gods showered five auspicious things expressing the glory of Giving / charity. c rya Gu abhadra in his Uttarapura mentions the fast-breaking as having occurred at the house of Dhanya, the king of Gulmakhe a. Padmak rti mentions his being initiated with eight fasts, instead of the a amatapa fast, which is noteworthy.
After taking initiation the Lord decided that during his mendicancy period at eth time penance he will remain in meditation and in this time he shall not have any attachment to his body and shall bear with all calamites.
Spiritual endeavour and calamities
Leaving Varanasi the Lord reached ivapur city and as per his resolve, stood in meditation in Kau mba forest. There, reminded of his past birth, Dhara endra arrived and to protect him from the sun, made an umbrella over him. Since then that place became known as 'Ahicchatra'. Again, wandering, the Lord reached a hermitage. Since it was evening he stood there under a Banyan tree in relaxation (k yotsarga) posture. Suddenly, Kama ha, cognizing through his knowledge of the Lord standing in k yotsarga posture, appeared in the form of Megham 1 demon to take revenge. With lot of anger remembering his past life, he gave the Lord all kinds of pain taking the forms of a lion, tiger, elephant, poisonous snake, scorpion and snake. Then he tried to frighten the Lord taking the form of a fearsome ghoul. But Lord P r van tha remained unshaken like a mountain. Seeing his deeds failing, Megham 1 started torrential rains through the power of his vaikriyalabdhi. It started to rain with thunder and lightning. Scared, the creatures of the forest started running helter-skelter. The entire forest was filled with water. The water level rose and covered the Lord's knees, waist, and then his neck and started to reach nose, but P r van tha's meditation was not disturbed. The Lord's body was about to drown in water when Dhara endra's throne shook. Through his clairvoyance he saw P r van tha's condition and created a lotus with a long stalk and making a seven-hooded serpent umbrella over his head protecting him from water beneath and rains above.
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Having a detached attitude, Lord Pr van tha showed equanimity towards both Kama ha asura's creation of calamities as well as Dhara endra's devotion. But understanding Megham 1, Dhara endra said - "Oh fool! Who are you trying to cause pain to with your calamities? Disrespecting and disrupting the peace of such a great soul is as painful as stamping on fire. He will not be affected at all; instead, your feet will burn. You will be destroyed. The Lord himself is an epitome of compassion, he will not do anything, and will bear it all peacefully, but I cannot remain peaceful too long." Megham l was scared on hearing Dhara endra's words. He also experienced the Lord's endless forbearance and immediately gathered up all illusory tricks. He begged forgiveness at P r van tha's feet and went back to his place. Dhara endra prayed to the Lord and moved towards his place. Gaining victory over the calamities, the Lord continued to observe penance. Moving around many places, Lord P r van tha reached ramapada garden in Varanasi and completed 83 nights as a mendicant.
Omniscience and Sermon
Lord P r van tha's mendicancy time-period was of 83 days. On the 84 h day, he stood in meditation observing a fast(a amatapa) in ramapada garden under the Gh tak tree. He conquered all the obscuring karmas by destroying his deluding karma in the second stage of deep meditation and became omniscient. The day he attained omniscience it was the fourth day of the dark fortnight of the Caitra month with moon conjunct with the constellation Vi kh. Gods and Indras expressed delight over the attainment of omniscience of Lord P r van tha and created the holy congregation (samava ara a).
In his first sermon the Lord said – “Life is empty and meaningless without religion. Hence practise religion. Breaking of bondage and the bondage of karma is only possible by following the spiritual path. The path to liberation from the bondage is right knowledge, right belief and right conduct, which is two kinds – the ruta and caritra (scripture and practice / conduct). The right conduct is of two kinds that of the householder and of the mendicant. To observe these as per one's capability and gaining the ultimate truth is the ultimate and essential objective of humankind.”
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The Lord's first sermon was very effective. Hearing the Lord's speech, king A vasena became detached and leaving his kingdom to his son, became a mendicant. Queen V m dev and Prabh vat and many other women too accepted initiation. Vaidika scholars like ubhadatta, too, became initiates with the Lord and obtaining the tripad knowledge from the Lord they got to know the fourteen p rvas and became ga adharas. This way the Lord established the four-fold order and became a T rthamkara.
P r va's principal disciples (Ga adharas)
The'r P san ha Cariyam' gives the following description of Lord Pr van tha's ga adharas:
1.
ubhadatta: He was the first ga adharas of Lord P r van tha. He was the resident of K emapur city. His father's name was Dhanya and mother's name was Ll vat. He became a r vaka under monk Sambh ta. After the death of his parents he became disinclined. He heard the sermon of Lord Pr van tha at
ramapada garden at the 1" samava ara a and became a mendicant and the first Ga adhara.
ryagho a: He was P r van tha's second Ga adhara. He was a resident of R jag ha and a minister's son. He was also present at the Lord's first samava ara a and after being initiated, became the second Ga adhara. Va i ha: He was the Lord's third Ga adhara. He was the son of the king Mahendra of Kampilapura. He came to the Lord's first samava ara a and being initiated there, became the third Ga adhara.
ryabrahma: ryabrahma was the son of the Surapura king Kanakaketu. His mother's name was ntimat. Hearing about the Lord's omniscience he came there and listening to the sermon, became a mendicant and the fourth Ga adhara. Soma: Soma was the son of king of K itiprati hita, Mah dhara and queen Revat . His wife's name was Campakam 1 . He also had a son who died at the age of four. His wife was sick, too and died. After these two deaths he became detached. Inspired by the Lord's discourse he accepted the path of restraint and became the fifth Ga adhara.
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rya r dhara: He was P r van tha's sixth Ga adhara. His father's name was N gabala and mother's name was Mah sundar. He got married to king Prasenajita's daughter R jamat . Remembering his past birth and the untimely death of his younger brother became the prime reasons for his taking initiation. V risena: The seventh Ga adhara of Lord Pr van tha, V risena was the resident of Mithil. Ya odhar and Namir j were his parents. His values of the past birth were so strong that since his childhood his mind was attracted towards mendicancy. With the permission of his parents he went to Lord P r van tha's samava ara a with other prince friends of his and impressed by the sermon, took initiation and became a Ga adhara. Bhadraya a: Bhadraya a was the eighth Ga adhara of The Lord. His father was Samarasimha and mother Padm. In a garden named Mattakumja he saw a man wrapped in pointed nails. When Bhadraya a removed the nails from his body he got to know that his brother had done this on account of a past life's enmity. Seeing the selfishness of this world his mind became detached from the world. With many of his friends he accepted initiation from Lord P r van tha and became a Ga adhara. Jaya and Vijaya: Both of them were residents of r vast and were brothers. Both loved each other. Once they dreamt that they have a very short life. Feeling disenchanted with life, they came to the Lord to accept mendicancy and taking initiation, became ga adharas.
va yakaniryukti and Tiloyapa att mention these ten ga adharas, whereas Samav y mga and KalpaS tra mention only eight ga adharas of
r van tha. Clarifying this difference the commentator of KalpaS tra, Vinaya Vijaya has written that Jaya-Vijaya were two ga adharas of short life-spans hence mentioning only eight ga adharas is considered correct.
P r van tha's C tury ma Religion
The initiation that Lord P r van tha gave into the religion based on scripture and conduct aiming at sincere and prudent people is known as C tury ma-dharma or four fold vows. Yama means supressing - to put an end to the bondage of soul through four ways, that is to say, to keep it restrained and orderly is the essence of C tury ma-dharma. These four
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yamas were in the form of vows forever, viz: 1 To give up all kinds of violence, 2 To give up falsehood and untruth, 3 Not to accept that is not given i.e. stealing, 4 To sacrifice, renounce. In these four vows there is no place for brahmacarya (celibacy). The reason being, that Pr van tha's ascetics were well aware, hence considering a woman to be part of the renouncing act, they used to consider woman to be inferred when speaking of renunciation (parigraha) as bahiddh d na means giving (up) of an external object.
This C tury ma-dharma emerged long before the Vedas and Upani adas in the rama atradition. Scholar in history Dharm nanda Kau mb too accepts this.
Wandering and propagation of Religion
There is no clear reference as to which places Lord P r van tha visited after attaining omniscience and where did he stay during the rainy season halts (c turm sa) but based on available historical material it is believed that he traveled from K -Kau ala up to Nepal. South Karnataka, Komka a, Pallava and Dravida, etc, at that time were considered as non
rya regions; however P r van tha and the rama a monks of his time had gone there too. kyabh mi was part of Nepal; P r va's followers were present there too. The great Buddha's uncle was himself a follower of P r van tha which was only possible if the Lord had wandered in the
kya land. Lord Pr van tha wandered across several regions for around 70 years and propagated Jain religion. In Ramch and M nabh mi districts of Bih ra thousands of people worship P r van even today and are termed ‘sar ka' (r vaka) and consider him their cultgod. It has been proved through research that once P r van tha walked from T mralipti to 'Kopa aka'. Because he accepted food there it became known as 'Dhanyaka aka’. This belief is still intact in these places.
The Historicity of Lord P r van tha
Based on historical facts, it had been established that Lord P r van tha was a historical person without doubt. Not just Jain literature but Buddhist literature too proves the historicity of Lord P r van tha. Proving the existence of a nirgrantha tradition prior to the Buddha, based on Buddhist literary sources, Dr. Hermann Jacobi writes that the
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Buddhist extensively refer to nirgranthas in their literature, even in the Tripi akas. From that it can be deduced that the Buddhist considered the nirgrantha tradition as a significant one. In the Mah simhan da S tra in Majjhima-nik ya, describing his severe penance the Buddha refers to four kinds of penance. These four are also part of the nirgrantha tradition. Lord Mah v ra too followed them and it was essential for other nirgranthas to follow them as well. Aj ta atru in the D rgha-nik ya refers to Lord Mah v ra and his disciples as followers of the C tury ma. From the point of view of Jain literature it is totally confirmed that Lord Mah v ra's and his disciples tradition was that of the five major vows (mah vratas) and calling them as C tury ma indicates that the Buddhist bhik us were aware of the tradition of Pr van tha and considered Mah v ra's tradition similar. The C tury ma tradition prior to the Buddha is the legacy of Lord P r van tha. This proves P r van tha's historicity before the Buddha. The rya mgika m rga propounded by Bodhisatva also includes parts of the C tury ma, which is a rama a tradition.
The Congregation of P r van tha
The following were part of Lord P r van tha's congregation: 8 ga adharas including ubhadatta and 8 ga as, 1000 omniscient, 750 having knowledge of mental modes (manah paryavaj n), 1400 with clairvoyant knowledge (avadhij n), 350 fourteen p rvadharas, 600 debaters of philosophy (v d), 1200 anuttarop tika monks, 16000 monks, including ryadinna, etc, 38000 female monks including Pu pac 1 , etc, 164000 votaries including Sunanda and 327000 female votaries including Nandin , etc. 1000 monks gained enlightenment in Lord Pr van tha's period. Apart from this, crores of men and women became the Lord's devotees with right perception.
Liberation (Parinirva)
After wandering as an omniscient for a little less than 70 years, the Lord sensed the end of his life-span. So he went to Sammeta ikhara from Varanasi through malakapp and observing fast for a month along with 33 monks, went into the third and fourth stages of pure meditation ( ukla-dhy na). Then he became enlightened, emancipated and liberated on the 8th day of the bright fortnight of rava a month when moon was conjunct with the Vi kh constellation.
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The rama a Tradition and P r van tha
The rama a tradition is a very ancient Indian tradition. Ones who observe penance from mind and senses are called rama as. The Jain
rama as - Nirgranthas, kya, T pasa, Geru and j vaka. The Jain rama as are called nirgranthas. The foundation of the rama a tradition was laid in the time of Vabhan tha. The term rama a is used in texts like V had ra yaka Upani ada, V lm ki R m ya a and r madbh gavata, etc. The Tripi akas mention the word nirgrantha at various places. This goes to show that the
rgrantha tradition was prevalent even before the time of the Buddha. In the Anuttara-nik ya kya named 'Bappa' is referred to as a nirgrantha votary; he was the Buddha's paternal uncle. This shows that before the Buddha's time there was propagation of the nirgrantha religion in the
kya country. The Buddha was a contemporary of Mah v ra; hence it is proved that the propagation of the nirgrantha religion happened in the time of the predecessor T rthamkara of Mah v ra, P r van tha. Actually, the nirgrantha religion started even before P r van tha's time. There is no basis for considering P r van tha to be the founder of the Jain religion. Lord V abhan tha is considered by all Jains to be the first T rthamkara and founder of Jain religion of the present time cycle which means there must be some historical basis and proof for this. Dr. Radhakrishnan too opined that the Jain religion had existed long before Varddham na Mah v ra and P r van tha.
The Widespread impact of Lord P r van tha
The three streams of compassion, sweetness and peace used to flow in the speech of Lord Pr van tha. Asceticism as the tradition of was prevalent in his time; but common people thought of asceticism as inflicting pain to the body. With his knowledge and detached teachings the Lord showed people the true form of asceticism. The teachings of famous sages of the time such as Pippal da, Bh radv ja, Naciket , Ajita Ke akambata, etc reflect the teachings of the Lord. The influence of Pr va's teachings seemed to have spread even in other countries outside India. Among these the Greek philosopher Pythagoras may be mentioned, who used to believe in rebirth of the soul and the karma principle. He used to speak against flesh eating and used to consider many vegetables inedible.
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From the life-story of the Buddha it may be stated that he was deeply influenced by the thoughts and conduct of P r va. Buddha's paternal uncle was also a follower of P r van tha. The C tury ma idea of the nirgranthas seems to have had an influence on Buddha himself, because later on he founded his a mikga m rga (the eightfold path) which includes C tury ma. It is said that not only was there an impact of the Jain religion on Buddha's thoughts but after becoming a mendicant he spent six years of his life as a Jain monk. P r van tha's speech and teachings influenced many kings and royal families of his time. There were many royal families in P r van tha's time where he was considered their family deity. Most v rtya k atriyas of central and eastern regions were followers of the Jain religion. At that time in many parts of the country, especially in southern India strong N ga clans emerged who had Pr van tha as their cult deity. Among the powerful Vajj ga a of Videha and Vai 1, too, the religion of P r van tha was popular. It is said that the king of Kalimga and P mc la were also influenced by the teachings of P r van tha.
Pr van tha's disciples in Jyotirma dala
In the Niray valik S tra, in the first and second chapters of the third section named Pu pit , there is, respectively, description of Indra, moon and sun of the astrologers and that of planets such as ukra,etc, which is as follows:
Once when Lord Mah v ra was staying at a garden named Gu a laka in R jag ha, the Indra of Jyotirmaņdala, 'Candra' (moon) came to see the Lord at his samava ara a. In order to make an impression of the Jina order he made groups of gods and goddesses to appear there through his celestial power of vaikriyalabdhi and also presented many beautiful and attractive shows there in front of the four-fold order to impress them, and returned to his place. The Ga adhara Gautama asked Mah v ra – “Lord! Who was this god Candra in his past life and how did he obtain these powers?”
Mah v ra replied – “Long ago there was a g th pati named Amgati in
r vast city who was wealthy and respected by kings and subjects alike. Once, Lord P r van tha came to r vast . Amgati too went to the Lord's samava ara a along with a huge group of people and listening to the
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Lord's sermon, became disenchanted with the world and became a mendicant. Amgati observed severe penance. He completely followed the basic tenets of restraint but accepted impure food and water and did not repent doing so. Thus in the end, completing his life with a fast of 15 days, he became the Indra of Jyotirmaņdala. He has got these attributes on account of his penance and restraint.” On being asked by Gautama Ga adhara the Lord further said – “When he completes his time, Candra will be born in Mah Videha and shall become emancipated, enlightened and liberated."
Similarly, once when Lord Mah v ra arrived at the Gu a laka caitya (hall with auspicious emblems) in R jag ha, S rya too came to the Lord's samava ara a. S rya too showed extraordinary spectacles and returned to his abode. When Ga adhara Gautama questioned about Surya's past life, the Lord said – “The g th patiof r vast , Suprati ha, was a wealthy, magnanimous and respected and famous person. He went to the sermon of Lord P r van tha and took initiation. He too did severe penance, followed the basic virtues fully, but neglected the secondary virtues and did not repent and completing his life observing pious death code (samlekhan ), became the god S rya. After completing his life in the realm of gods he will be born in Mah Videha and shall become enlightened observing austerities.
In the same way, god ukra too came for the Lord's samava ara a and showing awesome spectacles through his vaikriyalabdhi, saluting the Lord, returned to his abode. Sensing Ga adhara Gautama's curiosity, Mah v ra said – “In his past life he was a learned Vaidika scholar, Brahmin Somila who used to live in Varanasi. When Lord P r van tha came to Varanasi's mra la forest, Somil too went there. He asked the Lord many questions and happy with their answers, became a votary (r vaka) of the Lord. In time, on account of seeing a false monk and emergence of falsehood (mithy ) the thought occurred to him that if numerous gardens were made it would be good and he made many gardens. Then philosophical thinking led him to a strong feeling of becoming an ascetic. Handing over the family's responsibilities to his eldest son, he renounced. As an ascetic Somila started observing many fasts and started wandering, regularly facing the sun in penance. While
up one night a thought occurred to him to move towards the
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north; to locking his mouth in wooden ring to remain silent and go on walking and wherever he was tired or fall, to remain there.
As per the resolve, early in the morning he started northwards and reached under an A oka tree by afternoon. He put his wooden waterpot down, and after ablutions, etc, became silent again locking his mouth in wooden ring. In the middle of the night some god told him – "Somila, your penance is not right.” But Somila paid no attention. The god repeated the same statement twice or thrice and went away. Somila continued to walk northwards. In the afternoon he would rest under the shade of a tree and in the night stand silent by locking his mouth in awooden ring. Again the same god would appear and say - "Somila, your asceticism is not correct.” When Somila would remain silent, paying no attention, the god would go away. On the fifth day Somila completed his daily ablutions and stood silent as before under a wild fig tree. In the night the god repeated the same words. When he said it a third time, Somila broke his silence and said - "Dear god! What is lacking in my asceticism?”
The god said – “Somila, you had accepted the votary conduct of 12 vows under arihanta P r va. Giving that up, you have become a mendicant, this is incorrect asceticism. If you again accept the 12 vows of a votary your mendicancy will turn unto a good mendicancy.” The god left. As per the god's words, Somila again accepted the votary conduct and started moving about observing different kinds of fasts. In the end, affecting his soul with samlekhan of 15 days, without being critical of the past bad deeds, completing his life span, he became the great planet god ukra. Because of severe penance and observing the rama a tradition, he attained these accomplishments. When he completes his term as a god he will be born in Mah Videha and becoming a mendicant, shall destroy all his karmas and attain nirva.”
Somila keeping his mouth tied up in wooden ring and observe silence calls for analysis and some research. There is no other religion except Jainism which has the practice of keeping the mouth covered. Reference in Niray valik to Somila keeping his mouth tied up proves that in
nt times in non-Jain traditions too, there was the practice of tying up (covering) the mouth and that even in P r van tha's time there was the
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practice of covering up the mouth or else the god would have advised Somila to stop that practice.
Female-monk in the form of Goddess Bahuputrik of
P r van tha's congregation
goddess in the
Following is the description in relation to Bahuputrik Niray valik S tra's third section and fourth chapter:
The prosperous goddess of Saudharma kalpa, Bahuputrik , came to the samava ara a of Lord Mah v ra in Gu a ilaka garden in R jag ha city. After listening to the sermon, saluting the Lord, that goddess produced an amazing spectacle spreading her right hand and producing 108 young gods and by spreading her left hand and bringing forth 108 young boys and girls of different age-groups. Then she left to her place. Ga adhara Gautama asked Lord Mah v ra – "Lord, who is this goddess? What was she in her past life and how did she get such accomplishments?” The Lord said – “An exceedingly prosperous caravaneer named Bhadra used to reside in Varanasi. His wife Subhadr was very beautiful and chaste but she had no children. She used to waste herself in sorrow and worry, considering herself unfortunate on being childless. One day, a mendicant disciple of Lord P r va, ry Suvrat came to Subhadr 's house along with other female-monks in the course of seeking food offerings. Subhadr gave them respect and looked after them and sought their help telling them of her being childless. The ry said - "goddess, we are not even allowed to think on those matters, but if you wish we can tell you about the religion of detachment which ends all sorrows." When Subhadr agreed the ry , explaining to her the vexation with worldly enjoyments, told her of the importance of the path of renunciation."
"Subhadr felt very happy. She became a female-votary and later a female-monk. After becoming a female-monk the ry Subhadr would play with people's children and this way satisfy her desire for children. Female monk Suvrat explained to her that her behaviour was against the conduct of female-monks, but her behaviour did not change, and in the end she left for another place. There, independently being lax, she observed the mendicant's conduct and in the end observed samlekhan for a month and a half and completing her life, became goddess Bahuputrik in the Saudharma kalpa.
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In response to Gautama's question the Lord further said that “after leaving Saudharmakalpa Bahuputrik will be born as a Brahmin's daughter Som in the surrounding areas of Vimala in Bh rata. She will be married to her maternal uncle's son, R raka. From R rak a she will beget twins every year and for 16 years she will become the mother of 32 children. Bringing them up, listening to their wails and cries, she will consider herself unfortunate. In time, she will go to a female-monk named Suvrat and renouncing, shall observe severe penance and after one month of samlekhan , completing her life, will become a god like
akra, Indra, etc. After completing her time in the abode of gods she will be born as a human being and, observing penance and austerities, will attain nirva."
Some female-monks of Lord P r van tha
Based on references in Niray valik and Jt dharma Stras we get to know that, influenced by the teachings of Lord P r van tha, at different times, 216 old and decrepit unmarried women took initiation by the Lord. These accounts tell us about the impact of Lord P r van tha on the social situation and his popularity, and the reasons for the use of the adjective “Puru d n ya” with his name become clear. Hence those accounts are presented here in brief. There are totally 10 chapters in the fourth section of Niray valik called Pu pac lik .
In the first chapter there is a description of r dev , that once goddess
r dev also went to the samava ara a of the Lord Mah v ra in Gu a ilaka garden of R jag ha:saluting the Lord, she presented an extremely charming and excellent dance through her high quality vaikriyalabdhi. After she left, in response to Ga adhara Gautama's curiosity, the Lord, giving her past life introduction, said – “A prosperous g th pati named Sudar ana used to live in R jag, ha city when Jita atru ruled there. His wife's name was Priy and his only daughter was named Bht. Bht could not get married and she became old and decrepit. Once Puru d n ya, or arihanta P r van tha arrived in Rājagrha. Taking permission from her parents Bh t too went to the Lord's samava ara a. Becoming disinterested in worldly affairs after hearing the Lord's sermon she sought permission from her parents to take initiation. Happily g th pati organised the initiation ceremony and went to the Lord to present his daughter as his disciple. On acceptance by
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the Lord, Bh t removed her ornaments and went to female-monk Pu pac 1 to be initiated as a female monk. After becoming a monk Bh t became a ar rab ku ik (taking special care of purifying and cleaning the external body). Female monk Pu pac 1 explained to her that this conduct is inappropriate for a female-monk, but Bh t did not listen to her and instead went to be alone to a different place. Continuing her conduct as before, she affected her soul through various kinds of penance and in the end completing her life in samlekhan , without being critical of her laxity, she became a goddess in Saudharmakalpa's r Avatamsaka vim na and obtained this prosperity. After completing one
pama years in the realm of gods she will be born in Mah Videha and shall become enlightened, emancipated and liberated.
There are descriptions similar to that of r dev , of nine other goddesses such as Dh , K rti, Buddhi, Lak m , Il dev , Sur dev , Rasadev and Gandhadev in the remaining nine chapters.
In the same way in the tenth section of the second rutaskandha of Jt dharma S tra there is description of 206 old and decrepit unmarried women being initiated by the Lord P r van tha. In the first section there are stories of five foremost queens, including K 1 dev , of Camarendra. At first K 1 dev paid respect to Lord Mah v ra, seeing him seated at R jag ha, and just like S ry bha showed a dance performance with her gods and goddesses using her vaikriyalabdhi and returned to her place. When Ga adhara Gautama asked the Lord, he gave her past life story, saying that in a city named malakalp the g th pati K la and his wife K la r gave birth to a daughter, K 1. She remained unmarried till old age; hence she was called an old-old calibate woman, or Junn - Junn kum r. When Lord P r van tha arrived in malakalp , K 1 went for the samava ara a and hearing his sermon, became detached with the world. With her parents' permission, she renounced and she was sent to female monk Pu pac 1 as a disciple. Female monk K 1, while studying the eleven Amgas, and purifying her soul through various austerities, wandered about, but she used to pay special attention to her bodily cleanliness and cleanliness of the place she would stay at. Pu pac 1 told her this was inappropriate for a monk, but she paid no attention and went to a separate place to be on her own and wander. Observing the vows for years, completing her life through samlekhan of a fortnight, she became one of the foremost queens, K 1 of Camarendra, in Camaracamc capital.
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After leaving Camaracamc , she will be born in Mah videha and attain liberation. The remaining four, R tri, Rajan, Vidyuta and Medh goddesses mentioned in this section were also daughters of laity. They did not get married till a very old age. Feeling disenchanted with the world after hearing the sermon of Lord Pr van tha, they became female-monks, observed various kinds of austerities and fasts and because of their lax behaviour they stayed independently and in the end after samlekhan became foremost queens of Camarendra. They will complete their time and be born in Mah Videha and shall attain liberation.
In the second section of the second rutaskandha gives five foremost queens - umbh, Ni umbh , Rambh, Nirambh and Bhadat of Bal ndra who were were unmarried daughters same names of five laity gth pati copules in S vatth city. In the third section, six each foremost queens of nine Dak i endras for a total of 54 foremost queens were unmarried daughters of nine lay-laity g th pati couples of similar names in Varanasi in their past lives. And, taking initiation from the Lord Pr van thaa became a part of the female monk-order. They remained unmarried all their lives and on the arrival of Lord P r van tha in Camp city, took initiation under the female monk Suvrat . They practised restrain for many years observing fasts, etc and in the end through samlekhan they completed their lives and became the foremost queens of Uttarendras. There is a description of the 32 foremost princesses of Vyamtarendras in the fifth section. These 32 were daughters of laity of Ngapura, who remained unmarried, in their past lives. When they became old Lord P r van tha arrived at N gapura. They too reached the samava ara a and became female-monks under female-monk Suvrat. They practised restraint for many years, observed severe penance, but due to laxity in conduct without repenting it completed their life in samlekhan and became queens of Dak i endras. In the sixth section we find accounts of the 32 goddesses of Vyamtaras who in their past lives were daughters of laity in S ketapura who also took initiation inspired by the sermon of Lord P r van tha. Observing austerities for many years, due to laxity on conduct, they wandered alone without being critical of their laxity, and completing their life-span with samlekhan , became the foremost queens of 32 Uttarendras including Mah k la, etc. In the seventh section there is reference to four queens of Surya who in their past lives were daughters of the laity of rakkhapur . In the eighth
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section is a description of four queens of Candra who in their past lives were daughters of laity of Mathur. In the ninth section are accounts of eight foremost queens of Saudharma Indras who were daughters in their past lives of the laity of Hastin pura, Kampilapura and S ketapura. In the tenth section there is description of eight foremost queens of na Indras who were daughters of the lay-couples of Varanasi, R jag ha and Kau mb. In this way, all the 201 goddesses described in sections two up to the tenth were in their respective past lives unmarried for life, and in very old age they all became female-monks taking initiation from Lord P r van tha, inspired by his sermon. Having gained knowledge of the eleven Amgas, they observed many kinds of penance, yet because of laxity on conduct, became independent of the female-monk order, wandering about, and in the end completed their life-spans observing samlekhan and became queens of the Indras, S rya, Candra, etc.
Lord P r van tha's Indelible Influence
Although there may be similarity among T rthamkara in terms of their knowledge, renunciation, and other qualities of the soul, it is possible that perhaps there was something special about Lord P r van tha considering his popularity. We find form the Jain stutis, stotras, mantras, etc that among the 24 T rthamkara, the number of stutis available in connection with Lord P r van tha are not available for the other T rthamkaras. Based on the poetry literature (k vyas, mah k vyas), stotras, life-stories of Lord P r van tha, filled with feelings of devotion and glorification written by various scholars and great men found in various volumes; and on the grand artistic symbols, huge temples, etc, we can say that the religious minded Jain community has always shown devotion and grateful to him. In the scriptures ( gamas) we find use of the adjective arah' for many T rthamkara, such as 'Mall arah, 'Nemiarah, etc, but when Pr van tha is introduced the term ‘Puru d n ya' is used. “Puru d n ya' means respected among men. This goes to prove that even in the time of the gamas there was special significance attached to Lord P r van tha for him to be introduced as
Puru d n ya'. In the same way as the term 'Sama ebhagavam Mah v re' is used with Mah v ra on account of his special kinds of pe nance, there must certainly be a significant reason for using the term 'Puru d n ya' with P r van tha.
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One of the main reasons for this seems to be the impact of Lord Pr van tha on the former lives of the 220 gods and goddesses. A large gathering of people from various places at Lord Mah v ra's samava ara a watched for real the prosperous display of spectacles by those gods and goddess and, hearing the description of their past lives from the knower of the three time cycles, Lord Mah v ra, they understood that all of them were part of the entourage of Lord Pr van tha, which must certainly have caused them to feel tremendous devotion and undying faith in Lord P r van tha.
We find out from the accounts of these old unmarried women that certain circumstances of the time made it difficult for women from even prosperous families to find suitable grooms and turning their insipid and hopeless lives towards the firm path of spiritual practices the Lord indeed gave a respite to the society. Those unmarried old women definitely attained godly prosperity by the grace of P r van tha. The society of that time, knowing all this, must have certainly become indebted and devoted to him.
In his childhood the Lord helped Prasenajita and liberated the An rya king of Kalimga who took refuge in the Lord and got inspired by his teachings. After attaining omniscience the Lord wandered to An rya place as well and made innumerable people in these places part of his religious order. It seems it is because of these specialties and reasons that Lord P r van tha became influential, popular and respected among people of both An rya and rya regions and came to be called 'Puru d n ya'.
The c rya tradition under Lord P r van tha
According to general norms, in the time period between the time-period of niry a of one T rthamkara and rejuvenating of the religious order by another T rthamkara, the previous T rthamkara's religious order and
c rya tradition continues. There were numerous c ryas even before the 23'T rthamkara but there being no substantive information regarding them they have not been highlighted. But there is substantive information available regarding the c ryas of Lord P r van tha. Prior to the timeperiod of Lord Mah v ra, there is only an interval of 250 years. According to Kalpas tra until the time of the fourth epochal person (c rya) after liberation of Lord P r van tha, all c ryas are believed to
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have attained liberation. Hence historically speaking it is important and apt to mention that crya tradition. Based on the Upake agaccha Carit val, Lord Pr van tha tradition's crya lineage is described below:
rya ubhadatta: rya ubhadatta was the Lord's first principal disciple (pa dhara Ga adhara). He graced the status of crya for 24 years after the nirva of the Lord and managing the fourfold order with great skill, gave religious discourses. Thereafter, appointing rya Haridatta as his successor, he attained liberation.
rya Haridatta: Before becoming the second pa dhara of Lord Pr van tha tradition, Haridatta was earlier the leader of 500 dacoits. Once Ga adhara ubhadatta had to stay at a forest along with his 500 disciples. At that time, Haridatta reached there with the aim of looting them with his 500 associates. Here, instead of wealth, Haridatta and his friends gained religious sermon from the monk, inspired by which he immediately became his disciple along with all his friends and in future he himself became a leader of monks and a leader of religion. On account of his sharp intellect he began to be rated among the best scholars of the eleven Amgas. c rya Haridatta propagated the religion for 70 years and appointing SamudraS ri his successor, became eligible for nirv a in P r va nirv a samvata 94. c rya Haridatta was a highly influential c rya of his time. He defeated in religious debate at a royal hall Lauhity c rya, the fanatic supporter and propagator of the opinion that violence in Vaidika religion is not violence and established the dictum "ahims paramo dharma" (non-violence is the supreme religion). Lauhity c rya took initiation along with his one thousand disciples and with his permission propagated the religion of ahims in the south.
rya SamudraS ri: rya SamudraS ri became the third pontiff (pa adhara) c rya of Lord Pr van tha tradition. He gave service to the Jina order from P r va-samvata 94 to 166. He was a knower of the fourteen P rvas and a staunch opponent of the violence incurred in sacrificial rituals. One of his disciples, Vide muni once reached Ujjayin . Vide muni was a true follower of rya SamudraS ri and an excellent scholar. It is said that on account of Vide muni's religious discourse the king of
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Ujjayin took initiation into the rama a order along with his wife and son Ke . The young monk Ke not only had the knowledge of his past life but was also well-versed in scriptures. In time, he defeated the propagator of sacrificial rituals, Mukumda c rya in a religious debate. Sensing his last day's
c rya SamudraS ri gave the c rya position to Ke and attained nirva destroying all his karmas in P r va-samvata 166.
rya Ke rama a: The fourth epochal- c rya of Lord Pr van tha's tradition was rya Kerama a. rya Ke rama a was a young monk who held the knowledge of the fourteen p rvas, and of four types of knowledge completely (i.e. mati, ruti and avadhij na and manah paryavaj na). With great competence he brought together the rama a order and made them firm and sent monks in Obatches of five each under the leadership of scholar monks in different far-flung places and he himself stayed in Madhya Prade a with one thousand monks while propagating and propounding the Jain religion. He was
c rya from P r va-samvata 166 to 250, i.e. 84 years and in the end making Svayamprabha Sri his successor, attained liberation.
Through his religious teachings he converted king Prade of vet mbik from a firm atheist to a believer. As a result king Prade accepted the lay-person's conduct and setting aside one-fourth of his kingdom's wealth for charities, giving up worldly pleasures, got immersed in observing cha habhakta fasts. Seeing her husband's disinclination towards kingly duties queen S rik nt desired to make her son the king and on the day of her husband's fast breaking, gave him poisonous food. The moment Prade felt the effects of the poison he learnt of all this but without any resistance or ill-feelings, giving up his life in meditation, became a god S ry bha in Saudharma-kalpa with extraordinary powers.
We find two monks by name Ke in the scriptures. One is Ke rama a who gave a religious teaching to king Prade and the other, Ke kum ra, who accepted the five mah vratas of the C tury ma tradition in r vatth city, after the debate with Gautama the second Ga adhara.This question is open to debate as to who was the fourth epochal- c rya of Lord Pr van tha's traditioon? c rya RajendraS ri gives an introduction to
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Kerama a in two places in his Abhidh na Rjendra Ko a, but has expressed both Ke s to be one and the same while mentioning the debate of Ke rama a with Ga adhara Gautama. The same is the case with Upake agaccha Pa val and the Gujart text, “History of the Jain Traditions'. It is a different matter that some people consider him the son of king JayaSena and some consider him the son of a nirgrantha. As against this, in the text 'History of P r van tha's Tradition', there are no two separate introductions to both of them but there is acceptance of the two being different people.
The fact is that crya Ke and Ke kum ra are two separate people. The fourth pa adhara of Lord P r van tha, crya Ke, who is considered the preceptor of the king Prade, existed in the time period Prva nirva samvata 166 to 250, until the time of Mah v ra's mendicancy, according to the Upake agaccha Pa val . In contrast, the debate between Ke kum ra rama aof r vast city happens 15 years after Mah v ra became an omniscient; hence the two are different people. Further, the Ke who gave a religious discourse to king Prade is said to possess four kinds of knowledge, whereas the Ke who had a debate with Gautama in r vast is said to have possessed three kinds of knowledge. In this sense, it does not seem proper in any way to think that the possessor of four kinds of knowledge Ke rama a who was of the time of Mah v ra's mendicancy period could have met Ke, the
kinds of knowledge fifteen years after Mah v ra became an omniscient. The above facts unquestionably prove that Ke rama a crya and Ke kum ra were not one and the same but two different people. One attained nirva during the time period of P r van tha while the other attained nirva during Mah v ra's time period, after accepting the C tury ma tradition and the rama a conduct comprising the five mah vratas following the debate with Ga adhara Gautama.
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Lord r Mah v ra
The 24" and the latest Trthamkara of Jain religion, Lord Mah v ra, was a great religious leader to establish Jain doctrine. Not only this, he was also a revolutionary social reformer, symbol of world friendship, wellwisher of all living being; and a true guide showing people the expansive path towards true equality, equanimity, non-violence, truth, non-stealing, celibacy and non-attachment thereby leading the human beings in firmly following the path towards immortality. With a divine call of "savve j v vi icchamti j viumna marijjium”, (all living beings desire to live and not death) he not only taught a lesson of non-violence, compassion and love to humankind but also to animals, birds and the entire eco system. He freed countless living beings of their fear by inspiring people to protest against the condemnable custom of animal sacrifice in the name of religion in sacrificial rituals (yaj a). He not only tried to uplift humanity that had fallen into the abyss of falsity, false pride, dogmatism and casteism but through the divine light of his knowledge inspired human society, which was moving towards destruction, to walk the path of right knowledge, right belief and right conduct. Bearing with the worst calamities and ordeals with extraordinary bravery, supreme courage, unshakeable firmness, unfathomable intensity, he established an unprecedented example of perseverance, forgiveness and compassion.
Lord Mah v ra's time-period is considered as the 6" century BCE that has special significance not only in the cultural and religious history of India but of the world. This was the time when along with Mah v ra, Mah tm Buddha, taught about ahims, andstarted a religious and cultural revolution. Similarly LaoTse and Confucius in China, Pythagoras, Plato, Socrates, etc in Greece; started religious and cultural revolutions in their own regions during this period. Opposing dogmatism and blind beliefs, these great men inspired people to move in the right direction and showed them the path towards right thinking. All these people were epochal in the right sense of term and for several epochs; the extensive paths they showed will throw light on the life-paths of people. Lord Mah v ra has the highest, most important and respected place among the epochal men mentioned above.
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Condition of the country in the time of Mah v ra
250 years after Lord P r van tha Lord r Mah v ra emerged as a T rthamkara in India. At that time, the condition of the country and various societies in it had degenerated significantly. Like in the times of Prva, popular interest in austerities, restraint and religion, had declined. Pompous display in the name of religion was widespread. The rama a tradition was being oppressed continuously by the increasing influence of Brhaminical culture. Sacrifice and ritualism started being con as the only form of religion. Sacrificial fires not only used purified butter but also ahims . Violence inherent in Vaidika sacrifices was considered not violence but ahims (non-violence). Caste-order and layering of castes as high-low was rampant resulting in depriving majority of people (termed as lower caste) of socio-religious freedom and benefits. Sensitivity of the rich people towards the poor was declining. Women's condition was worse; they had no freedom and were considered as slaves.
Politically it was a chaotic period. There was no steadiness or uniformity between different kingdoms. The Licchav republic was the strongest among the republics of that time. Vai 1 was its capital and king Ce aka was the chief. Mah v ra's mother, Tri al was his sister. K and Kau ala were also part of this republic. Apart from the Licchav republic the kya republic was especially significant and had a great influence. Its capital was Kapilavastu. King uddhodhana was its chief. Gautama Buddha was his son. There were also other smaller republics such as Malla, Kola, mlakamp, Pippal vana, etc. There were also inde kingdoms such as Magadha, north Kau ala, Avanti, Kalimga, etc. There were friendly relations between these kingdoms but the conditions of the lower castes were pitiable and worrisome in all of these. The Brahmincaste were dominant, people were suffering in grief. These conditions influenced the religious atmosphere as well. People seemed less inclined towards religion. Obtaining heaven became the aim of religious practice and not liberation. The rama a order was continuously on the decline. While there were protests against sacrificial violence and propagation of ahims , substantial power and cooperation in these was found wanting. It was in these difficult circumstances that Lord Mah v ra was born to show the true path for the benefit of people.
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Past Lives of Lord Mah v ra
According to the Jain scripture, every soul has the ability to become the supreme soul. Through special deeds and conduct; some souls are born and become a T rthamkara or a Jina thereby attaining liberation (Godhood). Since liberated souls (popularly referred as God-like or Bhagay na or Siddha), being free of karmas are not born in human form again, they do not come down. Thus, it is possible for each human being to rise higher in status and ultimately attain liberation. Thus, Jain religion is not about avat ras (various forms of reincarnations of god in human form) but about rising higher (transcendence). Lord Mah v ra's soul in the past life as Nayas ra sowed seeds of good deeds and cultivating the same successively, obtained the T rthamkara status, which is described below:
Once upon a time, the village overseer Nayas ra went to collect wood from the forest. When he sat down to eat in the afternoon he saw a monk who had lost his way and come there. He gave faultless food and water to that hungry and thirsty monk and gave him correct directions. The monk too gave religious teachings to Nayas ra and told him the path to self-progress. As a result, Nayas ra obtained right belief and he limited his worldly existences. His various births are indicated below:
Birth
2nd
3rd
5th
7th
gth 9th
Heavenly being in Saudharma-kalpa Mar ci, the son of king Bharata Heavenly being in Brahmaloka Brahmin Kau ika Brahmin Pu yamitra Heavenly being Saudharma Agnidyota Heavenly being in the second kalpa BrahminAgnibh ti Heavenly being Sanatkum ra Bh rady ja Heavenly being in Mahendrakalpa Brahmin Sth vara Heavenly being in Brahmakalpa
10th
1th 12th 13th
14th
15th
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16th
17th
18th
19th
20th
21st 22nd
Prince Vi khabh ti son of Vi vabh ti Heavenly being Mah ukra Vasudeva Tripa As Trip a having accumulated bad karmas, born as a 7 hellinhabitant He was a lion A hell inhabitant in fourth hell Priyamitra (Po ila) cakravart, Heavenly being in Mah ukrakalpa King Nandana he obtained the T rthamkara gotra. Heavenly being of the Pu pottaravim na in Prata heaven According to the Samav y mgas tra, Nandana's soul entered Dev nand 's womb.
23rd 24th 25th 26th
Hari aigame (heavenly being) transferred this fetus of 26th birth from the womb of Dev nand to that of Tri al and he was born as Varddham na, which is considered his twenty-seventh birth. Thus, conception in two wombs is considered two separate births.
In the Digambara tradition, Lord Mah v ra had 33 births. Despite this, both traditions seem dissimilar in terms of number of past lives and names therein, an important fact is unanimously agreed upon that after endless cycle of births with the obtaining of right belief and through destruction of karmas Nayas ra's soul became firm on the path of rise and self progress. By binding himself to bad karmas he had to wander through several births and in the end, as Nandana with best thinking, reflection and feelings and the highest quality of sacrifice, penance, restraint, detachment, devotion he obtained the highest T rthamkara n makarma.
The Lord obtained the T rthamkara n makarma in the birth of king Nandana; that past birth is briefly described as under:
In his twenty-fourth birth Lord Mah v ra was king Nandana. The son of king Jita atru of Chatr city, Nandana renounced royal splendour inspired by the sermon of Po il c rya and took initiation and in a life of restraint for one-lakh years, he observed constant fasts, totaling eleven lakh, and sixty thousand m sa- khama a fasts. The fast-breaking time was totally three thousand three hundred and thirty three months and twenty-nine days. Because of arihanta devotion of twenty instruments he
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obtained the T rthamkara n makarma and in the end, completing his life in meditative state after two months of fast, he became a god of the Pu pottara vim na in Prata heaven.
The auspicious events (kaly akas) of Lord Mah v ra' life
The five kaly akas of Lord Mah v ra happened under the constellation Uttar f lgun . Under the Uttar f lgun constellation, leaving the tenth heaven, he entered the womb of Dev nand. It was under the same Uttar f lgun constellation that his fetus was transferred from Dev nand's womb to that of Tri al . Mah v ra was born under Uttar f lgun constellation. It was under Uttar f lgun constellation that by plucking his hair, he became a mendicant and under the same constellation, he attained pure intuition and pure knowledge together. Lord Mah v ra attained nirva under the Sy ti constellation.
Exit and entering the womb
Three time-periods ( raka) of the present avasarpi cycle had passed and approximately 76 years were remaining for the fourth raka. On the sixth day of the bright fortnight of the dha month with moon being conjunct with Uttar f lgun constellation, king Nandana's soul left tenth heaven and entered the womb of Dev nand, wife of the Brahmin abhadatta, a resident of the vicinity of Ku dapura in Videha kingdom. In a half -asleep, half -awake state Dev nand saw tl fourteen auspicious dreams. She told her husband abhadatta of these dreams. Hearing the description of the dreams abhadatta said "you will get a righteous son, who will be a scholar of Vedas when he grows up and shall be valorous and brave.” The mother started protecting her womb happily.
Stealing of the womb
When the king of god's akrendra saw the 24thT rthamkara Lord Mah v ra's soul enter the womb of the Brahmin woman, he thought – "It has been a tradition since long that T rthamkara are always born in influential, heroic clans. Yet, because of older karmas Lord Mah v ra has entered the womb of Brahmin Dev nand, which is an impossible and amazing thing. It is my duty that I transfer him to a pure clan." He duly
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instructed the god Hari aigame. Hari aigame god went to the Brahminvillage and putting Dev nand to deep sleep without giving her any trouble or pain took Mah v ra's fetus in his palm and placed him in the womb of queen Tri al thus transferring the fetus in Tri al 's womb from Dev nand 's. This way, after staying for 82 nights in Dev nand 's womb on the 13th day of the dark fortnight of A vina month, Lord Mah v ra entered the womb of Tri al.
Discussion on the transfer of womb
The event of exchange of womb, while it is amazing, is not impossible. Considering this incident debatable the Digambara tradition has given it up altogether. However, there is clear description of this in the basic S tras and tk Cr is of the vet mbara tradition. The
vet mbara c ryas believe that the stealing of the womb of T rthamkara may be an uncommon feat but not an impossible one. The 83'd sam v ya of the Samay y mga S tra describes the womb-change. In the fifth place in Sth n mgas tra there is clear description of the womb-change while mentioning the five kaly akas of Lord Mah v ra in the Uttar f lgun constellation. The Sth n mgas tra mentions ten extraordinary events, among which the womb-change occupies the second place. The ten extraordinary events are as follows"
1.
Calamities: - At the samava ara a of Lord Mah v ra Go laka turned to ashes the monk Sarv nubh ti and Sunak atra through fire and started hurling fire at the Lord. This was the first extraordinary event Womb-stealing: - Trthamkara's wombs are not transferred but Lord Mah v ra's was transferred, which is the second extraordinary event. Woman-T rthamkara:- Usually only men attain the T rthamkara status but in the present avasarpi cycle, the 19"Trthamkara Mallin tha was in the form of Mall, who was a woman. This is also an extraordinary event. An Unimpressive Council:- Usually the T rthamkara's first sermon is influential and hearing it people accept the path of restraint, but Lord Mah v ra's first sermon was unimpressive, nobody took initiation; this is also an extraordinary event
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K a's arrival at Amarakamk :- To find out about Draupad Kr a went to Amarakamk in Dhatak kha da and conversed with Vasudeva Kapila through the conch. Usually cakravarts and Vasudevas do not go outside their boundaries but K a did, which is also an extraordinary event. The Descending of Candra and S rya: - Gods like S rya, Candra, etc come to see the Lord but not in their own palaces (vim na). But in Kau mb at the samava ara a, the gods like Candra, S rya came to see the Lord Mah v ra in their own respective vim nas, which is an extraordinary event. Harivam a clan origins (the twins going to hell):- On seeing the twins Hari and Hari leading their lives happily; their past life enemy, who was a heavenly being in that life, remembered his animosity and using his powers he reduced their age and bodily stature and sent them to Camp city where people were in search of a new king. They made these two the king and queen. Because of bad company they both started indulging in bad habits and both went to hell. Twins (yugalika) do not go to hell but Hari and Hari went there which is an extraordinary event. These twins gave rise to the Harivam a clan. Rise of Camara: - The soul of ascetic P ra a was born as king of Asuras (Camarendra). He saw that above him was akrendra, of the realm of gods seated on a throne and enjoying pleasures. Out of envy, he wished to produce obstacles in the happiness of
akra. Taking refuse in Lord Mah v ra's congregation, he created havoc in Saudharma-kalpa. Angry with this akra threw a thunderbolt at him. Afraid, Camarendra fell at the Lord's feet. When akrendra learnt that Camarendra is at the Lord's feet taking refuge he came with great speed and holding his thunderbolt, saved Camarendra and forgave him. It is an extraordinary event for Camarendra to take refuge in Arihanta and go to Saudharma realm of gods. 108 monks with supreme body (avag han ) attaining liberation (Siddha) together: According to norms there should be only two Siddha as with supreme body. But there was Lord V abhan tha with 500 dhanu a avag han and 108 souls including his sons, etc who became Siddha as all at the same time. This is an extraordinary event.
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10.
Praying to the unrestrained Ones: Usually the ones practicing total self-restraintare worthy of veneration. But in the timeperiod of the ninth T rthamkara Suvidhin tha in the absence of monks and female-monks the unrestrained were offered prayers to. This is an extraordinary event.
Many things mentioned in Indian literature, such as transfer of a fetus, are considered unbelievable but in the scientific age ever new discoveries have shown these things in reality. An extraordinary event has been published in ‘I vana Vij na' (vol. 43) brought out by the Gujarat Vernaculara Society that an American doctor had to operate upon a pregnant woman's stomach. So that doctor first tore open the stomach of a pregnant goat and placed the fetus in her womb in a box powered by electricity and placed the woman's fetus into the womb of the goat. After finishing the surgery of the woman, he removed the fetus from the goat, placed it again in the woman's womb, and replaced the goat's fetus back in its womb. Later both the lamb and the human child the goat and the woman gave birth to were healthy and natural siblings.
Entry into Tri al 's womb
When Hari aigame transferred Mah v ra's soul from Dev nand 's womb to that of Tri al 's with the permission of Indra, Dev nand saw the fourteen dreams exiting from her mouth. She woke up and started to cry saying someone has stolen her womb. At the same time on the night of the thirteenth day of the A vina month with moon, being conjunct with Uttar f lgun constellation Tri la saw the fourteen auspicious dreams. The dream interpreters said – “such dreams are only seen by the mothers of T rthamkara and cakravart s. Hence queen Tri al shall beget a fortunate son who will either be a T rthamkara or a cakravart when he grows up." King Siddh rtha and queen Tri al were very happy to hear these words. Queen Tri al started taking care of her womb and completed her pregnancy period happily.
Entry into the womb and birth
Through his avadhij na (clairvoyance), the Lord saw that his mother is experiencing pain with his turning around in the womb, hence he stopped moving which made Tri al worried and thought – “perhaps my child has withered in the womb." With this news Tri al , the king and their
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family were full of sorrow. When the Lord realised this again with his clairvoyance, he resumed his movement, which made his mother happy. Seeing his mother so happy while in the womb he resolved – “as long as my parents are alive I shall not remove my hair and renounce."
The pregnancy period ended in a good atmosphere and on the thirteenth day of the bright fortnight of Caitra month during the midnight hour under Uttar f lgun constellation queen Tri al gave birth to a son. Gods showered the five auspicious things from the skies. There was an atmosphere of divine light and peace all over the world. 56 Dikkum rs (nymphs) and 64 Devendras celebrated the auspicious birth festival of the Lord. King Siddh rtha too freed the prisoners and gave charities with a free hand. All across the kingdom, people celebrated Lord's birth with great happiness and gaiety for ten days and in an atmosphere of endless happiness and fervour.
Naming Ceremony
After ten days celebration of the birth of his son; on the twelfth day king Siddh rtha called his family and friends for the naming ceremony. At that time those people said – "ever since this child entered his mother's womb we have had abundance of richness-wealth and progress by leaps and bounds. Hence the child should appropriately be named Varddham na.” People gave calls of joy. Impressed by the brave acts of his since childhood, gods named him as Mah v ra. He was also called “Sama a' as he easily gained good knowledge, gods named him Mah v ra on seeing his extraordinary bravey and on account of his practice of renunciation and difficult austerities he was called ' rama a' in the scriptures.
Birthplace and Parents
There is difference of opinion among scholars about the birthplace of Mah v ra. Some people consider Vai 1 his birthplace while some others say it is 'Ku danapura', and yet others believe it to be 'K atriyaku da'. At the same time, some people consider the Lord's birthplace as situated in Magadha and some say it was Videha. cr mga and Kalpas tra consider Mah v ra as the resident of Videha. The Digambara tradition, too, agrees with this opinion. They consider Ku dapura-K atriyakuņda as part of Videha. Monk Kaly avijaya considers Kundapura a suburb of
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Vai I whereas Vijayendras ri considers it to have been an independent city. Similarly, some use the term B rhmi aku ḍa and K atriyakuṇḍa as suburbs of Ku ḍapura. Both these place, despite being in the form of settlements, existed so close to each other, that they were considered to be near Kundapura. The ninth section of Bhagavat S tra gives a clearer picture. There we find reference to K atriyakunda towards the west of Bārhmiņakuṇḍa village and a Bahu la caitya located in the midst of the two, thus:- Once, Lord Mah v ra came to Bahu la caitya in Bārhmiņakuṇḍa. When the information reached the people of K atriyaku da they came there to pay obeisance to him. Prince Jam li too reached the Bahu la caitya in Bārhmiņakuṇḍa, passing through K atriyaku da, where Lord Mah v ra was visiting. There is reference to five hundred K atriya princes taking initiation along with him.
Actually, there is no basic difference between the two places as the northern part of Ku ḍapura is also called K atriyaku ḍa and the southern part is called Bārhmiņakuṇḍa. c r mga states that there is the vicinity of Bārhmiņakuṇḍa in the south and that of Kundapura the north in K atriyaku da. J t, meaning, K atriya used to stay in Ku ḍapura. Being a settlement of 'j t ka' the Buddhist texts called it j tigr ma. The location of 'j t ka' is between Vai 1 and Kotigr ma within Vajjide a. Vai 1 is today popular as Vaniy Vas dha in the Muzaffarpur division (Tirhut) of Bih ra. It is said that V sukunda near Vasāḍha was where ancient Ku ḍapura existed. It becomes clear form the above-mentioned evidences and historical sources that Lord Mah v ra was born in Kundapura of Vai 1 near K atriyakuṇḍa. This Ku dapura was not a suburb of Vai 1 but an independent city.
Lord Mah v ra's father was the jt, or k atriya king Siddh rtha and his mother was Tri al . Scriptures refer to Lord Mah v ra as belonging to a great royal family. Kalpas tra too says "tae am se siddhi r y ". In this context, it does not seem right that some scholars believe that Siddh rtha was not a king but a k atriya vassal or chief. The objection of Dr. Heornle and Jacobi to Siddh rtha being considered a king has only one reason; namely, he did not have any special honours or distinction when compared to the king Ce aka of Vai 1. However, he was a king, or else how would Ce aka's sister be married to him? Thus, there is no doubt he was a king ecept the argument of him being a minor or a big king. Siddh rtha was the father of Lord Mah v ra, there is no doubt about that;
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the doubt exists only on whether he was a king. However, it can for sure that he was definitely a king even if he was not as well known as king Ce aka of Vai 1 was. Kalpas tra and cr mga give three names for Siddh rtha, including rey msa and Ya asv while Tri al has two other names, Videhadinn and Priyak ri.
An Incident in childhood
Five able midwives took care of child Mah v ra. Mah v ra grew up with the love and care of these five midwives and his mother Tri al and comforts suitable for a prince. Child Mah v ra's child games are not only charming but strength giving as well.
Once child Mah v ra was playing in the garden with his friends a game called “Samkul '. He was then around 8 years old. Seeing his courage and fearlessness Indra told the gods – “Child Mah v ra is so brave that let alone men, even gods cannot defeat him.” One god did not agree with Indra. He wanted to test Mah v ra and taking the form of a snake, went and hid by the bark of that same tree that Mah v ra had climbed. Other children became scared seeing the snake on that tree and started running. However, the snake could not scare Mah v ra at all. Stopping all his friends, he said – “Why are you all running away? This small creature cannot trouble us at all. Let us take it and throw it somewhere far." Hearing Mah v ra's words the boys said – “Mah v ra, do not even try to
it, men die if they are bitten by it." Without fear, Mah v ra held the snake, like a rope, in his left hand and threw it.
Thereafter the children started playing the timdusaka game. In a game two boys run together to touch a tree and the one who touches it first returns to the starting place climbing atop the other's back. The god too entered the game taking the form of a boy. Mah v ra continuously defeated many boys in this game and once he got the chance to run with that god. The god lost and started to walk back with Mah v ra on his back. To frighten Mah v ra the god assumed a giant and fearsome form. The boys got scared but Mah v ra did not lose his courage. He understood this was some illusory being which has come to test him. Sitting on his back he gave the god such a boxing that his body became dwarfish. The god sought forgiveness from Mah v ra and said – “Indra was right - you are not just brave but exceedingly so.”.
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Mah v ra was a Trthamkara and a Trthamkara's strength is incomparable with anyone. The small finger of a T rthamkara has infinitely more times the strength of a god, demon, men, Indra, cakravart s, etc. Their strength comes from accumulated deeds of many births. When Mah v ra became eligible for education, seeing an auspicious occasion his parents sent him to a teacher. When king of gods Indra found this out he thought what would this ordinary teacher teach the receptacle of three kinds of knowledge? Thinking thus Indra took the form of an old Brahminscholar and appeared before the teacher. He asked Mah v ra many scholarly questions. Mah v ra gave comprehensive and appropriate answers to all of them which surprised the teacher and the others present there. The Brahminscholar too raised some doubts before Mah v ra and getting right answers became speechless. Then the old Brahminsaid - "Oh teacher, present before you as a student is not any ordinary child but a great man who is an ocean of knowledge and well-versed in scriptures. Taking all the answers of Mah v ra the old Brahmin wrote 'Aindra Vy kara a'.
Marriage with Ya od
When Mah v ra attained youth, his parents placed a marriage proposal in front of him. Though Mah v ra was detached from sensual pleasures, he had resolved in his mother's womb, seeing her delight, that so long as his parents were alive he would not take initiation. In the same way, for the happiness of his parents and to complete his karmas of enjoyment (bhoga) he ultimately agreed to get married and was married at an auspicious time to Ya od , daughter of the chief of Vasamtapura, Samarav ra, endowed with all good qualities. There is reference to Mah v ra's wedding in all the vet mbara texts such as cr mga, Kalpas tra, va yakaniryukti, etc but the Digambara scriptures do not agree with this. In those texts while you find reference to the parents' request for Mah v ra to marry, proposals of many kings who offered their daughters and request for Jita atru's daughter Ya oda, there is no mention of the marriage-taking place. The basic reason for this is the use of the term “kum ra' and difference of opinion about its meaning. Both traditions accept that V sup iya, Mall, Nemin tha, Pr van tha and Mah v ra renounced at a young age. 'Kum ra' means both 'unmarried' and “crown prince'. In the Digambara texts such as Tiloyapa att , Harivam apura and Padmapura, these five T rthamkara are said to be 'kum ra' and the rest are said to have ruled. Lokaprak a mentions that
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Mall and Nemin tha did not have any enjoyment karmas left; hence, they did not marry and took initiation without having married. The term kum ra does not just mean unmarried, but also prince and crown prince. Hence in va yakaniryukti D pik, because of his not being crowned king, he is considered to have renounced in his young age.
Demise of Parents
Mah v ra's parents were followers of the rama a tradition. After practising the householder's conduct for many years, when they sensed the end of their time, they repented their bad deeds for purifying their souls, with the arihanta, Siddha and soul as witnesses. They duly accepted condoning of the bad deeds sitting on a fast with raw coconut and giving up four kinds of food. Observing a fast, completing their lifetime in samlekhan they emerged as gods in Acyuta kalpa in the 12th heaven. After sojourn in heaven, they are born in Mah Videha. They attain enlightenment thereafter.
Towards renunciation
With the demise of his parents, Mah v ra's resolve in the womb had been realised. He was 28 years old at that time. Then he expressed his desire to take initiation to his elder brother, Nand vardhana and others. Brother Nand vardhana said, “We are yet to emerge from the mourning for father and mother. Please hold on for some time, and then renounce." Through his clairvoyance, sensing it was not the right time, he said – “Alright, but until when do I wait?” His family members said – “At least for two years." Mah v ra agreed, but said "In this time I shall eat as per my wish.” People agreed happily. After this, for some two years or more, Mah v ra remained at home with a feeling of detachment, but he gave up accepting unfiltered water and dinner after sunset. He observed celibacy. He used to wash his feet too with faultless water, used to sleep on the floor and used to maintain equanimity, giving up anger. Staying this way for a year, the Lord started the yearlong act of giving (var d na). He used to donate one crore eight lakh gold coins everyday. On completing 30 years of age, Mah v ra's desire was successful. At that time as per norms, the lok ntika gods requested Mah v ra – “Lord! Take initiation; establish the religious order for the benefit of all living beings.”
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Lord Mah v ra started preparations for the initiation, taking permission from his brother Nandivardhan and paternal uncle, Sup r va. Nand vardhana ordered his family members to keep ready 1000 gold and bronze urns for the Lord's departure ceremony. According to the
cr mga S tra, learning of the Lord's departure ceremony, four kinds of gods and goddesses reached the vicinity of Katriyakuņda in their respective vim nas filled with gold and riches. There they created a throne with their celestial powers. Everybody seated Mah v ra on the throne facing east. They oiled his body with scented oil and bathed him in pure water. They dried his body with a scented ochre-coloured towel and applied go r a sandal on him. Then they made him wear light and valuable clothes and ornaments. Decorating him like a kalpav k a tree, they seated him on the Candraprabh palanquin. Men, gods, Indras lifted the palanquin. There were horses on both sides in front of the Lord's palanquin and elephants behind it. King Nand vardhana, astride an elephant, was moving behind Mah v ra along with his four-fold army. This way, surrounded by a vast human crowd, passing through the central part of K atriyakunda, the Lord came to the j t-khaņda garden and alighted from the palanquin under the A oka tree. Removing his ornaments and clothes, he also removed five fistfuls of hair.
Initiation
The Lord took initiation with a fast without water on the tenth day of the dark fortnight of M ga ira under Uttar f lgun constellation. Bowing down to the Siddhas in front of the huge gathering of gods and men he resolved - "savvam me akara ijjam pavam kammam" - from now on all bad deeds are for me undoable. The Lord accepted the right conduct - "karemi s m iyam savvam s vajjam jogam paccakkh mi"- from today I give up all s vadya karmas from three kara as and three yogas." When the Lord took this oath, all the people gathered became still, as if panting. Mah v ra was moving on the thorny path, leaving everything. The moment he accepted the spiritual conduct, he attained telepathic knowledge (manah paryavaj na). Thus, Mah v ra began to know the inner feelings of all living beings.
Lord's Resolution and Wandering
After everybody left, the Lord took the following resolution - "From today till the next 12 years, until the time that I gain omniscience, I shall
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live as a renouncer of all attachment to the body. Hence in this period, I shall bear with equanimity all the calamities, pains that may come through gods, human beings or beings of hell.” After this, the Lord moved from there. Many cryas believe that when the Lord began to wander after initiation, a Brahmin, who was unable to be present at the time of the year-long giving, accosted him on the way. Seeing his pitiable state the Lord tore the divine-cloth (devad ya) on his shoulder into half and gave it to him. The cr mga and Kalpas tra mention the devad ya falling off after 13 months but basically in Kalpas tra or any other text there is no mention of him tearing his cloth and giving it. Of course, in the Cr i and commentary (Tk) etc, there is reference to donation of the half cloth to a Brahmin.
First calamity and fast-breaking (p ra
)
At the time when the Lord was standing in meditation outside Kurmar gr ma, a herdsman came there with his oxen. He left them close to Mah v ra to graze and went to a village nearby to milk the cows. After sometime when the herdsman returned, not finding his oxen, he asked Mah v ra for their whereabouts. When Mah v ra, deep in meditation, did not reply, he went looking for them. Al night he kept searching for them. By coincidence, the oxen returned and sat next to Mah v ra. The sad herdsman was returning empty-handed next morning when, seeing oxen sitting next to Mah v ra, he got very angry, Thinking Mah v ra to be a thief, he went to hit him with a rope. Seeing this, Indra appeared at once and saved Mah v ra from this trouble.
After this incident, Indra requested the Lord to allow him to serve him. The Lord said - "arhantas do not take anybody's help for Siddhi or to attain pure knowledge but attain them on their own strength." Yet for his satisfaction, Indra, to prevent deathly calamities, appointed a vyamtara god, Siddh rtha, to be at the Lord's service, and saluting the Lord, left.
The next day the Lord left from there and reached the vicinity of Koll ga. There he broke his first fast at the home of a Brahmin named Bahula, with rice mixed with clarified butter and sugar. The sky resounded with the echo of “aho d nam, aho d nam”. The gods showered the five auspicious things to express the glory of the giving.
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Austerities of Lord Mah v ra
cr mgas tra and Kalpas tra state that after initiation Lord Mah v ra retained nothing with him barring the devad ya. For around 13 years that cloth remained on his shoulder, and after it fell off and the Lord remained totally naked. During his mendicancy period, he would stay at either a poor person's hut or a rest house for travelers, etc. He always kept his hands hanging on the sides. He would not bend his arms even in extreme winter months. When all others would try to protect themselves in winter, Lord Mah v ra would stand naked. Apart from winter, summer he had to bear with many kinds of harsh feelings on the skin through bites of mosquitoes, etc. The place fo stay was also filled with different kinds of difficulties and bites of poisonous creatures like scorpions, snakes, crows, hawks were also borne by him. Sometimes wicked people used to beat him up or abuse him, women and children would tease him or make fun, but in the midst of all those difficulties, and calamities, the Lord used to remain meditative with equanimity in a pure and peaceful manner and would not bring to mind any sense of hurt /pain.
If there was reason to leave a place he would do so quietly. The Lord never slept during his mendicancy period; he remained in deep meditation in k yotsarga posture. While wandering he would not look ahead or behind nor on his sides, and would not even speak to anyone. Being in equanimity in all circumstances, he would seek alms from different homes and would not differentiate between a palace, a hut, or a rich or poor person. Whatever food he received, be it fresh or stale, etc, he would accept without bias, but he would not partake of faulty food. Mah v ra's dispassionate attitude towards his body was extraordinary. He was not only apathetic to cold and heat but to sickness also. He would not even seek to brush off anything from the body nor would he scratch. Rising above passion towards the body while being in the body, he went beyond the corporeal existence. He did not even wink at the most difficult bodily pain nor did not attempt to cure it by any means. Actually, it is hard to find an example anywhere else of this kind of incomparable forbearance in austerity and equanimity in every situation.
The First year of spiritual-exertion
After leaving Koll ga, the Lord reached the Mor ka province. The chief of the hermitage there was a friend of king Siddh rtha. He welcomed
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Mah v ra and requested him to stay there. Mah v ra stayed there for one night and when he was ready to leave the next day the chief requested him to stay there in the monsoon period. After wandering about nearby the Lord returned for the monsoon stay to that hermitage and started living in a small hut there. Mah v ra had feelings of compassion and friendship for every living being. Because of a famine, cows started coming close to the huts in the hermitage and grazing there on the grass. Other ascetics used to chase them away but Mah v ra would keep standing in meditation with a feeling of detachment. He had neither any love for the chief of the hermitage nor the hermitage itself, nor hatred for the cows. Dispassionate towards all, he remained meditative day and night.
Some ascetics complained to the chief of the hermitage about this attitude of Mah v ra's. Advising him sweetly the chief said – It is a happy and contented thing for you to remain meditative continuously, but you could perhaps see to it that there is no destruction caused by the animals to this hermitage?" Mah v ra understood the point. He thought, is the objective of leaving royal palaces and staying in a hut to be more concerned about a non-conscious hut in place of conscious animals? Thinking thus, after spending the monsoon period there he left that place quietly. He made certain resolves in his mind, namely, “I shall not stay in a loveless place, shall always remain meditative, shall not speak with anyone, shall stay silent, shall accept food only in my hands, and shall not show courtesies to householders." There is no reference to these resolves in basic scriptures, but in the T rthamkara tradition, they remain silent during mendicancy.
The calamity caused by a Yak a; falling asleep and dream
After leaving the hermitage, Mah v ra left for Asthigr ma. It was evening by the time he reached there. In search of a lonely spot, he sought permission to stay at Yak a l pa i's shrine outside the city. In the evening, the priest Indra arm came there to offer prayers. After prayers, he asked all the travelers to leave the place. He told Mah v ra, too, but he was silent and in meditation. Indra arm said – “King, a Yak a stays here who is rude. He does not let anyone stay here at night." However, Mah v ra remained unmoved. He therefore thought it appropriate, to stay there to face the ordeal and assist in Yak a'
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awakening. He remained meditative. Finally, Indra arm too, left. When it was became dark in the night the Yak a appeared. Seeing the Lord in meditation, he said – “It seems like he does not know of my heroism." He laughed. The whole forest shook but Mah v ra was unaffected. Taking the form of an elephant and a ghoul, he tired to scare Mah v ra in many ways but the Lord did not get agitated. Then the Yak a created frightening pain in the Lord's eyes, ears, nose, head, teeth, nails and his back, but Mah v ra showed no signs of response. Ultimately, accepting defeat, the Yak a fell at the Lord's feet and begged forgiveness and left. At the end of the night, the Yak a's calamities ended. In the Bhagavat
ataka 16, topic 6, there is reference to a dream on the last night the mendicancy period. Some part of the night remained when Mah v ra fell asleep for a short while and he saw the following ten dreams:
citronooo
He struck a tree demon with his hands A white cuckoo (Koyala) came to serve He saw a strange coloured cuckoo in front of him He saw two brilliantly-lit gem garlands He saw herd of white cattle standing beside him He saw a pond with lotus blossoms He saw himself swimming across the ocean using his arms He saw a Sun with thousand rays lighting up the world He saw his beryl-like entrails from hisintestines enveloping the M nu ottara mountain He saw himself ascending the Mer
10.
The Lord woke up the moment he saw the dreams. The Lord was standing in meditation when through the brightness of the daybreak he had fallen asleep for a moment. During his mendicancy period this was the first and last time that he fell asleep.
The Interpretation of the dreams
A soothsayer named Utpala lived in that village. He was a rama a from the first P r van tha tradition but on some account, had given up mendicancy. When he heard about Mah v ra staying at the Yak a's shrine, his heart skipped a beat, expecting some catastrophe. When he saw the Lord in meditation there, he was very happy. He expressed the following thoughts to the Lord about the dreams of the night before
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–
ci
ai
†
i
Beating up the ghoul means that you will destroy your deluding karma Seeing a white cuckoo (Koyala) indicates you will enter into deep meditation Seeing a strange coloured cuckoo means you will give a sermon filled with multi-faceted knowledge The soothsayer could not interpret the meanings of the two gemstudded garlands Seeing herd of white cattle means you will establish the four-fold order Seeing a pond of lotus blossoms means you will be served by four kinds of gods Seeing yourself swimming across the ocean means you will cross the ocean of the world Seeing the world lit up by the thousand rays of the sun means you will attain pure knowledge and instruct others Seeing your entrails enveloping the M nu ottara mountain means your fame will spread across the world of people Seeing yourself ascend the Mer mountain means you will give a sermon seated on the throne
o
o
10.
About the brilliant garlands, the Lord said they meant the two forms of religion, namely, that of mendicants, and that of householders. Everybody was delighted to hear the meaning of the dreams. During a year's stay at Asthigr ma the Lord did not face any calamities. Peacefully he observed 8 times fasts of a fortnight each and completed his first year of stay.
The Second year of spiritual-exertion
After completing the year-long stay at Asthigr ma, Mah v ra moved towards Mor ka province on the first day of the dark fortnight of Mrgar a. Reaching Mor ka, he entered a garden. A heretic named Acchamdaka used to live there, who used to make a living out of astrology. The god Siddh rtha told people in Mor ka village – "This mendicant is the receptacle of three kinds of knowledge and knows of the past, present and future.” Not just that, he also brought to light the bad deeds of Acchamdaka that turned out to be true. As a result, his influence declined. On the other end, impressed by the Lord's penance, more and more people started coming to him. Acchamdaka was worried seeing
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this. He went to the Lord and prayed – “Lord, you are detached and allpowerful. My livelihood has suffered because of your stay here. Please have mercy on me and go elsewhere.” The Lord understood the meaning and pain of Acchamdaka and left that place, moving towards north Vcl. On the way to Vcl, by the banks of the Suvar ak 1, the Lord's devad ya got stuck in the thorns and fell off; the Lord turned back to see if the devad ya had not fallen off in the wrong place. When he saw the cloth stuck in the thorns, he realised that the disciples will obtain the cloth easily. Giving up the cloth, the Lord became naked and remained without a cloth (acela) throughout his life. With the desire to obtain the devad ya, a Brahmin acquaintance of king Siddh rtha who was following the Lord took the cloth and went home.
Awakening of Ca dakau ika
Moving towards north Vcl the Lord reached a hermitage named Kanakhamala. There were two paths to go to north Vcl from that hermitage; One through the hermitage, and the other from the outside. The Lord took the straight path. Reaching some distance, he came across two herdsmen. They told the Lord – “There is a forest ahead on this path where lives a dreaded viper named Candakausika who just looks at the travelers with his poisonous eyes and reduces them to ashes. It would be better if you took the other path.” The Lord thought – “Ca dakau ika is a magnificent being, hence through awakening he will certainly gain knowledge” and he moved on that same path with the intention of redeeming Caņdakauśika.
In his past life, Caņdakausika was an ascetic. One day, to break his fast, he left with his disciple for alms. Suddenly a frog was crushed under the monk's feet on the way. Seeing this the disciple said - "Oh teacher, crushed by your feet the frog is dead.” The monk said nothing. The disciple thought that the teacher would repent for this in the evening at the time of ritual confession (pratikrama a). But when the monk did not repent for this bad deed in the evening the disciple again reminded him of the death of the female frog and asked him to repent. The monk got angry with the disciple reminding him repeatedly to repent and went to kill the disciple. In a fit of anger, he hit himself against a pole and died at once. After death, he became a jyoti kagod.
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Completing his life there, he was born as the son of the chief ascetic of the Kanakhamala hermitage named Kau ika. He was of a violent temperament since childhood, so was called Candakausika. Later, Candakauśika became the chief ascetic of the hermitage. He was so deeply attached to the forest surrofemale-monkding that hermitage that he would not let anyone pick a fruit from there; hence, people left that hermitage to live elsewhere. Once, the princes of a nearby city destroyed the forest. When Candakausika learnt of it, he ran behind them with his axe to hit them. In anger, he fell into a pit and the axe severed his head. Candakauśika died at once. Because of the past life deeds, he began to protect that same forest in a rage. Roaming around day and night Candakausika would turn to ashes with his poison even animals and birds wandering in the forest. Fearing Caņdakauśika people stopped going to that forest.
In order to redeem Candakausika through his awakening, Lord Mah v ra entered that forest fearlessly. There he stood meditating. Seeing him, Caņdakausika started hissing, watching him with angry eyes. However, Lord Mah v ra was unaffected. Seeing this Caņdakausika got angrier and he bit his feet with his poisonous teeth. The Lord stood unagitated. Instead of blood, milk started flowing from his feet. He did not show any anger towards him. Surprised, Candakausika kept staring at the Lord without blinking an eyelid. All his anger died down. Seeing Candakausika calm down the Lord went into meditation and said - "Oh Candakauśika! Calm down! Arise! Because of the past life karmas you are a snake, be cautious at least now, otherwise you will have to wander about in bad circumstances." Hearing the Lord's words, Candakausika's realized his inner self. His mind was aglow with the light of discrimination. Remembering his past lives, he made a resolve in his mind – "I shall not trouble anyone anymore, nor will I eat anything." He went into his bill. The Lord too, left.
Caņda stopped coming out of his bill. There was peace in the forest. People started to pray to Caņda. They would pour milk, sugar and vermillion powder, flowers, etc. Caņda would not even touch them, hence, attracted by them, ants gathered there. Caņda was so still with his hood upright as if he was lifeless. Gradually, the ants started to bite him, enveloping him, but Caņda remained unshaken, bearing with all the pain with equanimity and completing his life in pure feeling, he obtained to the eighth heaven.
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Wandering and a boat ride
After redeeming Ca dakau ika, wandering, the Lord reached V cl. There he broke his fifteen-days' fast by accepting rice pudding from N gasena. Leaving from there, he reached vet mbik city, where the king Prade gave him a respectful welcome and honours. Leaving
vet mbik city, the Lord moved towards Surabhipura. River Gamg came mid-way. The Lord had to sit on a boat to cross Gamg. The moment the boat moved, an owl sitting on the right side, hooted. Hearing the owl's hoot the soothsayer Khemila, sitting in the boat, said – “A great trouble is expected, but on account of the strong good deeds of this Lord nothing untoward will happen.” After going a little further, the boat got stuck in a whirlpool due to a strong windstorm. The passengers were worried, but the Lord sat fearlessly and unmoved, in meditation. The storm subsided after a while and the boat reached the riverbank. In his previous life as Trip a, the lion in the he had killed, his Lion) soul in the form of god Sudam ra, out of enmity, caused the windstorm in the river. When Mah v ra crossed Gamg , two N ga princes Kambala and ambala served the Lord to get over this calamity.
The Interpretation of Pu ya
Alighting from the boat the Lord reached the vicinity of 'Sth ka'. There he stood in meditation at a place. Seeing the Lord's footprints, a soothsayer in that village named Pu ya said - "A person of these footprints must be a cakravart. Perhaps on account of a difficult situation he is wandering alone, let me go help him.” Thinking thus, following the footprints he came to the Lord. Seeing a monk in the place of an emperor or prince, he was surprised as to how could a person, with all the qualities of a cakravart, is a monk? Are the scriptures wrong? At that point Devendra appeared and said – "This is not an ordinary person; he is a great dharma-cakravart (a spiritual emperor) who is venerated by gods and Indras alike.” The soothsayer saluted the Lord and left.
The entry of Go laka in the Lord's service
Wandering this way, the Lord reached R jag ha and came to a shed in N land for the rainy season halt. The Lord's broke his first month fast at merchant Vijaya's house. There was a divine sound in the sky with a show of five auspicious things. With a pure feeling, the merchant Vijaya
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left this world and became a resident of the realm of gods. Everywhere in R jag ha people spoke of the layman Vijaya. Mamkhaliputra Go laka was also on rainy season halt at this time. Go laka saw the glory of the Lord's penance and went to him. During the rainy season halt, the Lord had begun to practise month-long fasts. He broke his second months fast at the house of votary nanda. The third month's fast breaking took place at ravaka Sunanda's house with rice pudding.
On the full moon day of K rtika month, on the way to seeking alms, Go laka asked the Lord – “What will I get in alms today?” Siddh rtha said - "You will get stale rice with millet, sour buttermilk and a fake rupee." To disprove the Lord's speech Go laka went to richest homes but he did not get anything there. In the end at an ironsmith's house, he got sour buttermilk, stale rice and fake one rupee. This made such an impression on Go laka's mind that he became a fatalist. Bhagavat S tra does not refer to this aspect.
After the c turm saperiod, the Lord left N land and broke his last monthly fast at the home of BahulaBrahmin' near Koll ga. When the Lord left N land , Go laka had gone out seeking alms. On return to the weaver's shed, he did not see the Lord. He gave his clothes, pitcher, painting, etc to the Brahmins and, shaving his head, went in search of the Lord and reached Koll ga. When he heard of Bahula Brahmin's alms giving from people, he knew this was the effect of the Lord's penance. He saw the Lord outside Koll ga at Pra ta-bh mi. Delighted, he paid obeisance to the Lord and said - "From today, you are my religious teacher and I am your disciple.” After a lot of pleading, knowing the future, the Lord accepted Go laka's plea. Go laka stayed with the Lord for six years.
The third year of mendicancy
Leaving Koll ga, the Lord went towards Svar akhala with Go laka. They saw some herdsmen on the way, cooking rice pudding. Go laka's mind was on the rice pudding. He told the Lord – “Lord, if we stay a while we can have the rice pudding and leave.” Siddh rtha Deva, i.e. Mah v ra said -“The rice pudding will fall to the ground even before it is cooked as the pot will break.” Go laka alerted the herdsmen and stopped for the rice pudding, but the Lord moved on. Despite all care, the
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pot broke when the rice pudding was boiling over and the pudding fell on the soil. With a small face, Go laka joined the Lord.
Thereafter, the Lord reached the 'Brahmin village' divided into two parts in the name of the important persons there, 'Nanda' and 'Upananda', as Nandap aka and Upanamdp aka. Lord Mah v ra went to Nandap aka for alms to Nanda's house. There he got curd rice. Go laka went to Upananda's house at Upanandap aka and received stale food at the hands of the house cleaner, which he refused. At this, Upananda told the house cleaner, "If he does not accept alms throw it on his head.” The house cleaner did just that and angered Go laka, who cursed the householders, and left. According to the va yakac r i, Go laka cursed them that a fire may burn Upananda's house. With the effort of the penance, to prove his words, he took help from the vyamtaragods to burn Upananda's house to prove the effect of his curse.
After leaving the Brahmin village the Lord came to Camp and there completed his third monsoon stay. At that time, the Lord observed a twomonth fast and observed different postures ( sanas) and meditation practices. His first two months fast breaking happened in Camp and the second two-month fast was broken outside Camp.
The 4th year of spiritual-exertion
Leaving Amga country's Camp city the Lord reached the province of Kl ya. There at an abandoned house, the Lord became meditative but Go laka started to tease, and make fun with a maidservant at the house entrance. The maidservant went and complained to the village headman and the headman's son Puru asimha beat up Go laka. From K 1 ya, the Lord went to PuttaK laya. There too while the Lord became meditative at a lonely place Go laka did some or the other mischief and ended up being a target of people's wrath. They left Puttak laya and went to Kum raka. There in a beautiful garden, Campaka, the Lord entered into meditation. The disciple c rya of P r van tha, Municandra, was staying with his disciples there at a shed of a potter named K pan tha. He had made a disciple the head monk and accepted the jinakalpa (conduct like Mah v ra's).
When Go laka went on his own for alms, he saw the Pr va tradition monks wearing colourful robes. Out of inquisitiveness Go laka asked
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them – “Who are you?” They replied – “We are rama a nirgranthas of the Pr van tha tradition.” To this, Go laka said - "Strange! You people are wearing these colourful robes, and have vessels and yet you call yourselves nirgranthas. The true nirgrantha is my teacher, who is the epitome of sacrifice and penance. The Pr va tradition monks said – “Just like you your c rya too must have accepted nakedness.” To this an angry Go laka retorted - "You people criticise my teacher; your rest house will burn to ashes." Go laka returned to Campaka garden and told the Lord everything. Siddh rtha Deva said – “Go laka! Those are Pr van tha tradition's disciple monks. Glory of monks' penance does not consist in cursing or burning down resting places."
c rya Muni Candra went into meditation standing outside the monastery. At midnight, the potter K panaya returned to his home after getting drunk with his friends and thinking the meditative monk to be a thief, strangled him with both his hands. Despite unbearable pain, the monk maintained calm. Being in deep meditation with a sense of equanimity, he attained omniscience and nirva. The gods showered flowers expressing the glory of omniscience. Seeing the arrival of gods, Go laka said to the Lord – “It looks like their resting place is burning." Siddh rtha Deva said – “No, crya Muni Candra has attained omniscience; hence gods are expressing its glory.” Go laka woke the disciples of Muni Candra up. Believing their crya to be dead they began to repent. Referring to this incident c rya Hemacandra writes that Muni Candra at that time attained clairvoyance and he went to heaven.
After leaving Kum raka, the Lord arrived near Cor ka. The place was infested with the activities of thief and robbers. So the guards were very attentive and so wanted to know his introduction, the Lord remained silent because of his vow. The guards thought he was some thief or spy, so capturing him they gave him all kinds of pain. When the word reached the soothsayer Utpala's sisters, Som and Jayant , they came there and released the Lord. Realising the Lord's identity, the guards begged for forgiveness for their mistake. From there the Lord left for P hacamp and spent his fourth rainy season halt there. In this time he observed four months of fast and went into meditation in different forms in k yotsarga. After completing his penance, he broke his fast at a place outside Camp.
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The 5th year of mendicancy
After completing the monsoon stay at P hacamp , the Lord arrived at Kayamgal. There, at a temple of a heretic named 'Daridrathera', he stood meditating in k yotsarga posture. Leaving Kayamgal , he arrived at S vatth , and stood in meditation outside the city. It was biting cold in winter. Yet, not caring about the cold, the Lord remained in meditation through the night. Go laka could not bear the cold and kept shivering through the night. There at a temple festival men and women kept dancing through the night. Go laka made fun – “what kind of religion is this, where men and women shamelessly dance together?” People threw him out. Seeing him shiver in cold outside they invited him inside again thinking of him Lord' disciple and turned the volume of their music louder so that they do not hear his utterances. He was thus, thrown out and taken in the congregation many times. In the morning, Mah v ra left for r vast. There, based on a soothsayer's advice, a laywoman, for protection of her son, cooked rice pudding for a month during her pregnancy and with the intention of giving it to an ascetic, gave it to Go laka. Despite Siddh rtha Deva's warning to be careful, Go laka ate that pudding. However, after this incident, he became a total fatalist.
After leaving r vast , the Lord arrived at 'Haleduga'. He stayed a night there. Other travelers too were staying there that night. To protect themselves from the cold they lit a fire and left without putting it off in the morning. Mah v ra burnt his feet because of dry grass catching fire. In the afternoon after completing his meditation, the Lord moved ahead and reached varta via N mgal. There he became meditative at the temple of Baladeva. Go laka used to tease and taunt people and fall into all kinds of trouble. After leaving varta, passing through many places, he reached the vicinity of Caur ka habitat. There Go laka got beaten up on account of his misdeeds. Angrily he said – “People have troubled me needlessly; with the purity of my teacher's penance, may the sacrificial hall get burnt." By coincidence, the hall caught fire.
After moving ahead, they reached ‘Kalambuk ’, where the rulers of the mountainous region were two brothers, Megha and Klahast. Incidentally, K lahast met Mah v ra. He asked him, “Who are you?” When the Lord said nothing, K lahast beat him up, yet he kept quiet. K lahast sent him to Megha; Megha had seen him earlier at Kuņdagr ma. Hence, he recognised him and sought forgiveness for his
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brother's mistake. After this incident the Lord thought, “I must destroy many of my karmasnow. Keeping on finding some known person, everywhere, will delay destruction of my karmas. Hence I must wander in An rya (not knowledgeable) and unknown places.' Thinking thus, he decided to go to L dha (R dha) country, considered as An rya where no monk or ascetic would even imagine going. There were two divisions of Lādha country - north and south, or Vajra and ubhra. The river Ajaya used to flow in between. rya Sudharm's cr mga S tra describes, the fearsome, thrilling calamities there as follows:
In Lādha country, there were no suitable places to stay for the Lord. Even tasteless, minimal food used to come about with great difficulty. Dogs would come running from afar to bite, but there were none to stop them. In fact, people would mostly provoke them further. All those of an insensitive attitude used to walk about holding sticks. However, the Lord used to wander uninhibited. He used to be polite even towards the mean people. His intention was to destroy karmas - he used to gladly bear with people's abuses and obstacles in the path, and stay happy. He would not let any violent thought enter his mind for anyone. Sometimes he would have to spend nights in frightful forests. Sometimes people would not let him enter into villages and force him to move on. Without reason they would attack him and laugh at him and would give him many kinds of troubles, like throwing sand on him, lift him and throw him to the ground like a ball and would cause injury to his body parts. What one means to say is that the Lord was thus given many kinds of unbearable and unimaginable troubles, which he faced peacefully, being steady in spiritual path of restraint. Staying in the An rya region, bearing with many calamities, he destroyed much karma. He was re-entering the An rya region after leaving the rya country when he met two thieves on the borders who were going to steal in the non-An rya region. Considering it ominous to see him on the way, they attacked him with their weapons. Indra himself appeared, saved him, and chased away the thieves. Reaching the rya region the Lord reached the Malaya country and stayed during that year's monsoons in Bhaddila city. Being meditative in different postures, the Lord observed four months of fast and on completion of the rainy season, breaking his fast outside the city, he moved towards 'Kadal Sam gama' and 'Jamb Samda'.
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6th Year of mendicancy
From 'Kadal Sam gama' and 'Jamb Samḍa'the Lord arrived near 'Tamb ya'. At that time the elder monk of the Pr va tradition, Nandi e a, was staying there. Go laka argued with him, too. From "Tamb ya' the Lord went to 'K viya' where he was arrested due to the suspicion of his being a spy. There, two female-monks named Vijay and Pragalbh told people about the Lord and said he was the great t rthamkara Mah v ra and if Indra finds out, he would punish them. Both of them had been Pr van tha's disciples. Listening to them people freed the Lord and sought his forgiveness. From there the Lord moved on to Vai 1. Go laka expressed desire to wander alone and gaining acceptance from Siddh rtha Deva moved towards R jag ha. Reaching Vai 1, the Lord took permission to stay in the ironsmith's workshop and meditated there. A worker of the workshop was not attending work because of his illness. The next day of the Lord's arrival there, he came to work and seeing the Lord there, thinking it to be inauspicious, attempted to attack him. However, by divine grace, his raised hands remained stuck in that position and he stood like a statue. Leaving Vai 1, the Lord arrived in the province of Gr maka and became meditative at the place of the Yak a Vibhelaka. Inspired by the penitent life of the Lord the Yak a too started singing his praises.
Leaving Gr maka the Lord arrived at the beautiful garden, li ra'. It was the chilly winter month of M gha. People were shivering in their warm clothes within their homes, while at the same time the Lord was standing in meditation, naked. When the vyamtara named Ka ap tan saw the Lord in meditation, he was reminded of a past life enmity. Taking the form of a female-monk, with her open hair standing on the Lord's shoulders, she started showering rain like a cloud and created gale too. Biting cold, gale and rains and yet the Lord remained steady in meditation and he obtained the unique clairvoyant knowledge - he could see the entire world. Seeing the Lord's equanimity, his capacity and forbearance, Ka ap tan felt tired, defeated and seeking forgiveness for her behaviour, left. The Lord arrived at Bhadrik city on leaving
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lir a'. There he spent the sixth rainy season observing four months of fast and meditation. At the end of the rainy season, the Lord broke his fast outside the city and left for Magadha.
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The 7th Year of mendicancy
Wandering across different parts of Magadha, the Lord practised the seventh year of austerity without calamities for eight months. He reached the lambhiy city for the monsoon stay and observing four months fast, completed his c turm sa meditation breaking his fast outside the city he stayed in the Vasudeva temple in "Kamd ga' and in Baladeva temple 'Bhadda 'he reached Bahus la village and there in a S la forest, he became meditative. There a demoness named 1 rya produced many calamities but could not disturb the Lord and in the end begged forgiveness and left.
gth Year of mendicancy
Leaving Bhadda the Lord arrived at Loh rgal. The local authorities questioned him as he entered Loh rgal . As Lord maintained silence and feeling suspicious, people took him to the king Jita atru. The soothsayer of Asthika village was present there saluted the Lord and introduced him to all. King Jita atru too prayed to him and after due respects, bade him farewell. From there the Lord moved to Purimat la and stood in meditation at the 'aka amukha' garden outside the city. From there, passing through ‘Unn ga' and 'Gobh mi', he arrived at R jag ha. There he spent the eighth monsoon retreat and observed fasts of four months and due austerities and completion of the c turm sa fast, broke his fast outside the city and moved ahead.
The 9th Year of mendicancy
After leaving R jag ha, the Lord thought again that truly, it is possible to annhilate karmas only in An rya region. Thinking thus, he again left for the Anārya Ļ dha and ubhrabh mi. People there were insensitive, cruel and without compassion. Hence, the Lord bore with different troubles with equanimity. When he did not get the right place, he completed the monsoon time in ruins, under trees, or simply wandering about. This way, wandering in An rya region, the Lord re-entered the rya region.
The 10th Year of mendicancy
From the An rya region the Lord was going to 'Siddh rthapura' and from there to 'Krmagr ma' and Go laka was with him, too. On the
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way when he saw a sesame plant with seven flowers, he asked the Lord - “Lord! Will this plant beget fruits?” The Lord said _“Yes, the plant will bear fruits and all the seven flowers' life will emerge from this one seedpod." To falsify the Lord's words, Go laka stopped for a moment, uprooted that plant, and threw it far away. By coincidence, within minutes, it rained there and the uprooted sesame plant stood up again. From there the Lord reached K rmagr ma. There an ascetic named ‘Vai y yana' was standing outside the village facing the sun with both his hands raised upwards in penance. Due to the heat, lice were coming out from his long locks and falling to the ground and the ascetic was again placing them back on his hair. When Go laka saw this, he asked the ascetic - “Are you an ascetic or a home of lice?” The ascetic remained quiet. When Go laka kept questioning him persistently, the ascetic got angry and spewed hot flash at him. Go laka ran in fear and fell at the Lord's feet. Out of compassion, the Lord doused the fire with a cool flash and saved Go laka.
After sometime, the Lord again left for Siddh rthapura. Reaching the sesame field, Go laka remembered the old question. He asked the Lord, “Lord, what happened to your prediction?” The Lord said, “That plant you see is the one you uprooted and threw.” Go laka was not ready to believe the Lord. He went to that sesame plant and when he broke the pod, seven sesame fruits came out. With this incidence, he became a confirmed fatalist. From there Go laka left Lord's company and began to think of starting his own sect.
From Siddh rthapura, the Lord reached Vai 1. There outside the city he stood in meditation at a spot. Boys passing by, thinking him to be a demon started troubling him. By coincidence, king Siddh rtha's close friend amkha - bh pati was passing through that place. He sent the boys away explaining to them, and paid obeisance to the Lord. From there the Lord reached '
V iyagr ma'. On the way, to cross the river Gamdak, he had to sit on a boat. When the boatman asked for a fee, the Lord remained silent. Angry, the boatman made him stand on hot sand. Incidentally, Citra, the son of king amkha's sister, came that way.
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"Your body and soul are firm like thunderbolt. You bear with equanimity the most difficult of ordeals. You will soon attain omniscience."
The 11th Year of mendicancy
From S vatth the Lord left for S nula hiya. There he did the Bhadra, Mah bhadra and Sarvatobhadra penance and continuous fast for 16 days. In the bhadra penance, for the first two days, a person meditates in the east, south, west and north directions, respectively, four times a day. Observing the two days of fast without breaking it, he took the mah bhadra penance. Therein, in the same sequence, he meditated in each direction, day and night. This way, after 16 days of fast, he completed the three kinds of meditation. After completing the three kinds of meditation, the Lord reached the house of householder Ananda. At that time, his maidservant, Bahul had come out to throw leftovers of food after cleaning the utensils. Seeing the Lord, she asked – “What do you want, oh Lord?” Mah v ra extended his palms. The maid gave the leftover food to the Lord with great devotion. Considering it faultless, the Lord broke his fast with it. The gods showered the five auspicious things and through the glory of the giving, released the maid from her servitude.
From there the Lord proceeded to D dhabh mi. Outside the city, in the caitya named Pol sa, was a garden named 'Podh la'. There, observing a fast, the Lord bent his body slightly and fixing his gaze on a gross object, he became meditative. Seated amidst gods and goddesses the king of gods, Indra, saw the Lord in meditation and saluting him, said -“So unique is the courage and resolve of Varddham na Mah v ra that let alone men, even gods cannot disturb him from his penance." Everyone was happy with Devendra's words, except a god named Samgama. He went to the Lord with the intention of disturbing Lord's penance. Accordingly he created a web of calamities. First he caused pain in the entire body of Lord, created an apocalyptic shower of sand, caused pain to his body with ants, scorpion, snake, etc. When nothing affected the Lord due calamities he produced; he created enchanting seductive scenes and then tried to agitate the mind with pitiable sights. However, Lord remained firm and steady like the Sumeru Mountain in meditation. Samgama produced 20 kinds of unbearable calamities of different kinds in one night – even showing the Lord's parents, Siddh rtha and Tri al crying in pain, tried to seduce through beautiful apsar s and in the form
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of a god, he also allured him with heaven or mok a. Finally, when he was unsuccessful, Samgama began to think of other means.
The Lord, completing his meditation, left for B luk . From B luk he arrived at places such as Suyoga, Succhet , Malabha, Hasti r a, etc. Samgama created calamities at every place. At 'Tosaligr ma' and 'Mosaligr ma' in the disguise of an ascetic, he would steal and when caught, would accuse the Lord, calling him his teacher. The magician Mah bh tila in Tosali village and a regional official in Mosali village introduced the Lord and saved him.
Again coming to Tosali, he stole some weapons and hid them beside the Lord who was in meditation. He returned to steal more, when he was caught stealing. He accused his teacher for making him steal. As the Lord had the weapons lying around him, the kingdom sentenced the Lord to be hanged until death. However, the rope used for hanging Lord used to snap as and when it was used to hang the Lord. Ultimately, the officials left the Lord considering him a great man. Even in Siddh rthapura, Samgama got the Lord caught on false accusation of theft, where a horse trader freed the Lord.
At Vraja village there being a festival, rice pudding was prepared in all homes, and wherever the Lord went for alms, Samgama made the food unworthy. Realising it to be a calamity created by Samgama, the Lord left and remained meditating outside the village. This way, for six months Samgama gave the Lord countless ordeals and the Lord did not get agitated. Samgama lost his patience and feeling defeated, he went to the Lord and said –“Lord! Whatever Devendra said about you is true. You are firm in your resolve. Please forgive my crimes. Now you may go for alms. There will be no more calamities.” The Lord said – "I accept penance and alms from my own will." I do not expect anybody's assurance.” The next day completing his six months of penance the Lord went to the same village to the home of an old woman named "Vassap laka” and broke his fast with rice pudding. The five auspicious things appeared to express glory of the giving. This was the Lord's long penance with calamities.
Description relating to Samgama god is available in va yakaniryukt , Malayav tti and va yakac r . Even after continuous intense calamities
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when Samgama saw the Lord would not be disturbed in anyway, he apologized in Vrajagr ma and returned to Saudharma abode of gods. There the gods turned against him and expelled him from the realm of gods. With this example of Samgama ordinary people can understand that on account of his misdeeds if a god too had to reap its fruits, where does an ordinary person stand who purposefully causes harm to others?
Moving from Vraja village to lambhiy, vet mbik , S vatth , Kau mb R jag ha, Vras , Mithil , etc, the Lord arrived at Vai 1. Outside the city at the Baladeva temple in the Samara garden, accepting four-months fast, he became meditative and completed the rainy season halt there.
The feeling of Jr a Se ha
A devout votary named Jinadatta used to live in Vai 1. Because of poor economic condition, his house had become old and people started calling him Jr a Se ha. He had the knowledge of oceans. He went to study the footprints of the Lord to the garden and seeing a meditating Lor was very happy. Every day, he would go to the Lord and request him to take food offerings. Despite his continuous effort for four months, he did not succeed in fulfilling his desire. After completion of the c turm sa the Lord left for alms and went to the house of Abhinava re hi (merchant) whose original name was ‘P r a'. Seeing the Lord the re hi ordered his maidservant to give a spoonful of pulse. The Lord broke his four months fast with it. There was a shower of five auspicious things accompanied by divine sounds. There Jr a Se ha was waiting for the Lord to come to break his fast. He was at the pinnacle of his feeling. At that time, he heard the divine sounds. Dieing with that right feeling, Jr a Se ha went to the 12th heaven. Had he not heard the divine sounds for a moment, or two, he would have attained omniscience due to his firm resolve and penance.
The 12th Year of mendicancy
Completing the rainy season halt, the Lord reached 'Sunsum rapura'. Here Bh t namda came and enquired after the Lord's well-being and said -“In some time you will attain pure intuition and pure knowledge." Hearing Bh t namda's words, the Lord remained silent. The Bhagavat S tra describes in detail the calamities of Camarendra in
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Sunsum rapura, as follows:- The Lord said – “At the time when I had spent 11 years of mendicancy, breaking fasts regularly, I reached Sunsum rapura's forest stretch and focusing my gaze on a stone I became meditative under an A oka tree. At that time, the soul of an ascetic P ra a of Camaracamc had become an Indra. There through his clairvoyant knowledge the saw akrendra seated on a throne enjoying divine pleasures. He became envious. With the idea of destroying
akrendra's splendour, he came to me and said – “Lord, I want to take refuge in you and make the Indra akra corrupt with his splendour.” After this taking a celestial bodyfrom me, he went to Saudharma realm of gods and started saying unpleasant things to akrendra. The king of gods, Indra, in anger hurled his thunderbolt at Camarendra. Seeing that, the demonking Camara, started running and fell at my feet. After releasing the thunderbolt, Indra thought Camara on his own does not have the courage to insult me; perhaps he has somebody's assistance in this. Through his avadhij na when he found out Camara has taken refuge in me, with great speed he held his thunderbolt four amgula and left Camarendra and."
From Sumsum rapura the Lord reached Bhojapura, Nandigr ma and Medhiy gr ma. From Medhiy gr ma he reached Kau mb and on the first day of the dark fortnight of Pau a month he took the following Vows:
“In substance it should be udada-d la pods; 2 Should be at the corner of a winnowing basket; 3 In terms of place, should be in the middle of the threshold; 4 In terms of time the time for giving alms should have passed; 5 In terms of existence, a princess should have become a slave girl; 6 With chained feet; 7 Should be with shaven head; 8 Should have tears in her eyes; 10 She should have observed a fast. If I get alms from a person of this kind, I shall accept it, not otherwise."
With this resolve, Mah v ra would go everyday seeking alms; people would come with eagerness and hope to give. Mah v ra would return without accepting anything due to the resolve being not fulfilled. Four months passed off this way without his accepting alms. All over the city people expressed surprise at this. Once, the Lord went to the minister of Kau mb , Sugupta's house. The minister's wife, Namd , a pious devotee, went with great devotion to give alms, but Mah v ra went away without accepting anything thereby making her unhappy.
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Five months and twenty-five days had passed after the Lord had taken his vow. Incidentally, one day the Lord went to 'Dhann nobility ( re hi)'s house for alms where the princess Candan was waiting for the arrival of her guest, hungry, thirsty for three days, with udada-d la pods in a winnowing basket. The re hi's wife M 1 had shaved off her hair and tied her feet in chains, imprisoning her. Seeing the Lord arriving Candan was delighted. Her heart blossomed like lotus but when the Lord started to go away seeing something amiss, tear drops fell from Candan 's eyes. The Lord's vow was fulfilled He accepted alms from princess Candan 's hands. Candan 's chains on her hands and feet turned into ornaments. The sky echoed with drum sounds with the shower of the five auspicious things. Candan 's anxiety-ridden mind, face and the place lit up like the moon. After five months and twenty-five days, the Lord broke his fast.
After leaving Kau mb , the Lord arrived at Camp city after passing through the villages Sumamgala, Suchett , P laka etc. After four months fast, he completed the 12th c turm saat the sacrificial hall of the Brahmin Sv tidatta. Impressed by the Lord's austerity two Yak as, P r abhadra and Ma ibhadra used to come every night to be at the service of the Lord. Seeing this, Sv tidatta thought he must be an important and knowledgeable person. He came to the Lord and said –“Lord, what is soul?” The Lord said “The literal meaning of l' is soul, that is, soul is different from the body parts. It is devoid of any form, taste, smell, etc. Its quality is consciousness. Being formless, acquiring the senses cannot take it.” Sy tidatta asked again – "Is knowledge the other name of soul?” The Lord replied -"knowledge is the extraordinary quality of soul and the soul is the source / basis of knowledge. Being made of qualities, the soul is considered knowledge.” Sy tidatta was very pleased with the answers to his questions.
The 13th Year of Mendicancy
Leaving that place the Lord arrived at Jambhiyagr ma After staying there for sometime the Lord went to Chamm i village passing through Medhiy gr ma and became meditative outside the village. A herdsman came there in the evening and leaving his cattle beside the Lord, went to the village on some work. On his return, he did not see his oxen and he questioned Mah v ra, but he was silent. Angry due to his silence, the
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herdsman inserted reeds of a grass named 'K msa' in both ears of Mah v ra and with a stone, hammered it into the ears completely. The Lord considered the intense pain from this as a past life karma and bore it quietly. Leaving Chamm i the Lord arrived at "Medhiy gr ma” and went for alms to a vai ya 'Siddh rtha's house. At that time, Siddh rtha was talking to his physician friend "Kharaka'. When Kharaka saw the Lord's facial features, he knew there is some sharp thing inside his body. He told Siddh rtha and they requested the Lord to stay a while but the Lord did not stop. From there he went out of the village and again became meditative in a garden. After a while, Siddh rtha and Kharaka reached the garden with medicines. They massaged the Lord's body with oil and with the help of pincers, extracted the reeds from the ears. The moment the blood-ridden reeds came out of the Lord's ears he gave a cry, the echoes of which reverberated throughout the garden. After that, the physician Kharaka applied the ointment samroha a on the wound and after paying obeisance to the Lord, both friends left. It is said that during his mendicancy period, the Lord bore with many ordeals and calamities but the ordeal of removing the nail-like reeds from the ears was the most painful of all. Bearing with all these ordeals with equanimity, the Lord destroyed a great amount of karmas. Strangely, the herdsmen caused the first and the last calamities faced by the Lord.
During twelve-and-a-half years of mendicancy period, the Lord accepted food only for 349 days. He fasted without water for the rest of the days.
Omniscience and First Sermon
In the middle of the 13th year on the tenth day of the bright fortnight of Vai kha month in the afternoon, the Lord was in meditation under a
ala tree in the Jr a garden by the banks of the river J mbhik outside the village J mbhik . At that time, ascending the accelerated path of annihilating the obscuring karmas (k apaka re ) with a fast without water and in the second stage of pure ( ukla) meditation; the Lord destroyed the four obscuring karmas, namely, deluding, intuition obscuring, knowledge obscuring and interference producing under Uttar f lgun constellation, and achieve pure intuition and pure knowledge i.e. became an Arhanta and omniscient.
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The moment the Lord attained omniscient, the gods showered five auspicious things to express the glory of knowledge. The gods created a beautiful, grand holy religious hall (samava ara a). Even knowing that there was none present to accept doctrine, the Lord gave his sermon for sometime, which is termed as unimpressive. As per tradition, the T rthamkara's first sermon is never wasted. Accordingly, this unprecedented incident is considered extraordinary. c rya Gu acandra in his ‘Mah v ra Cariyam', while accepting the presence of people in the Lord's first samava ara a,calls it unimpressive. But highly acclaimed scholars like c rya 1 mka and ancient c ryas in their 'Cauvanna Mah purisa Cariyam' do not even mention the unimpressive council and say that first sermon of Lord Mah v ra on the banks of river jub luk had scholars like Indrabh ti, etc present with their respective disciples. The Lord cleared their doubts and taking initiation at the Lord's feet, they became his ga adharas.
The Religious gathering of the lord (Samava ara a) at
Madhyam p v
From J mbhik the Lord arrived at “Madhyam p v '. There rya Somila was organising a grand sacrificial ritual to which several great scholars were invited. At the other end, on the arrival of the Lord the gods glorified the Lord with the mah pratih ryas (great auspicious entities) under the A oka tree and erected a grand samava ara a. There, in a gathering of gods-demons and humans the Lord sat on a high throne and started his sermon in a deep and serious voice using Ardham gadh language. Gods and goddesses arrived at the samava ara a from the sky route. The scholars at Somil's sacrificaila ritual thought the gods were coming for the ritual but when the gods went ahead, they were surprised. When scholar Indrabh ti found out that the gods are going to Mah v ra's samava ara a, he too, with the intention of testing Lord Mah v ra's knowledge, and to defeat him in a debate on the meaning of scriptures, went there with his 500 students. Indrabh ti was greatly impressed seeing the brilliant aura around Mah v ra's face and the great auspicious things (mah pratih ryas). When Mah v ra addressed him as Indrabh ti Gautama, he was surprised. However, in his mind he thought I will consider him all-knowing only when he clears the doubt in my mind.' Understanding Gautama's mind, Mah v ra said – “Gautama! You are doubtful since a long time about the question of soul.” Indrabh ti
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consented and said, “The rutis say that consciousness arises out of the five elements and again merges into them; hence existence of other world (beyond this life) is not possible. Then, how is a distinct identity of a person (puru a) separate from the earth and other elements possible?” The Lord said - "Indrabh ti! Your doubt arises from a difference of meaning. Actually, the wealth of knowledge does not mean that consciousness is born out of the elements, but different forms of knowledge. There are always new forms of knowledge produced in the soul and the past knowledge blends with it. In the same way, the meaning of 'bh ta' (elements) is not the five elements, as earth etc, but all objects both the inanimate and the animate matter that we know. The previous form of knowledge becomes redundant in a person when subsequent better forms of knowledge emerge.” The meaningful answer of Lord Mah v ra cleared Indrabh ti's doubt. Along with his disciples, he became the Lord's principal disciple. This same Indrabh ti became popular later on as Gautama (his family name) in Mah v ra's period.
The belief in Digambara tradition
According to the Digambara tradition when Lord Mah v ra attained pure knowledge the gods showered the five auspicious things and instructed by Indra; Kubera created samava ara a on the tenth day of the bright fortnight of Vai kha month. Lord Mah v ra entered the samava ara a from the eastern entrance and sat on the high pedestal. The gods and Indras sat on their respective seats to hear the Lord's sermon, but the Lord kept silent. After waiting for many days, Indra was worried as to what could be the reason. Through clairvoyant knowledge, he understood that there are no ga adharas in the council. When Indra searched for a suitable person, he remembered the scholar Indrabh ti. Disguised, Indra went to Indrabh ti and said - "my teacher has taken a vow of silence these days. I want you to explain to me the meaning of a story." Indrabh ti told him, “I shall only explain to you the meaning if after that you will become my disciple.” Indra in disguise as an ascetic readily agreed.
Indrabh ti got perplexed hearing the tale. The term “chajj va ik y'used intrigue in him. The subject of existence of soul filled his mind with doubt. After sometime he said “then take me to your teacher. I will explain the meaning of this narrative only in front of him." Indra was
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happy in achieving his objective and took Indrabh ti with him, to Lord's samava ara a.
The moment he saw Indrabh ti the Lord addressing him by his name and gotra said, “Come, Gautama Indrabh ti! Your mind has doubts about the existence of the soul. The one within you which is thinking thus is the soul. There has never been a lack of that soul nor will there be, that is, this soul is permanent.” Hearing a solution to his doubt from the Lord, without even expressing it, Indrabh ti, overwhelmed by devotion and faith, fell prostrate at the Lord's feet. He took initiation as the Lord's first disciple. This way, finding a purpose in Gautama Indrabh ti, Lord Mah v ra gave his first sermon of 66 days after attaining omniscience starting on the first day of the dark fortnight of r va a month.
Founding the T rtha (religious order /creed/tradition)
Following Indrabh ti, ten more scholars took initiation from Lord Mah v ra. The Lord imparted them the tripad (i.e. three words aphorism) knowledge of “uppanei v , vigamei v , dhuveiv " i.e. reality is with origination-destructon and permanence simultaneously. Based on this tripad knowledge Indrabh ti and other scholars produced the twelve Amgas known as Dw da mgi and incorporating the fourteen prior canons (prvas)in D iv da and became ga adharas. Four thousand four hundred disciples of these scholars also took initiation on that day. Princess Candanab 1 was the first female disciple female-monk in the Lord's congregation. amkha and others accepted the layman's conduct while Sulas and others, the laywomen's conduct. This way, giving instructions on scripture and conduct, Lord Mah v ra established the four-fold order of monks (male and female) and laymen-laywomen and became a T rthamkara. After founding the t rtha the Lord returned once more to R jag ha from Madhyam p v ’and completed the rainy season halt of that year there.
The 1st Year as omniscient (Keval )
In those days in R jag ha, there were many householders of the P r va tradition. The Lord resided in the Gu a la caitya there. When king
re ika heard the news of the Lord's arrival, he came to be present at the Lord's service with his family members. The Lord gave a sermon at the
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gathering. Impressed, re ika accepted right belief; and alongwith Abhayakum ra and others became votaries (r vakas). Prince Meghakum ra and Nandi e a accepted initiation into monkhood.
Nandi e a's initiation is described as follows: - Listening to the Lord Mah v ra's sermon Nandi e a desired to take initiation. A god said, from the sky, “Right now your layman's karma is strong, so stay at home for some more time.” However, the prince paid no heed and took initiation at the Lord's feet. He gained knowledge from the elder monks and started observing different kinds of austerities. Again, the god said, “Nandi e a. your enjoyment (vedan ya) karmasstill remain. You cannot attain salvation without fulfilling those.” This time too Nandi e a paid no attention. Once, he went alone seeking alms; and by coincidence, reached the home of a courtesan. When he spoke of religious benefits, the courtesan said, “Here we only speak of material benefits” and she smiled. Nandi e a did not like that woman smiling and filling the place with gems using a straw, said, “Take this, material gain” and left.
The courtesan was amazed to see the pile of gems and ran behind Nandi e a saying “Oh my beloved, where are you going leaving me alone? I shall give up my life if you leave." Because of the courtesan's loving request and emergence of the enjoyment karma he agreed to stay and said -“But I shall accept food only after awakening knowledge of ten people each day. The day something is found wanting in this, I shall return to my teachers.” The courtesan agreed to this condition and Nandi e a started staying there. Observing his vow, he would give awakening knowledge to ten people everyday and send them for initiation to the Lord. One day he could only inspire nine people to take initiation into the spiritual path and the courtesan kept inviting him repeatedly to eat. Ultimately, when she went to call him personally, Nandi e a said -“Okay, the tenth person for today is I.” Saying so, he left the courtesan's house and immersed himself in austerities at the feet of the Lord. Lord completed 13th rainy season halt at R jag ha.
Note: A year's completion of mendicancy is after initiation (M rga r a 10) to the full moon day of the bright fortnight of K rtika and the New Year starts from M rga r a again. After omniscience, too the same calculation has been followed, whereas omnisciencehappened on the 11th
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day of the bright fortnight of Vai kha which comes six months after Mrgar a.
2nd Year as omniscient
Completing the rainy period stay at R jag ha, the Lord moved towards Videha. He arrived at ‘Br hma aku da' and stayed at Bahu la caitya. Scholar abhadatta had come to pay respects with his wife Dev nand. Seeing the Lord, Dev nand 's heart was filled with love. She became joyous and overwhelmed and tears started flowing form her eyes while milk oozed from her breasts. Gautama was astonished to see this and asked the Lord – “Lord! Who is this?" The Lord said - "Gautama, she is my mother and due to love for her son, she is excited." Thereafter, hearing the Lord's speech at the samava ara a abhadatta and Dev nand took initiation and studying the 11 Amgas, observed years of austerities and penance and attained mok a.
Adjacent to Brāhmaṇakuņda was K atriyakuņda. There prince Jam li along with five hundred other princes took initiation. His wife, Priyadar an, who was Lord's daughter, also took initiation with one thousand women. The Lord spent that monsoon in Vai 1.
The 3rd Year as Keval
Leaving Vai l the Lord arrived at the capital city of Vatsade a Kau mb , and sat in the Candr vatara a caitya. The grandson of king Sahasr n ka used to rule over Kau mb . His name was Ud yana; he was the son of at n ka. His mother's name was Mg vat who was the daughter of king Ce aka of Vai 1. There used to live a rama a follower by name Jayamt , Sahasr n ka's daughter, or at n ka's sister, the aunt of Ud yana. Learning of the arrival of the Lord, Ud yana, along with his mother M g vat and aunt Jayamt arrived at the service of the Lord. Jayamt heard the Lord's discourse and asked questions, given here briefly:
Jayamt 's first question was -"How does a soul get heavy or light?" In reply the Lord said -“A soul immersed in 18 sins, becomes heavy and keeps wandering in the world through endless time. A soul becomes light by getting rid of these sins and crosses the ocean of the world.” Jayamt 's
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second question was “Does a soul have a natural eligibility to attain mok a or as a causal one?” The Lord said – “The eligibility for mok a is a natural inclination not causal." Jayamt 's next question was – “Will all the Siddhas attain mok a?” The Lord said _“Yes, all the righteous souls will attain mok a." The fourth question was _“When all such souls attain mok a would the world be devoid of great souls?” The Lord's answer was "No, soul is immortal; even if the Siddha souls will remain liberated always yet the world will not be devoid of righteous souls." To Jayamt 's other question the Lord said it is better for the unrighteous people and the people who preach unrighteous things to remain asleep; when they are asleep, unrighteousness will not prosper in the world. The Lord also said that goodness or wrongfulness of power, wealth, and material depends on their good use or bad use. Happy with the Lord's skillful answers to her questions, Jayamt accepted the path of restraint and self-redemption and welfare of others.
From Kau mb the Lord arrived at r vast. There Sumanobhadra and Suprati ha took initiation. They attained liberation in time after excellent austerities. From there the Lord arrived at V ijyagr ma where he awakened householder Anamda and initiated him into the householder's conduct and completed his rainy season stay there.
The 4th Year as Keval
After the end of the monsoons, the Lord moved from V ijyagr ma to Magadha and stayed at “Gu a la caitya in R jag ha. libhadra, son of a merchant, used to stay there. libhadra's father was Gobhadra, a resident of the abode of gods. Out of love for libhadra, he used to bring clothes, ornaments and food from the heaven for his son and his wives. libhadra's mother Bhadr was so magnanimous she would give the gem-studded blankets that even king re ika could not buy to her daughters-in-law to wipe their feet. Even king re ika was amazed at Bhadr 's magnanimity. He reached Bhadr 's house. He was amazed to see libhadra's wealth. When Bhadr called libhadra to meet the king he said “What is the necessity for me to come and meet? Whaveter Whatever is valuable, see it and keep it in the godown." To this the mother said “This is not a thing that can be bought; this is our Lord (n tha)." Hearing the word 'n tha' libhadra was surprised. “So there is some Lord over me as well. And I must do some good deed to release
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myself from his servitude." As advised by his mother he gradually took to the path of renunciation and started leaving one wife of his each day.
When libhadra's sister Subhadr praised her brother in front of her husband Dhann Se ha he said "If he wants to leave why he doesn't leave it all at once? Leaving one by one is cowardice.” Subhadr said – “Easier said than done." Hearing this Dhann got up at once and taking
libhadra with him, both took initiation at the Lord's feet. After practising different austerities, they became gods in Sarv rthasiddha vim na. This way, giving initiation in conduct to many people the Lord completed his rainy season halt in R jag ha.
The 5th Year as Keval
Completing the monsoon period in R jag ha, the Lord went to Camp and stayed at Prabhadra there. Hearing news of his arrival there, the king of the city, Datta, came with his family. Prince 'Mah candra' awoke on hearing the Lord's sermon. He became a votary. After sometime on the Lord's arrival again he renounced everything and became a monk. After sometime, the Lord arrived at V tabhaya city after leaving Camp . The king Ud yana there was a r vakaobserving the vowsand used to stay awake in the night in his armoury. On the way to V tabhaya, the monks had to face many difficulties because of the heart. There was no habitation anywhere nearby. It was impossible to find food or water. On the way, they came across caravans loaded with sesame. The caravaneers stopped their caravans and seeing the monks, requested them to partake of the sesame. Knowing that the sesame is pure without any living beings (acitta)the Lord stopped the monks from accepting it. The water at a nearby pond was also acitta, so the Lord did not permit them to quench their thirst with it. The Lord thought if the soulless grains and water is accepted easily, in future the practice of accepting the unacceptable will develop and there will not be any control over the monk tradition. Hence even if it is faultless, for a mendicant, accepting something against the social custom is wrong. At the time of leaving V tabhaya city, king Ud yana served the Lord and many took the path of renunciation. From there the Lord arrived at V ijyagr ma and spent the rainy season there.
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The 6th Year as Keval
Completing his monsoon stay at V ijyagr ma the Lord proceeded to Vras and stayed at 'Ko haka caitya'. There he gave a sermon to the people present, inspired by which the father of Cullin , his wife y m and Sur deva and his wife Dhany became votaries. Later on, they were counted amongst the foremost r vakas of the Lord. From Vras, the Lord arrived in lambhiy and stayed with disciples in amkhan da garden. The king of lambhiy , Jita atru, came to the Lord. Near the
amkhan da garden, there was a place of a renouncer named Pudgala, who was a veritable scholar of the Vedas and stras. He had attained vibhamga (skewed) knowledge by observing fasts and penance enabling him used to know the situation till Brahmaloka. Once out of ignorance he opined that the age of gods is between ten thousand years to ten s garas and he had propagated this opinion everywhere. This view reached Gautama during his wandering for alms and he told the Lord about this. The Lord said -“No, the best age is up to 33 s garas.” When Pudgala learnt this, he came to the Lord for clarification. On listening to the sermon of the Lord, He got enlightment; and taking initiation from the Lord, observing penance and restraint, he attained liberation.
During this period, Cula ataka also became a votary. After passing through various places in lambhiy a, the Lord reached R jag ha. There Mamk , Kimkama, Arjunam 1 and Kyapa were initiated into monkhood by him. Householder Varadatta too accepted restraint and attained liberation after 12 years of austerities. He had his rainy halt in R jag ha. Nandana also took intiation here.
The 7th Year as Keval
Sensing opportunities, Lord Mah v ra remained in R jag ha after the end of the rainy season. Once, king re ika was with the Lord when a leper came and sat there. Suddenly, the Lord sneezed. The leper said “die soon." Then re ika sneezed and he said "live long". When Abhayakum ra sneezed, he said, “Live or die”. When K la aukarika sneezed he said, “Neither live nor die.” This way, he said different things when different people sneezed. However, re ika was angry at the use of the word 'die' for the Lord. Even before anyone reacted, the leper vanished. Addressing re ika's curiosity, the Lord said "O king! This
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man is not a leper, but a god in this disguise. He said, “Die soon” to me, implying "attain salvationsoon”. To you he said, “Live long”, which means, there is happiness in this life; live it as later there is sorrow and the path to hell is open for you. For Abhaya both are alike; there is no joy here or after death in his next birth as well. K la aukarika is bad both ways – neither joy in living, nor any use in dying, that is why he said, "Neither live nor die."
Hearing that the path to hell is open, re ika asked the Lord – “What is the way to save me from the sorrow of hell?” The Lord said –“If you can prevent butcher K la aukarika from killing, or can get the Brahmin woman Kapil to donate, you can be released from going to hell."
re ika tried his best. However, he did not succeed either in making butcher leave his killing profession or to make Brahminwoman become of charitable disposition. Seeing re ika defeated and sad, the Lord said -“Do not worry; you will be a T rthamkara in future." After sometime
re ika made an announcement that, whosoever wants to take initiation from the Lord was free to do so. All help would be extended to that person's dependents who would be well looked after by him. Many householders, 23 princes and 13 queens, encouraged by the announcement, took initiation. Ascetic rdraka too, came to the Lord. The Lord spent that rainy season halttoo in R jag ha.
The 8th year as Keval
After the rainy sweason halt, spending a little more time in R jag ha, the Lord arrived at Kau mb. Attracted by the beauty of Mg vat of Kau mb , the king of Ujjayin , Ca dapradyota, wanted to make her his queen. Therefore, he had surrounded Kau mb as after the death of of her husband and her son Ud yana being very young, M g vat was ruling the kingdom. Hearing the Lord's arrival, she went to listen to his sermon and, ready to renounce asked Caņdapradyota present there to give her permission. In a full assembly, helpless, not only did Caņdapradyota gave her permission, but got the Lord to give her initiation in the assembly with great pomp and show. With intelligence, Mg vat protected her chastity and followed the right path. The Lord completed that c turm sa Vai 1.
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The 9th Year as Keval
Completing the rainy season halt in Vai 1, the Lord came to ‘K kamd ', passing through Mithil , and stayed at Sahasr mra garden. On the news of the Lord's arrival, king Jita atru came to offer his service. The merchant Bhadr 's son, Dhanyakum ra, too, reached there. Listening to the Lord's sermon, he gave up his vast wealth and prosperity and took initiation. Accepting initiation, he took an oath in front of the Lord -“All my life I will wander observing fasts and shall only break my fast with food free from living beings.” This way, through severe penance he made his body emaciated. Dhanyakum ra's penance and austerities were so lofty that Lord Mah v ra praised him for being the one observing the most difficult penance among his 14,000 monks. In nine months of mendicancy, monk Dhanya completed his life observing a fast and became a god in the Sary rthasiddhi vim na. 'Sunak atrakum ra' too went to Sarv rthasiddhi in this manner after initiation. After leaving K kamd , the Lord, passing through Kampilapura and Pol sapura, arrived at Va iyagr ma. At Kampilapura, Ku dkaulika accepted the
r vakaconduct and 'Sadd lputra' in Pol sapur accepted the 12 vows. Leaving V ijyagr ma the Lord arrived ta Vai 1 and completed the rainy season halt there.
The 10th Year as Keval
After the rainy season, the Lord reached R jag ha through Magadha. There, Mah ataka g th patiaccepted the vows of a votary. An elder monk from P r va's tradition, too, came to the Lord's samava ara a; an getting clarifications for his doubts from the Lord, was very happy. He said Lord Mah v ra is omniscient. He accepted the five major vows (mah vratas) from the Lord. There, in reply to some questions of Rohaka monk, the Lord said, “The question of existence of the world, the other world, living-non-living, egg and hen their pre-post discussions is an immortal one (infinite regress). In fact, there is no normative order in these, as this is an eternal tradition. In the same way, the existence of all matter in the world is interdependent." Addressing Gautama's inquisitiveness the Lord said, “The conditions and arrangements of the world are of eight types. These are; air on the basis of sky, water on the basis of air, earth on water; living beings on earth, non-living beings on living beings, different forms of life on basis of karmas and modes of
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souls, adoption of mind and speech particles and souls adopting different modes due to karmas. He spent rainy season haltat R jag ha.
The 11th Year as Keval
Leaving R jag ha, the Lord reached K tamgal -Kayamgal where the samava ara a was held at the 'Chatrapal a' garden. At that time, a renouncer named Skamdaka used to live in r vast city near K tamgal. He was the disciple of 'Gardabh la' and well-versed in Vedas and Ved mgas. Once he met a nirgrantha named Pimgala. Pimgala asked Skamdaka —“O Magadha! Can you tell me if the world, soul, Siddhi and Siddhas are with an end or without an end? What kind of death enhances or reduces a soul?” Skamdaka thought a lot but could not get the answer. He learnt that the Lord had arrived at 'Chatrapal a', so he thought, why not get the solution to this from him, and he went to Kaytamgal.
There the Lord told Gautama, “Your past acquaintance, a mendicant Skamdaka will come here in a while.” Gautama was curious and asked - "Lord, will Skamdaka become your disciple?” The Lord said “Yes, today Skamdaka will become my disciple." Skamdaka came there. Gautama welcomed him and asked -"Skamdaka, did you come here because the nirgrantha Pimgala asked you something you could not find an answer for?" Surprised, Skamdaka said “Gautama, May I ask you as to who told you my secret thought?” When Gautama introduced him to the Lord's omniscience, Skamdaka devotedly saluted the Lord. He then placed his problem in front of the Lord. The Lord said –“Skamdaka, the world is of four kinds – substance (dravya), place (k etra), time (k la) and modes or thoughts (bh va). In some way the world is with an end and in another, endless, without an end. It is the same for soul, Siddhi and Siddha. As far as dying is concerned, there are two kinds of deaths; death as a child/fool (b la) and death of a knowledgeable one (pa dita). Death as a child enhances the transmigration cycle (sams r ) while the death of a knowledgeable one or death in sam dhi (meditation) reduces transmigratory cycle. Dying in ignorance, unmeditative, on account of anger, greed, lust, etc is a childhood death."
Skamdaka was very happy with the knowledgeable solutions given by the Lord. He expressed desire to be a mendicant. Knowing him to be a suitable person the Lord gave him initiation. Skamdaka became a monk.
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For 12 years, he seriously observed the conduct of a monk and affected his soul through various austerities and died on the Vipula Mountain in meditative state. The Lord reached V ijyagr ma passing through S vatth , from Kaytamgal .
The 12th Year as Keval
At the end of the monsoon period the Lord left V ijyagr ma and came to the Bahu la caitya in Br hmi aku da. Jam li, the heretic had sought permission in this very place from the Lord to wander separaetely and when he was silent he left with five hundred monks to wander independently. The Lord arrived at Kau mb while going towards Vatsade a. At Kau mb , Candra and S rya had come for venerating the Lord in their own vim nas, which is an extraordinary event. From Kau mb the Lord reached R jag ha and stayed at Gu a la caitya. The Lord's monsoon stay of the year was at R jag ha. In that same year his disciples, ‘Veh sa' and `Abhaya' became gods after their fast unto death on Vipula Mountain.
The 13th Year as Keval
Leaving R jag ha the Lord reached Camp and stayed at P r abhadra garden. Kau ika used to rule Camp at that time. Kau ika had made systematic arrangements to stay abreast of the Lord's well-being and news of his leaving. He used to have his food after he got the above news of the Lord. On the news of arrival of the Lord, Kau ika went to pay obeisance to the Lord with pomp and show. The Lord gave his sermon. Many householders became monks. Prominent among them were the ten grandsons of re ika. Jinap lita, etc also became rama as and a famous trader like P lita became a votary and the Lord completed his rainy season haltthere.
The 14th Year as Keval
From Camp the Lord left for Videha. At K kand city, the householder Khemaka' and 'Dh tidhara' took initiation and observing restraint and austerities for 16 years, in the end both became enlightened at the Vipula hill. Wandering, the Lord reached Mithil and stayed there for the rainy season. Completing that, passing through Amgade a, the Lord reached
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Camp city and addressed the samava ara a at P r abhadra caitya. At that time, there was a war going on in Vai 1. Queens of the royal family and ordinary people came to offer worship. At the end of his sermon, the 10 queens, including K 1, Suk 1, etc, asked the Lord about the wellbeing of their sons gone to war. Hearing about the death of their sons from the Lord, Kl and other queens developed detachment, taking permission of Kau ika, they accepted initiation. All the queens studied the 11 Amgas under the ryik Candan and observed many austerities and in the end, observing a fast, meditating, ended all pain and attained nirva.
15th Year as Keval
Through Vai 1, the Lord moved to r vast. There, Halla and Vihalla, Kau ika's brothers, accepted initiation into monkhood and practiced severe penance for self-purification. Reaching r vast , the Lord stayed at Ko haka caitya. Mamkhaliputra Go laka too, was in r vast at that time. He was propagating the ' j vaka' sect and he called himself a T rthamkara. The word had spead in r vast that two T rthamkara were present there. Gautama wanted to know the truth from the Lord. The Lord gave a complete account of Go laka and said Go laka was not a 'Jina' but a psuedo Jina. When Go laka hea He was speaking angrily with his fellow i vakas when the Lord's disciple namda was pasing by. When Golaka saw him, he called him and said -“ namda, my spiritual teacher rama a Mah v ra has attained an excellent status and he is honoured by gods and men, but if he says anything about me it will not be good; I shall turn him into ashes with my power.”
On hearing this, innocent namda became sad and got worried. He told everything to the Lord and asked him – “Lord, does Go laka have so much power that he can turn a T rthamkara into ashes?” The Lord said – "Go laka certainly has that much power that he can reduce an ordinary to ashes but he cannot burn an Arihanta; but yes, he can produce difficulties and pain. Hence, please alert Gautama and other detached persons (nirgranthas). Go laka can come here any moment. He is angry due to hatred; hence do not respond to anything he says. There is no need to indulge in religious debate with him or to give him religious inspiration."
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The Lord was just saying this to the monks when Go laka reached the garden with his disciples and said -“K yapa, you say Mamkhaliputra Go laka is your disciple. That is true, but that disciple of yours died and has become a god. I am from the Kauţiny yana gotra. I have Go laka's body because it is capable of bearing with ordeals. This is my seventh entry into a body.” Hearing Go laka's words, the Lord said -“Go laka, since you are caught, you are weaving a web of words. However, this is not right. You are Go laka and no one else but him. There is no need to make these false utterances.” Go laka was very angry hearing the Lord's clear speech and started blabbering nonsense. He also abused the Lord.
The words of Go laka did not affect the Lord. Other monks too remained silence as per the Lord's orders, but the heretic 'Sarv nubh ti' could not contain him. He told Go laka -“Go laka, it is not right for a mendicant like you to behave so inappropriately in spite of having been initiated by the Lord. Do not take refuge in unwise action in anger." Go laka was furious to hear Sarv nubh ti's words. He hurled a hot flash in anger, which reduced Sarv nubh ti to ashes. Like Sarv nubh ti, the monk 'Sunak atra' too could not tolerate this. He, too, tried to explain to Go laka. In turn, Go laka hurled another hot flash. While its impact was not as powerful, but with fearsome pain, he came and prayed to the Lord, and with repentance again accepting the major vows, seeking forgiveness from all, ended his life in meditation.
In the end Mah v ra himself tried to advise Go laka bit, but it had an opposite effect on Go laka and he hurled another hot flash at Mah v ra. It did not burn Mah v ra's body but circumambulated him and leapt back at Go laka and burning him, went into his body. Go laka started to feel pain in his body, yet he said to the Lord –“K yapa! Today you were saved, but with the impact of my hot flash, within six months of your mendicancy period, you will die.” The Lord said _“I shall wander as a
T rthamkara for 16 years now but you, pained by your own hot flash, will be rid of your body within seven nights.”
3 In contrast to the “Note” given in the 1st year as keval . this is the 14th year of the keval -cary. Hence, the reference to wandering for 16 years is correct, but this is the 27th year after initiation and 57th year of his life.
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By using the hot flash repeatedly, Go laka became lack-lustre and the energy of his penance became deadly for him. By using the hot flash against the Lord, he had rendered himself corrupt and power-less. With the Lord's permission, the nirgransthas made him speechless with their questions. He was disappointed with his defeat. To cool down the hot flashes he began to drink water and pour water over his head.
Go laka told his elder monks of j vaka cult that after his death his body should be bathed in scented water, decked in valuable ornaments and taken in procession with honour and let it be announced that Go laka was the 24"Trthamkara jina and he became enlightened, emancipated and liberated. Suddenly on the 7" night, his eyes became clear and pure. His illusion had disappeared. In his mind he came to repent that despite being a non-jina, he was claiming to be a jina. It was wrong on his part to attack the rama a monks and hate his spiritual teacher. Lord Mah v ra is the true jina and T rthamkara. He at one once called all the monks and said _“Whatever I said about myself are all false. I am not a jina. Hence when I die, as a mark of repentance, spit on me thrice and tying my feet with a rope, drag my body through the streets of r vast , declaring that Go laka was not a jina, Mah v ra is the jina." He made them take an oath to this effect and died on the seventh night. When he died, the monks thought to do as told would demean them. Hence, to protect themselves from the fault of having disrespected the instructions, together they counseled with each other and at Go laka's residence they instructed the potter, Halahal, to recreate the scene of r vast there, and after taking the body around thrice, they took out a procession and respectfully completed Go laka's last rites.
The Lord's Cure
Reaching Medhiy gr ma the Lord sat on a stone on the ground in the 'S la Ko haka caitya' outside the village. At that time, the Lord experienced extreme pain in his body due to Go laka's hot flash attack. He also developed blood dysentery. The Lord bore them peacefully. At that time, a noble-looking disciple of the Lord, Sh muni, was in M luy kaccha. Observing a fast, he was meditating when he sensed in hi mind that his spiritual teacher has developed a big illness and if he dies in this state, people will think he died during monkhood. With this thought, S h started crying and wailing. When the Lord sensed this state of Sh , he called and said -“There is no need to be sad over imagining
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that something sad is to happen to me. I do have pain from Go laka's attack, but I am not going to die. I shall wander as a jina for fifteen-anda-half years now. Go to the r vaka ‘Revat 's house in Medhiy gr ma; do not bring the food kept for me, but bring stale citron fruit, which is aprorpriate to cure the disease."
Sh was very happy to hear this and immediately went to Revat 's house in Medhiy gr ma. Consuming the citron fruit brought from Revat 's house, the Lord's pain subsided and within a few days he became as brilliant as before. There was a wave of cheer in human and divine worlds with the Lord regaining health. Revat too obtained to the life of a god and later earned the T rthamkara n makarma because of this charity with pure feeling.
Demise of Sarv nubh ti, etc
One day, Gautama asked the Lord -“Lord, what will be the status of your congregational disciple Sary nubh ti, who has been burnt to ashes by Go laka's hot flash?” The Lord replied “Sarv nubh ti has been reborn as a heavenly being with life span of eighteen s gara in the eighth heaven and exiting from there, he will be born in Mah Videha where he will attain emancipation, enlightenment and liberation." Gautama then asked _“Where did Go laka go after death?" The Lord said that due to the pure thought at the end hour, he has been reborn in the 12th heaven as a god of 22-s gara life span. From there, continuously wandering through hell and netherworld, facing sorrow, he will obtain right perception. In the end, observing restraint, he will attain omniscience (kevalajñ na) and destroying his karmas, shall put an end to all his sorrow.'
Leaving Medhiy gr ma the Lord reached Mithil and completed rainy season halt there. In that very year, Jam li monk had an argument with the Lord and the female-monk Sudar an , having being awakened by the potter dhamka, rejoined the Lord's congregation.
16th Year as Keval
Completing the rainy season halt in Mithil , the Lord went to Hastin pura. At that time, Gautama, along with a few monks, arrived at the Ko haka garden in r vast. Outside the city, the monk of P r va's tradition, Ke kum ra, was staying with his group of monks in the
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Timduka garden. He had three kinds of knowledge – mati, ruti and avadhi. At that point, two groups of rama a monks were in r vast and there was some difference in the clothes and thoughts of the two. Hence, it was natural for people to have suspicions as to why there is differnce between the two sects of the same religion. If one propounds C tury ma why does the other pamcavrat s? One's practice is nudity, while the other's is with clothes. Why such difference in practice when the aim is common? Ke and Gautama felt they should come together and have mutual discussions to remove doubts in the minds of rama as and
r vakas. Keeping in mind the age and loftiness of Ke kum ra, Gautama took his disciples to Timduka forest. Ke kum ra duly welcomed and honoured Gautama. Thousands of people, apart from disciples of the respective monks, had gathered to see and hear this extraordinary discussion of two respected monks. Ke kum ra said to Gautama –“Oh fortunate one! We are fortunate that you have come here with your monks. I would like to clarify some of my doubts from you. My first doubt is that Lord P r van tha spoke of C tury ma dharma, whereas Mah v ra speaks of pamcamah vratas. What is the reason behind this?” Gautama said -"Religious concepts are presented in accordance with the nature of knowledge prevalent in people at that time. At the time of the first T rthamkara, peole were simple and unawakened and in the time of the last Trthamkara Mah v ra, people are skewed and unawakened / unconscious. It was difficult for people to understand in those days and today it is difficult for people to observe the vows. Hence, to clarify vows of both times, the pamcamah vratas are established. In the time of the middle T rthamkara people were straightforward and intelligent. Understanding the instructions easily, they used to observe them too as easily; hence the middle 22 T rthamkara taught the C tury ma dharma."
Ke kum ra was satisfied with Gautama's response. He posed a second question _“Varddham na Mah v ra speaks of acelaka (nude) conduct while Lord P r van tha spoke of a single upper cloth, why is that?” Gautama replied that mode of dressing is important for people to know. Mode of dress is extraneous; it can change. In fact, in the practise to attain mok a, knowledge, perception and conduct are eternal, which never change. The exterior form, while being necessary, is secondary in importance; the primary and most important is the internal concept, which is the same for both Lord P r van tha and Mah v ra.
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rama a Ke kum ra was very happy with similar answers to his his 12 other questions by Gautama and saluting Gautama, along with his disciples, he accepted Lord Mah v ra's pamcamah vratas from him.
The philosophical conversation of Ke and Gautama had a great impact on the people gathered there. This union of the knowledgeable was the topic of discussion for a long time in r vast and resulted in great change in people's attitude and behaviour.
Then Mah v ra arrived in Hastin pura via Kur republic and sat in Sahasr mravana. King iva ruled over Hastin pura then. By nature, he was a contented, emotional and religious person. Once he woke up from sleep in the night and thought, “I am happy in everyway. I am progressing in terms of wealth, food-stock, friends, treasure, etc. yet it is not nice to spend a lifetime over the deposits of enjoyment and wealth. I should do something for my future. It would be good if I crown prince
ivabhadra as king tomorrow at sunrise and become a mendicant. In the morning, he became initiated as an ascetic and decided that he would continuously observe fasts and would wander keeping both his hands raised upwards, facing the Sun.
This way, he became a princely sage (r jar i). On the day he broke his fast; he would duly construct a ritual platform, make a ritual fire and after sacrifice and prayers to guest, have his food. This way, doing penance facing the Sun for a long time, Sage iva obtained ruptured knowledge. He started seeing and knowing matters across the seven seas. He was happy with an accomplishment of his and started saying that he had attained pure knowledge from his peance that nothing exists beyond the seven seas and seven islands. When Indrabh ti heard this, he asked the Lord. The Lord said -“No, on the earth there are innumerable islands and seas.” When people heard about the question and answer session of Gautama and Lord Mah v ra, they started discussing about sage iva and Mah v ra's statements. There were doubts in sage iva's mind and in this state of indecisiveness; he lost his ruptured knowledge. He thought - "Perhaps, something was lacking in my knowledge. Mah v ra must be right." Leaving the hermitage, he reached Sahasr mravana, and paying obescience to Mah v ra, sat at an appropriate place. When the Lord completed his sermon he pleaded -“Lord, please give me initiation into your nirgrantha order.” With the Lord's acceptance, he renounced the
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sage's attire and practices and taking five fistfuls of hair, took the five mah vratas. He observed several austerities after becoming a nirgrantha, studied the 11 Amgas and in the end, destroying all karmas, attained nirva.
After sometime, the Lord reached V jyagr ma touching Mok city from Hastin pura and stayed for the rainy season there. In this time, among the ones who became mendicants, Po ila's name is worthy of mention.
17th Year as Keval
At the end of the rainy season, the Lord moved from Videha to Magadha and reaching R jag ha, had a samava ara a at Gu a la caitya. In that year, many monks observed fasts unto death at Vipula hill in R jag ha, fulfilling their spiritual duties. The Lord spent that rainy season in R jag ha.
18th Year as Keval
Completing the c turm sa R jag ha, the Lord left for Camp and became seated in P hacamp on its western part. Hearing news of the Lord's arrival, the king of Camp, la, and his brother, prince Mah la, came to listen to the Lord's sermon and took initiation. From P hacamp, the Lord reached the P r abhadra caitya in Camp. K madeva, follower of
rama as, was also present at the samava ara a. After his sermon, the Lord told the nirgrantha monks that despite being in the householder's life, K madeva has borne all calamities with equanimity. All monks should take inspiration from him. The monks-female-monks accepted this with respect. Leaving Camp , the Lord reached Da r apura. The king there was great devotee of the Lord. He went to offer his respects with his four-fold army with great pomp and show. On the way, he felt pride wondering about others being present there with as much prosperity as him. At that time he saw the king of gods, Indra, alighting from the sky and seeing his prosperity, his pride was shattered. However, to protect his honour, he immediately took initiation and became part of the mendicants' order. Indra, who had come there with his riches to shatter his pride, felt ashamed seeing this courage of Dar abhadra, and venerating him, returned to his place.
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Leaving Dar apura, the Lord arrived at V ijyagr ma, after passing through Videha. SomilaBrahmin, a Vaidika scholar reached with his students to see the Lord and while standing, inquired him about different types of journey (vih ra) like y pan ya, avy b dha and pr suka. When he could not succeed in making the Lord answer-less to these questions, he asked some strange questions relating to the edible and inedible. After getting answers to even those questions, in order to test further Mah v ra's knowledge of facts, he asked some theoretical questions. Getting appropriate responses from the Lord, Somila was very impressed and he faithfully accepted the householder's vows from the Lord and ending his life in meditation went to heaven. The Lord completed his c turm sa V ijyagr ma.
19th Year as Keval
After completing the rainy season, wandering through S keta, S vatth , etc in Kau ala country, the Lord arrived at P mc la and stayed at Sahasr mravana of Kampilapura. A Brahmin named Ambada used to stay there. He was a renouncer and had 700 disciples with him. When he saw Mah v ra's life of penance, and heard his sermons inspiring disenchantment, he became a follower of Jainism along with his disciples and in the mode of a mendicant, practised the set of restraints ordained for a householder. One day, during his begging tour, Gautama heard that the ascetic Ambada accepts food from 700 households at the same time. He shared his inquisitiveness with the Lord, who said -“Ambada is a respectable and humble renouncer. He has attained v ryalabdhi, vaikriyalabdhi and avadhij na because of long fasts and focused meditation. Hence, in 700 body forms he acquires simultaneously, is seen going to seven hundred homes at the same time. This Ambada has knowledge of soul and non-soul; a follower of rama atradition, he will not accept mendicancy."
Talking about Ambada's wandering practice the Lord said he sacrificed basic violence, untruth and does not take anything that has not been given and is a celibate and contented. While wandering, barring water that passes by on the way, he does not take water from river, well or pond by jumping into them. He does not ride on vehicles and walks on foot. He does not see arousing performances, nor does he indulge in gossip. He neither touches green vegetables, nor tears them. As for
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vessels, he only uses a gourd, wooden vessel or an earthen pot, not one made of any metal. He does not wear anything apart from an ochre robe; does not wear any ornaments apart from purifying copper. He does not use anything on the body except soil from Gamg . He drinks only filtered water and that too, given by another. After spending many years in austerities ascetic Ambada will ultimately give up food for a month and after death, will be born as a prosperous god in Brahmaloka heaven. Leaving Kampilapura the Lord arrived at Vai 1 where he spent the rainy season.
20th Year as Keval
At the end of the rainy season, wandering through many places the Lord again came to Vijyagr ma. When he was giving a sermon at the D tipal a caitya, there a monk of the P r va tradition, G mgeya came to attend. He asked many questions to the Lord after the sermon and happy with those answers, told him, “you are omniscient, all- knowing." He accepted the Lord's five mah vratas and became part of his rama a order. From there the Lord arrived at Vail and completed c turm sathere.
21st Year as Keval
Completing the rainy season, the Lord left Vai 1 for Magadha and reaching R jag ha, went to the Gu a la garden. Many monks of other t rthas used to stay near that garden. They used to have discussions among each other from time to time. Usually, in these debates, they used to praise their own thoughts and condemn the other's. Gautama heard them and placed his questions to the Lord. To one of those questions the Lord said that living being (j va) and soul are one, not separate.
One day, outside the hermitage near the garden, some monks were discussing about pamc stik yas, when a r vaka named Madduka passed by. Some tairthikas including K lod y saw him and said Madduka has good knowledge about Mah v ra's doctrine, why do not we seek his opinion. Thus, they called Madduka and asked him many questions relating to pamc stik yas. The tairthikas were speechless listening to Madduka's concepts and arguments. When Madduka went to see the Lord, the Lord praised him. Gautama was highly impressed seeing Madduka's ability and remarkable qualities. After he left, he asked the
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Lord -“Lord! Will r vaka Madduka become a monk?” The Lord said - “No, he will remain a householder and complete his life with piety and become a god in the Aru bha vim na. Again in a rebirth as a human being, he will take to the path of restraint and become enlightened, emancipated and liberated." The Lord completed that rainy season halt (c turm sa) at R jag ha.
22nd Year as Keval
Leaving R jag ha, wandering through many places the Lord again returned to R jag ha and stayed at Gu a la caitya. Once when Indrabh ti was returning to Gu a la caitya after taking alms he met two tairthikas K lod y and ailod y on the way. They said it would be good if you can explain to us the correct essence of the pamc stik ya, such as dharm stik ya, etc, that your teacher, the spiritual preceptor, k atriya-son Mah v ra propounds. Gautama said, in brief -“We do not talk of the nonexistents as the existents and the existents as the non-existents. With particular reflection you will understand the secret.” Saying this, Gautama moved ahead, without resolving his problem. Therefore, he too followed Gautama to the Lord. The Lord explained to him about pamc stik ya and seeing an appropriate moment gave a sermon, inspired by which K lod y took initiation into the nirgrantha order and became a monk and after studying the 11 Amgas in sequential order, he became an expert in the secret of discourse.
To the northeast of R jag ha was the city N land. Once, the Lord was sitting in the garden Hastigr ma near a hall named e a-dravik . There a monk of the P r va tradition, Pedh laputra Udaka met Indrabh ti. To resolving a query by Udaka with regard to the vow of non-killing, Indrabh ti said that the one who gives up violence on mobile living beings (or a being with one or two senses) is giving up violence on that being in the present. It is not important; whether it was an immobile being (plants, etc) or a mobile being in the past. Violence on that is prohibited against the mobile living beings in the present existence. A renouner's objective is with the present state of being; what was in the past, or will be in the future, only the knowledgeable can know it. Hence, they who observe the vows taken but are unable to totally give up violence and accept the monk's conduct, have a good outcome. Thus, a
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follower of the rama a tradition, who has given up violence on mobile beings, does not break his vows by violence on immobile beings.
This way with other analyses with appropriate substantiation, Gautama cleared the doubts of Udaka Pedh la. He was leaving when Gautama said, "Udaka, you know that hearing religious speech from a non-violent (m ha a) monk, the person who has gained knowledge bestows respect on him.” Udaka understood Gautama's hint and he not only expressed complete faith in Gautama, but also accepted the five mah vratas at the feet Lord Mah v ra and became part of his monk order. The Lord spent that year's c turm sa N land.
23rd Year as Keval
At the end of the rainy season, moving from N land the Lord reached V ijyagr ma in Videha, which was famous in those days for trade. A prominent trader named Sudar ana lived there. The Lord was staying D tipal a caitya. There were scores of people waiting to see the Lord. Sudar ana came there. After people left, Sudar ana asked the Lord about “time cycles'. Explaining to him about the palyopama time the Lord narrated to him his past life account. On hearing this, Sudar ana recollected his past life. At that very moment he accepted initiation. Then he studied, respectively, the 11 Amgas and 14 p rvas and observed the
rama a vows for 12 years, and destroying his karmas, in the end, attained niry a.
Once Gautama was returning from his alms-seeking stroll to the ‘D tipal a' caitya when, on the way, he heard of the acceptance of a fast by the householder namda. He thought namda is Lord's devoted disciple, has started to observe a fast. Therefore, I must see him; and he went to Koll ga nearby. namda was delighted to see Gautama. He saluted him and after sometime, said -“Lord! Can a householder attain avadhij na remaining at home?" Gautama said -"yes." namda said -“I too have attained avadhij na; I know, and am seeing, forms and objects upto the Culla Himavamta mountain to the north, up to 500 – 500 yojanas of the Salt Ocean, above until Sauddharma realm of gods and below until the Lolaccua hell."
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Gautama said –“A householder attains avadhij na but to this extent; you should repent your false statement.” To this, namda said _“I am speaking the truth. Perhaps you should repent.” Gautama had doubt in his mind and approached the Lord at once. The Lord said -“No, whatever namda said was right; hence you must repent your false opinion.” Hearing the Lord, without breaking his fast, Gautama went to
namda and accepting his folly, sought forgiveness. From there, wandering, the Lord reached Vai 1, and stayed there during the rains.
24th Year as Keval
After the c turm sa at Vai 1, the Lord moved to S keta in Kau ala land. A famous r vaka, Jinadeva, wandering, came to 'Ko var a' city. Kir tar ja belonged to the local Mleccha lineage lived there. Jinadeva, who had come for trade, gave him different kinds of gems. Seeing them Kir tar ja said - "Where are these produced?” Jinadeva said “our country is a veritable mine of these gems." Kir tar ja said _“With the permission of your king, take me too to your country so I can see your country and its gems." Making all arrangements for the journey, Jinadeva brought Kir tar ja along with him to stay in his house. At that time, Lord Mah v ra reached S keta. Seeing a crowd Kir tar ja enquired – “Where are people going in such large numbers?" Jinadeva said "King, a great owner, and trader of gems has arrived; people are going to see him." Saying, “then even I must go", Kir tar ja accompanied Jinadeva to Mah v ra's assembly. Seeing Mah v ra's throne and umbrella above, Kir tar ja was amazed. He saluted the Lord and asked him about his gems. The Lord said _“There are two types of gems -material gem and psychic (bh va) gem. Again, there are three types of bh va gems – dar ana (intuition), j na (knowledge and caritra (conduct). These three are such powerful gems that they not only increase the fame of the one that wears them but also improve his this-worldly and other-worldly state. Material (dravya) gems have a limited effect; they only bring joy in the present, but the bh va gems give joy for several births and lead to the true destination.” Hearing this, Kir tar ja was happy and said – "Lord, then give me the bh va gems.” The Lord got him a whiskbroom and mouth cloth (mukha vastrik ), which Kir tar ja accepted and became part of the Lord's monk order.
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Leaving S keta the Lord went to Kampilapura in P mc la region. From there, wandering through S rasena, Mathur , Namd pura, etc, he came to Videha and spent the rainy season in Mithil.
25th Year as Keval
At the end of the rainy season, the Lord left for Magadha. Giving sermons on the nirgranthatradition in various places, he arrived at R jag ha and sat in Gu a la caitya. It was here that Gatiprap ta text was composed. One monk, K lod y, asked the Lord that how does a person on his own do karmas that beget bad results. The Lord said, in the same way as immersed in the taste of impure food a person does not pay attention to its consequences, similarly, while doing something that gives momentary happiness and charm, a person forgets that its consequences will be bad later on. Naturally, K lod y asked, “in this state, how does a person do good deeds?” The Lord said -“A person has medicine which is bitter with the thought that it will be beneficial to the body. In the beginning, the attitude to do good deeds develops from inducement. Then, seeing its result being happy, people naturally start doing it."
K lod y's second question concerned violence that where one person makes a fire and the other douses it, which among these two commits greater violence and becomes a sinner. The Lord said -“The one who douses the fire does more violence on the fire; he destroys it. However, in dousing it, prevents and stops violence on the earth, water, air, the vegetable kingdom and mobile beings. Whereas the one producing the fire gives life to the fire, hence from fire it gets violence on other living beings. Thus, if we see carefully, the one who produces fire does greater violence than the one who douses it and as a result, obtains sin.”
Happy with the Lord's answers K lod y attained nirva in the end observing various kinds of penance and fast unto death. Ga adhara Prabh sa too observed a one month fast in that year and attained niry a and the Lord completed his c turm sa there.
26th Year as Keval
At the completion of the rainy season, the Lord gave sermons at various places and returned to R jag ha's Gu a la caitya. In this year,
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Acalabhrt and Met rya ga adharas attained niry awith a one-month fast unto death (sam dhi).
27th Year as Keval
Leaving N land the Lord moved towards Videha and wandering, sat at Ma ibhadra caitya in Mithil . King Jita atru came there. The Lord gave sermon to a large gathering. Indrabh ti and other monk disciples asked questions regarding the Sun's movement in the orbit, expanse of the rays of the Sun and shadow, the waxing and waning of the Moon, the reasons for planetary oppression, birth of a meteor, beginning of an era, etc. The Lord spent that year's c turm sa Mithil.
28th Year as Keval
At the end of the rainy season halt, he wandered across places in Videha and gave initiation to many devotees into the rama a tradition as well as inspired many great people towards the r vaka tradition. Incidentally, the Lord spent c turm saof that year in Mithil .
29th Year as Keval
At the end of the rainy season, the Lord left Mithil for Magadha and reaching R jag ha, sat in Gu a la garden. At that time the r vaka of Magadha, Mah ataka, was observing the last fast. Because of the purity of his perseverance during his fasting, he attained avadhij na and he was able to see far off places in four directions. One of his wives was Revat whose character and behaviour was altogether different from that of Mah ataka. She was unhappy with Mah ataka's spiritual practice. One day, unaware, she reached the spot where Mah ataka engrossed in austerity, reaching there, she started shouting angrily, leaving her hair open, like a hysterical person, and acting in an uncivilised manner. Mah ataka was peaceful for a very long time but in the end he felt sorry for Revat 's behaviour and suddenly said -“Revat, your uncivilised behaviour is not good. The result of this karma of yours will not be good. You will die in seven days and go to the first hell." Revat was frightened on hearing Mah ataka's words. Ultimately, just as Mah ataka had said, she died and went to the first hell.
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Mah ataka was a dear r vaka of the Lord. He learnt of Mah ataka's mental state and asked Gautama to go to Mah ataka's fasting hall and tell him his behaviour with Revat was not right; hence, he must repent. As per the Lord's instructions, Mah ataka repented and purified himself. The Lord's disciples and Ga adharas Agnibh ti and V yubh ti attained nirva with a fast unto death (sam dhi). This year, the Lord was spent c turm sa at R jag ha.
The 30th Year as Keval
After the c turm sa, too, the Lord stayed back at R jag ha for sometime. At that time, his ga adharas, Avyakta, Mamdita and Akampita attained nirva after month-long fasts each at Gu a la garden. Leaving R jag ha, the Lord arrived at the hall of scribes of king Hastip la at P v pur . The gathering immediately became a samava ara a. Addresing a huge gathering of people, the Lord said that life is dear to all living beings and so is happy and sweet behaviour. On the contrary, nobody likes death, sorrow and rude behaviour. A person should behave with others just as he would like others to behave with him. This is the basic idea of humanity and the foundation of religion. After the crowd left, king Pu yap la told the Lord "Lord, in the last moments of yesterday night I saw eight things in the form of an elephant, money, k rataru, a crow, lion, lotus, seed and pitcher. I am afraid if this deam is an ominous sign of an inauspicious event.”
Lord Mah v ra told king Pu yap la “Oh king, this dream indicates the future. Elephant in the dream indicates that in future even wise rama a adherents will live like an elephant in rut moment of wealthy, prosperous householder's life. Even in the most frightening difficult situations, they will not think of renouncing. Those who will take the path of restraint giving up their homes will also give up restraint or will not practise restraint well under influence of bad company. There will be very few who will follow with firmness the path of restraint."
“Seeing a monkey in the dream indicates that in future even great leaders of the congregation will be fickle in nature; they will be less courageous and will be negligent. They will not only disregard religion but also dishonour it. The few and far-between people who will behave righteously and observe the vowswill be laughed at.”
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"K rataru (P pala tree) in a dream indicates that in future fraudulent namesake monks will surround votaries who will donate with a wicked feeling. These people will consider monks of pure conduct as lax and the fox-like lax ones as ones of pure conduct.”
“Seeing a cow in a dream indicates that in future most monks and ascetics, opposing the norm, taking refuge in various fake sects, will keep changing the sect. Cawing like crows, these people will consider it their duty to condemn righteous people through perverse arguments.”
"Seeing a lion in distress indicates that the brilliant, renunciationoriented Jain religion will become weak in future. Turning away from thepreside of the religion, people will show respect to false monks in disguise.”
“Seeing a lotus in a dream indicates that in future by virtue of bad company pure people will also turn away from the righteous path and turn towards bad deeds and behaviour.”
“Seeing a seed in the dream indicates that in future people will leave out those who are worthy of being given to, and give alms to the unworthy in the same way as a farmer sows a good seed in barren land and tries to grow bad seeds on fertile land."
“Oh king, in the end you saw a pitcher which says that in future there will be very few monks with qualities of penance, sacrifice, compassion, etc. Further, there will be pretentious monks of lax conduct in large numbers. Householders will not be able to distinguish between them and shall behave similarly with both kinds of monks.”
King Pu yap la developed detachment on hearing the results of his dreams. He accepted the path of restraint at the feet of the Lord and through right austerities, destroying all karmas, and attained nirva.
Description of K lacakra (cycle of time)
One day Lord Mah v ra's first Ga dhara Indrabh ti Gautama expressed curiosity about k lacakra. The Lord said _“Time cycle (k lacakra) has two main parts, avasarpi (regressive half-cycle) and utsarpi
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(progressive half-cycle). Consistently regressive half cycle is avasarpi and consistently progressing half cycle is utsarpi . Every cycle is of ten kod kod s garas. Thus, one k lacakra is of 20 kod ākodīgaras.
The regressive time cycle of avasarpi consists of six parts. Every part is called raka. The names of six rakas or ras are as follows:
antino
Su am - Su ama Su ama Su am -Du ama Du am -Su ama du ama Du am - du ama
Happy-happy Happy Happy unhappy Unhappy happy Unhappy Unhappy unhappy
“The first raka is completely happy. This raka is of four-kod ākodi s gara. At the beginning of this raka, a human life span is of three palyopama, height 3 miles, and body has 256 ribs. The body consists of the best bones and bolt muscles in perfect symmetry all over. In this period, the mother gives birth at the same time to a son and daughter twins (yugala) who at an appropriate time spend lives as husband and wife. People of this age have divine beauty; they are gentle, soft-spoken, and simple-minded and eat leaves, fruits and flowers. They feel hungry once in three days. The taste of the earth in this time is like sugar Candy. In that time, the atmosphere is exceedingly beautiful and charming, happy, peaceful and joyous. People of that time do not have to make efforts for livelihood because ten kinds of kalpav k a fulfill all their needs. When the twins' lifespan has six months remaining of it, they give birth to twin son and daughter. The parents look after the twin borns for 49 days, the twin youth live together and roam freely. On completion of three palyopama years, one of them sneezes and the other yawns and they end their lives to be born to gods. There are six kinds of humans in the 1st raka.
“The second raka called Su am is of three kod ākodīgaras. In this, in contrast to the first raka the qualities of colour, smell, taste and touch are far less pleasant. In the initial stage of this raka, the age is two palyopama, height 2 miles and ribs are 128. The body consists bones and is in symmetry all over. They feel hungry once in two days. The taste of the earth declines to become similar to sugar. Even in this
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raka, ten kinds of kalpay k a fulfill all human needs. Just as in the first
raka when the yugalinis have six months to live, they give birth to a son and daughter twins, who start their married life independently after brought up by their parents. At the end of their lives these twins too sneeze, yawn, and dying become gods. There are four kinds of human beings in this raka.”
“The Su am -du ama raka is of 2 kod ākoçī garas. When compared to the second r , in this, there is degeneration to a large extent in colour, smell, taste and touch. In the beginning of this r , the life-span is 1 palyopama, height 2000 dhanu a and ribs are 64 in number. The body consists of the best bones and muscles, in perfect symmetry all over. They feel hungry on alternate days. The kalpav k a also fulfill their needs.They also do not have to make effort to earn their livelihoods. Hence, this era is also an era of enjoyment (bhoga). Six months before death the female twin gives birth to son-daughter twins who are looked after by the parents for 79 days and then they roam about freely. In the end they sneeze and yawn and after death become gods."
“This situation continues till two-thirds part of the time cycle. Due to speedy changes in the last part (approximately a crore p rvas) human beings, have six kinds of body build-up, symmetry, and different dhanu a height, age lower number of years and at the maximum innumerable years. All human beings do not go to heaven after death; but go to hell, netherworld, human womb and some on gods' realms, or the process of attaining mok a begins. When the eighth part of one palyopama remains of the third part of this cycle, 15 kulakaras are born successively in Bharata. Kalpav k a reduce in numbers as well as turn weak. This results in scarcity of things needed for living causing enmity and contests between people. Kulakaras try to keep people in control.”
"When 84 lakh p rvas, three years and eight-and-a-half months remained of this avasarpi half cycle, Vabhan tha was born, who became the first king and first T rthamkara. Administering for 63 lakh p rvas, V abhan tha taught the humans of the time asi (art of government / military occupation), masi (writing) and k i (farming) and other skills and arts and changed the world from the world of enjoyment (bhoga bh mi) to that of action (karma bh mi). He founded the first t rtha of the avasarpi half cycle. It was in this raka that we had the first
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Trthamkara and the first cakravart. Three years and eight-and-a-half months remained for the third r to end when Lord Vabhan tha attained nirva."
“The fourth r named Du am -Su amais of 42 thousand years less one kod ākodī gara years. In contrast to the third raka, in this there is rise in the sense of colour, smell, taste and touch and decline to a large extent in strength, heroism, action, human form and bravery, etc. There are six kinds of body structure of humans and different dhanu a height and timespan is of minimum antarmuh rta and maximum p rvako i. After dying, they go to five different kinds of destinations. In this raka there are 23 T rthamkara, 11 Cakravart s, 9 Baladevas, 9 Vasudevas and 9 prati Vasudevas."
In the presence of the T rthamkara the country is beautiful, prosperous and has abundant food and wealth. The c ryas of that time reflect the brilliance of deep knowledge. Just seeing them gives a feeling of contentment and peace and their speech produces joy in people. Parents are full of loving tenderness comparable to gods. Subjects are truthful, respectful, faithful to religion / righteousness, of pure hearts, and ones who honour and pay obeisance to teachers like gods. In the time of the T rthamkara, knowledge, science, good behaviour, clan honour and pride are of the highest order. Kings are inclined towards sacrifice and are the foremost devotees of the renouncer Lord.”
"Introducing the extreme situation in the fifth raka the Lord said – "Three years, eight months and fifteen days after my mok a will commence the fifth r named du ama, which will have a time span of 21 thousand years. My religious rule will continue till the last day of the fifth r . But the moment the fifth r begins, degeneration of colour, smell, taste, touch will happen alongside successive destruction of religion / righteousness, character, truth, peace, right belief, good behaviour, good knowledge, courage, bravery, compassion, sacrifice, vows, etc and in their place bad qualities will keep accumulating. Villages will seem fearsome like graveyards and cities will seem like a playground of ghouls. Kings will bring pain like the god of death Yamar ja and subjects will be timid like slaves. All over there will be the rule of 'Matsyar jya' that is, there will be a tradition of putting an end to those smaller than one. There will develop the tendency of looting and
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usurping by the authorities and there will be disorder everywhere. Situation in every country and state will be uncertain. It will be common to find disturbances at home, and even family members will have a sense of mutual mistrust. People will behave like enemies to others instead of being cooperative and helping. People will develop feelings of disrespect and disregard for teachers instead of devotion and faith. Teachers too, instead of imparting knowledge and righteous teachings will, by their own uncontrolled behaviour, produce feelings in their students of independence and self-praise which will lead to a sense of vanity even in religious matters. There will be a sense of disobedience in place of love between father and son. Women will have les of modesty; at the same time their interest in fun and laughter, amorous play and garrulousness will increase, and as a result, seeing god will only be a matter of mere
talk."
"By the time the fifth rends, the monk-female-monk and laymanlaywoman order will almost die out. At the end of the fifth r there will only remain the four-fold order of Duh prasaha c rya, female-monk Falgu r , votaries N gila and Satya r. Vimalav hana will be the last king of Bh rata and the last minister, Sumukha. Human being's body will be two-hands of height, and the life span will be twenty years. The greatest fast will be that of bel (a habhakta). c rya Duh prasaha will instruct the four-fold order until the end. In the end when he will tell them that the samgha (order) is no more; he will be excommunicated from the order. He will remain a householder for twelve years and after being a monk for eight years, observing a fast unto death completing his life will become a god in Saudharmakalpa. On the day of the end of the fifth
raka Ga adharma, c ritradharma and r jadharma (duties of a ruler) and fire (agni) will be lost from their roots in Bharata region."
“After the end of the fifth raka, will commence the sixth; named Du am - Du ama. Its time-span is 29,000 years and in this time destruction will be at its prime. There will be havoc, fear and chaos in all ten directions. There will always be fearsome storms and winds of great speed blowing everything away. Because of these winds, the whole atmosphere will be filled with dust envelop in darkness. Due to the impact of the time, there will be an unimaginable increase in the Sun's heat and the Moon's coolness. There will be untimely rains and leaving the high mountains the earth will gradually be still. The earth will burn like fire because of the heat. People will not be able to work nor even
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move. In this r the human body will just be one hand high and lifespan will be between 16 to 20 years. There will be numerous boys and girls in a family and people will have no love for any other apart from their own families. People will forever be worried about their own families. People will be very ugly, harsh, and shameless, immersed in squabbles and bad deeds, disrespecting, unwise, suffering from different kinds of diseases, lacking in brilliance, stuck in bad qualities of illusion and passion and will be indulgent in bad habits. There will be many more numbers of disabled people. The expanse and depth of Gamg and Simdhu rivers will reduce phenomenally; there will be less water and fish and tortoises will be many more in number which will be consumed as food. After death people will be born in hell and nether realms."
Utsarpi k la cycle
“After the end of the Du am - Du ama half cycle of the avasarpi cycle, a progressive half cycle called utsarpi will arise. Just like the avasarpi utsarpi too will have six rakas - in the reverse. That is, the first raka will be Du am - Du ama and the last, or sixth will be Su am -Su ama. The first r of utsarpi cycle will be of 21 thousand years and the situation will be similar to the one in the sixth ara of avasarpi (regressive) half cycle. The only difference is that in utsarpi the situation will progressively improve."
At the end of the first raka the second raka Du ama will commence which will last for 21 thousand years. In this time, there will be a good time right from the beginning. A cloud by name Pu kara Samvartaka will shower torrential rains for seven days all over Bharata land. The heat of the earth will cool down and different kinds of grains and medicines will grow. This way for seven days, each Pu kara Megha, KraMegha, Gh taMegha, Am taMegha and RasaMegha will send torrential rains, making the dry earth cool, content, and lush green. People hidden inside caves will come out again and seeing the lush green earth, will begin reconstruction of a new life. They will give up flesh eating and become vegetarians. They will construct a society on a new foundation and successively there will be progress in knowledge, science, arts, crafts,
etc.”
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“The 21 thousand years of the second raka too will end and the third
raka, named Du am -Su amawill begin which will be 42 thousand years less of one kod ākođī garas. After three years, eight-and-a-half months of the third raka is over, the first Trthamkara of the utsarpi half cycle will be born. In this raka there will be altogether 23 T rthamkara, 11 cakravart s, 9 baladevas, 9 Vasudevas and 9 prati Vasudevas. In this time, the situation will be same as that of the Du am -Su amaof the avasarpi half cycle. The only difference is that here the situation will be progressively good.”
"The fourth r of utsarpi, named Su am -Du amawill be of 2 kod ākodīgaras. The 24thT rthamkara and 12th cakravart will be born at the beginning of this time. After a little more than one crore p rvas is over in this raka, kalpav k a will come into being and Bharata will again become a bhoga (enjoyment) land.”
The fifth, Su ama, and the sixth, Su am -Su ama, of the utsarpi , will have conditions similar to the first two r s of the avasarpi half cycle. Combining the six-six rakas of the avasarpi and utsarpi , that is, altogether 20 kod ākodīgaras of the 12 rakas, make one K lacakra."
Gautama asked the Lord – “What will be the main events after your nirva?" The Lord replied – “Three years and eight-and-a-half months after I attain mok a the fifth r named duh ama will commence. After 64 years the last keval , Jamb , will attain liberation. At that time manah pasryavaj na, parama avadhij na, pul kalabdhi, h raka ar ra, k apaka re , upa ama re, jinakalpa, parih ra vi uddhi, s k masampar ya, yath khy tacaritra, pure knowledge and muktigamana – all these twelve will be uprooted from Bharata."
"After my nirva in my time period until the end of the fifth r there will be 2004 c ryas of the era. The first among them will be rya Sudharm and the last, Duh prasaha."
“170 years after my nirva, after c rya Bhadrab hu ascends the heaven, the last four p rvas, symmetrical body, well built bones and muscles, and mah pradhy na will vanish from Bharata."
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“After 500 years, in c rya samhanana-catu ka will end."
ryavajra's time, the tenth p rva and first
"470 years after my nirva there will be a king named Vikram ditya, who will be a good person, a golden man, and will rule continuously over the earth under his samvat."
453 years after my niry a there will be a K lak c rya who will end the kingdom of Gardabhilla.”
“Many monks will be like buffoons who will spend their time in selfpraise and condemning others. Nobody will talk about those with phenomenal strength of the self and those without strength of self will be worshipped.”
Hearing this description from the Lord many great souls including Hastip la became nirgrantha monk. In that year, there was vast propagation of the nirgrantha sermon. In the fourth month of the c turm sa on the new moon day of the dark fortnight of K rtika month in the early morning time at the 'scribes assembly' the Lord gave his last sermon. Nine Licchav s of K , Kau ala, nine Mallas and 18 ga ar js (Chiefs of republics) were also present there.
Liberation of the Lord (Pariniry
a)
Lord Mah v ra's parinirv a took place on the new moon day of the dark fortnight of K rtika month. On that day, observing a fast (bele) the Lord kept giving his sermon for 16 hours (prahara). In this sermon, the Lord explained the 55 of pu yaphala and 55 of the p paphala vip ka, which is popular as ‘Sukha vip ka' and 'Duh kha vip ka' divisions of the
Vip kaS tra'. He also spoke of unnumbered 36 chapters of vy kara a, which is popular as 'Uttar dhyayanaS tra’. While mentioning the 37th chapter on Marudev the Lord became still in paryamk sana. He respectively blocked the activity of the mind and speech, then maintaining the subtle activity of the body; he blocked the coarse activity of the body. In the third stage of deep meditation he stopped the minute activities of the speech and mind and reached the fourth stage of meditation stopping all action and reaching there, and had time enough to
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utter the words a, I, u,,1, and destroying all the agh tikarmas, became enlightened, emancipated and liberated.
Sensing his nirv a time approaching the Lord had sent his first Ga adhara Indrabh ti Gautama to arouse through discourse the Brahmin named Deva arm. When he got news in the middle of the night about the Lord's nirva, he was very unhappy. Lovelorn, Gautama was wailing when suddenly his inner voice said – “Gautama! What kind of love is this? The Lord has renounced all; love for him is nothing other than passion. You should follow the Lord.” With this thought, the flow of his thinking changed and at the end of the night Gautama, destroying his gh tikarmas, obtained the immortal glow of pure knowledge and himself became the seer of three worlds.
There is a story as, “Once Gautama was sad seeing monks younger than him attaining nirv a asked Lord as to why he has not yet attained pure knowledge?” Sensing his worry Lord Mah v ra said to Guatama - “Gautama, you have intense love for me. Actually, the two of us have been together for many births. After completing our life span here, we shall reach the same place and yet not separate. Your love for me is an obstacle in the path of your attaining pure knowledge. The moment this love decreases you will attain pure knowledge.”
After nirva, Lord's dead body was taken to the funeral pyre on a palanquin. There, on a funeral pyre made of go r a sandal, constructed by the gods, the Lord's body was placed. Agnikum ra lit the pyre and with scented substances directed by the wind, the Lord's body was set to flames. Then Meghakum ra doused the fire with a shower of rain. At the time of nirv a the present 18 kings of the republics observed the fast in the fasting hall on the am vasy (darkmoon night) day. Sensing that the Lord has attained nirva, as a symbol of knowledge, lights were lit in every home in every village and city, which later on began to be observed on the new moon night of the dark fortnight of K rtika month in the form of D p val.
Lord Mah v ra's Life-span
rama a Lord Mah v ra stayed as a householder for nearly 30 years and 7 months. He observed austerity for 12 years, 5 months and 15 days and
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wandered as a keval for 29 years, 5 months and 20 days. Thus, at the age of 72 years, 6 months and 16 days the Lord attained mok a (360 days of
tuvar a). In the scriptures, his mendicancy period be 12 years and 13 pak a ( tu months 12 years, 11 pak a) is indicated.
Lord Mah v ra's C turm sa (rainy season halts)
rama a Mah v ra spent his first single c turm sa at Asthigr ma; three at Camp and Phacamp ; twelve at Vai 1 and Vijyagr ma; fourteen at R jag ha and N land ; six at Mithil city; two at Bhaddila; one each at lambhika and r vast; three in An rya Vajrabh mi; one last single c turm saat P v pur . Thus, the Lord spent a total of 42 c turm sa.
The Congregation of Lord Mah v ra
The following was the congregation of Lord Mah v ra:-11 Ga adharas including Gautama Indrabh ti, and 9 Ga as 700 keval s, 500 manah paryavaj ns, 1300 avadhij ns, 300 fourteen p rvadh rs, 400 v ds, 700 vaikriyalabdhidhar s, 800 anuttaropap tika monks, 14000 monks, 36000 female-monks, 159000 laymen, 318000 laywomen and, apart from these, lakhs of devotees of the Lord. 700 monks and 1400 female-monks attained nirv a during Lord Mah v ra's time.
Introduction to the Ga adharas
rama a Lord Mah v ra's congregation had 11 ga adharas. All these were Brahmin householders from different places. On the invitation of Madhyamap v 's Somila all these people had come with their respective disciples to attend the sacrificial ritual. Upon attaining pure knowledge Lord Mah v ra arrived at P v pur. All these Brahmins attended the Lord's samava ara a along with their disciples there and impressed by his knowledge, took initiation along with their respective disciples on the 11th day of the bright fortnight of Vai kha month. Attaining the knowledge of the tripad s they wrote the fourteen p rvas and became ga adharas. Their brief introduction is as follows:
1
Indrabh ti: The first Ga adharaIndrabh ti was the son of Vasubh ti of the Gautama gotra, a resident of 'Gobara' within
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the Magadha country. His mother's name was P thy. He was a scholar of Veda and Ved nta and used to teach 500 students. Obtaining the answer to the problem of soul from Mah v ra he became a monk along with his 500 students. He was 50 years old at the time of initiation. He was of a polite nature and a great observer of penance. He attained pure knowledge immediately after the nirva of the Lord. After wandering for 30 years as mendicant, he wandered as a keval only for 12 years. Completing 92 years of age, observing a month's fast at Gu a la caitya, he attained nirva.
Agnibh ti: The second Ga adhara Agnibh ti was the middle brother of Indrabh ti. After getting the answer for his doubt on 'Puru dvaita' from Lord Mah v ra, he along with his 500 students, at the age of 46, accepted the mendicant conduct. Wandering as a mendicant for 12 years, he attained pure knowledge. Being a keval for 16 years, during the Lord's lifetime he attained liberation after observing a month's fast at Gu a la caitya.
V yubh ti: The third Ga adhara V yubh ti was the younger brother of Indrabh ti and Agnibh ti. Getting an awakening discourse on the soul outside of the elements form the Lord, he gave up his thinking of soul and body being one and the same (tajj va tacchar ra) and along with his 500 students, took initiation from the Lord. He was then 42 years old. After ten years of mendicancy, he attained pure knowledge and for 18 years wandered as a keval . Two years before the niry a of the Lord at the age of 70, he observed a month's fast at Gu a la caitya and attained liberation.
rya Vyakta: The fourth Ga adhara rya Vyakta was a Brahmin belonging to the Koll ga province and of Bh radw ja gotra. His mother's name was Vr and father's name was Dhanamitra. His belief was that the whole world is an illusion and only Brahma is the truth. Impressed by Lord Mah v ra's sermon he along with his 500 students took initiation as a mendicant at the age of 50. After 11 years as a mendicant, he attained pure knowledge. He remained a keval for 18 years. In
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the Lord's lifetime after one month's, fast he attained liberation at the age of 80 at Gu a la caitya.
Sudharm : Sudharm was a Brahmin from Koll ga province and of Agnive y yana gotra. His mother's name was Bhaddil and father's name was Dhammila. On the subject of births, obtaining the clarifications from the Lord, he took initiation along with 500 students. He became the fifth Ga adhara and later on, the successor c rya. He managed the congregation for 20 years after Lord's nirva. He completed 100 years of age and attained mok a at R jag ha. In his lifetime, he spent 50 years as a householder, 42 years as a mendicant and 8 years as a keval , propagating the rama a tradition.
Ma dita: He was the sixth Ga adhara of the Lord's congregation. He was a Brahmin of the Va i ha gotra and a resident of the Maurya province. His father's name was Dhanadeva and his mother's name was Vijay dev. Obtaining clarifications for his doubt regarding the relationship between the soul and the world, impressed, he along with his 350 students took initiation. He was 53 years old at that time. After observing the mendicant's vows for 14 years, he attained pure knowledge at the age of 67 and after being a keval for 16 years, observing a fast, he attained liberation at the Gu a la caitya during the lifetime of the Lord at the age of 83 years.
Mauryaputra: A Brahmin of the K yapa gotra from the Mauryan province, Mauryaputra was the seventh Ga adhara of the Lord. His father's name was Maurya and mother's name was Vijay dev . Impressed by the Lord's answer to his doubt about gods and the realm of gods, Mauryaputra along with his 350 students took to mendicancy. Remaining a mendicant for 14 years he attained pure knowledge from penance at the age of 79. Then, wandering as a keval for 16 years, he fasted unto death attaining nirva during the lifetime of the Lord at the age of 95.
Akampita: A resident of Mithil and a Brahmin of the Gautama gotra, Akampita was the eighth Ga adhara of the Lord. His mother's name was Jayant and his father's name was Deva. The
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Lord cleared his doubt about hell and life in hell and he, along with his 300 disciples, took initiation into the rama a path. At that time, Akampita was 48 years old. After wandering as a mendicant for nine years, he attained pure knowledge at the age of 57. Being a keval for 21 years, and observing a fast for a month, he attained nirva during the Lord's lifetime at Gu a la caitya at the age of 78.
Acalabhrt : A resident of Kau ala, hailing from the H r ta gotra, Acalabhrt was the Lord's ninth Ga adhara. His mother's name was Nand and his father's name was Vasu. At the age of 46 he along with his 300 disciples attended the Lord's samava ara a, and obtaining a satisfying reply from the Lord to his question on bad and good deeds, he accepted initiation. After observing severe penance and mediating he attained pure knowledge at the age of 58 years. After that, for 14 years, he wandered as a mendicant and at the age of 72, after a month-long fast, he attained niry a at the Gu a la caitya.
10.
Met rya: The tenth Ga adhara Met rya was a resident of Tumgika province in Vatsade a and was a Brahmin of Kau inya gotra. His mother's name was Var dev and his father's name was Datta. He had a doubt about rebirth. Impressed by Lord Mah v ra's answer, he, along with his 300 disciples, too initiation at the age of 36 years. He spent 10 years as a mendicant and attained pure knowledge. After remaining a keval for 16 years, he attained nirva at Gu a la caitya in the lifetime of the Lord at the age of 62.
11.
Prabh sa: The eleventh Ga adhara Prabh sa was a resident of R jag ha and a Brahmin of Kau dinya gotra. His mother's name was Atibhadr and his father's name was Bala. Mah v ra replied to his question on liberation in such a manner that he became Mah v ra's disciple along with his 300 students. At that time, Prabh sa was only 16 years old. After 8 years, he attained pure knowledge and thereafter, remaining a keval for 16 years. At the age of 40 observing a month-long fast, he attained nirva at Gu a la caitya. Prabh sa is the only Ga adhara who took initiation at such a young age and attained pure knowledge.
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All these Ga adharas were Brahmins by caste and Vedic scholars. After taking initiation, they all studied the 11 Amgas. Hence, all of them had the knowledge of the 14 p rvas and possessed special attainments (labdhis).
Introduction of Gautama etc in the Digambara tradition
In the Digambara tradition, Ma dal c rya Dharmacandra in his text, "GautamaCaritra” introduces Lord Mah v ra's first three ga adharas which, in brief, is as follows:
A scholar named dilya used to stay in Br hma anagara in the Magadha region. He had two wives - Sthamdil and Kesar . One day, in the last part of the night Sthamdil saw auspicious dreams and a god came into her womb, after completing his time in the fifth heaven. After nine months, Sthamdil gave birth to a beautiful son who was great and of good deeds. The scholars predicted that this boy will possess knowledge of all the scriptures and his fame will spread across the earth. The parents named him 'Indrabh ti'. This boy later became Lord Mah v ra's first Ga adhara and became famous as Gautama.
After sometime, another god completed his time in the fifth heaven and entered into Sthamờil 's womb. Upon completion of the pregnancy, she gave birth to a very beautiful and charismatic son. The parents named him G rgya and he later on became famous as the Lord's second Ga adhara Agnibh ti.
After some ti lya's second wife also became pregnant with a god from the fifth heaven who entered her womb and in time she gave birth to a son. Sāņdilya named this son of his Bh rgava who went on to become a scholar like his two brothers and also took initiation and became Lord Mah v ra's third Ga adhara popularly known as V yubh ti.
Ma dita and Maurya: Clarification
There is an opinion among some past and present scholars that Lord Mah v ra's sixth Ga adhara, Maņdita and seventh, Maurya, were brothers. Vijay dev was their mother. Dhanadeva was rya Maņdita's
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father. Sometime after Mandita's birth Dhanadeva died so Vijay dev married Dhanadeva's maternal cousin, Maurya and through Maurya she had a son who was named Mauryaputra. Muni Ratnavijaya, agreeing with this opinion, writes in his Sthavir val , Vol. 1, that widowremarriage was allowed in those days. Actually, names of both ga adharas' mothers being similar, has given rise to this false opinion. However, the Samav y mgaS tra gives some important facts about these two ga adharas, a study of which proves that the above opinion is not correct. Samav y mgaS tra states that Maņdita's total age 83 years and about him it clearly states that he attained liberation after observing the
rama a vows for 30 years. Hence, when he took initiation from Lord Mah v ra he was 53 years old. The same Samav y mgaS tra states that Mauryaputra took initiation at the age of 65. It is also a fact that all the 11 ga adharas took initiation under Lord Mah v ra on the same day. In this context, how is it possible that while taking initiation on the same day one brother is 53 years old and the younger brother, 65 years old; that is the younger brother is older than the elder one by 12 years? Muni Ratnaprabhavijaya himself writes in Sthavir val that at the time of initiation Maņdita was 53 years old and Mauryaputra 65 years old. All these evidences prove that the belief of these two being brothers is mere imagination which became popular because of their mothers' names being the same.
Lord Mah v ra's first female disciple: Candanab 1
The much loved and doted on daughter of the king Dadhiv hana of Camp city and queen Dh ri, Vasumat grew up to be Candanab 1 , the first female disciple of Lord Mah v ra and the head preceptor of the order of female-monks. Female-monk Candanab 1 's life story is briefly presented here:
Dadhiv hana was the king of Camp. His queen's name was Dh ri His only daughter Vasumat was extremely beautiful, well behaved ar endowed with all good qualities. There was peace and happiness in king Dadhiv hana's kingdom. There was mutual love and warmth among the family members. At that time, at n ka ruled over Kau mb. For some reason and altercation occurred between at n ka and Dadhiv hana and out of envy at n ka conspired to attack Camp to destroy it. He suddenly got information that it was time for attacking Camp and he
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should start with his army at once. The moment he got the news, he started for Camp via water route with a large army. His army reached Camp and surrounded Camp from all sides. With this unexpected event, the king and subjects of Camp were in a daze. King Dadhiv hana was unable to meet that army without any assistance. Hence, he ordered his ministers to leave Camp through secret pathways to the forest.
On the second day, at n ka ordered his soldiers to break the domes of Camp and start looting it. The soldiers started the destruction. A soldier made Queen Dh ri and princess Vasumat prisoners. He took them in his chariot outside the city towards Kau mb. Seeing the beauty of the queen the soldier said – “While looting Camp , getting this beautiful queen I have gained everything. The moment I reach Kau mb I shall marry her.”
Hearing these words of the soldier the queen was enraged with disgust. She was greatly hurt to be hearing these words from an ordinary soldier, being the queen of the king of Camp . She began to fear attack on her chastity. She took her tongue out from her mouth with her hand and with the other hit her jaws hard. She died at once and fell in the chariot. With Dh ri 's sudden death, the soldier felt sadness and guilt on his mistake. He feared that the innocent girl would follow suit, so he spoke kind words to Vasumat to reassure her. The moment he reached Kau mb , he asked her to stand on the street corner to sell her.
Merchant Dhan vaha of Kau mb saw the girl standing for sale. He was a very generous and religious-minded person. Seeing the girl he realised she must be from a superior class and separated from her parents. Giving a hefty amount, he bought the girl and brought her home. With lot of love, he asked her name and her parents' name but she did not open her mouth. In the end, handing her over to his wife he said – “It seems she is not from an ordinary family; love her as your own daughter.” The merchant's wife M 1 brought her up like her own daughter. The girl mixed well with Dhan vaha's family. She had won everyone's hearts with her soft-spoken nature, good behaviour and politeness. Seeing her complexion soft as sandal and her polite demeanour, the merchant's family named her Candan .
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As Candan grew up she became more beautiful and one day it so happened that seeing her immense beauty M 1 became envious and suspicious. She thought – “I hope my husband does not marry her, attracted to her; in that case I will be done for. Before the daughter' gets the feeling of a wife in his mind, it is better to get her out of the way forever.” During this period, Dhan vaha went out of town for some days. M I called over a barber and shaved off Candan 's hair. Then, chaining her hands and feet, shut her up in the godown. She also warned everybody to keep the matter secret.
For three days, Candan was hungry and thirsty. The moment the merchant got back, he asked about Candan . Seeing every servant quiet, he got a suspicion. He screamed in anger at them to tell him the truth. An old servant took some courage and told him everything. Opening the doors of the godown, the merchant started crying seeing her state. Seeing Candan 's face pale on account of hunger and thirst he ran towards the kitchen, and not finding anything else, brought some soaked urd dal in a winnowing basket for her, saying “my daughter, satisfy your hunger with this; till I return with an ironsmith."
In spite of dying of hunger, Candan thought – “Am I so unfortunate that I will have to eat without feeding a guest?” She looked at the door for a guest, when she saw a mendicant at the door with the brilliance of a crore rays of the Sun, with a brilliantly lit face and beautiful, well built body. She had tears of joy in her eyes. Her face lit up like the moon on a full moon night in winter and she brought the winnowing basket in her hands. With difficulty she came out at the threshold, her feet chained, and politely requested the guest - "Lord, although these urd dal is not suitable, please accept them, doing this helpless woman a favour.”
For a moment, the guest saw everything carefully. Seeing the guest leave, Candan cried out -'what can be more unfortunate that a kalpa tree is returning from my home?” Tears fell from her eyes. The guest immediately extended his hands. Delighted Candan gave him all the udada d la in the winnowing basket on his palms.
That guest was none other than Lord Mah v ra who was seeking alms having taken a specific resolve, for five months and twenty-five days. Seeing all his conditions met, he accepted alms from Candan . The
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moment the urd dal fell into his palms the divine echoes of 'mah d na - mah d na' resounded and the gods showered the five auspicious things. The gods showered twelve-and-a-half crores of gold coins at Dhan vaha's house. A huge crowd gathered to see this divine event and praised Candan 's luck. Within moments, Candan 's head was full of hair. Her chains turned into gold ornaments. Indra and the gods came there.
Kau mb 's king at n ka, his queen Mg vat and others came to Dhan vaha's house. Dadhiv hana's bodyguard was also with them; king
at n ka brought him as a prisoner. The moment he saw Candan he recognised her and started crying. When at n ka and M g vat found out that Candan was Dadhiv hana's daughter Vasumat , M g vat embraced her niece. Indra told at n ka - "When Lord Mah v ra will become a keval, Candan will be his first female disciple and in this body, shall attain nirva."
With lot of love king at n ka and M g vat brought Candan to their palace. Candan was well aware of her past life. Staying in palaces she spent her life disenchanted and with a feeling of renunciation. Soon the day came when the Lord attained pure knowledge. Candanab 1 took initiation from the Lord, became his first female disciple and the first head of the female-monk order established by the Lord. Managing the order, observing many kinds of severe penance and in the end destroying all her karmas Candanab 1 attained nirva.
Lord P r van tha and Mah v ra: Differences between the two
Orders
The first T rthamkara V abhan tha taught the five mah vratas. After him, 22 T rthamkara from Ajitan tha to P r van tha gave teachings on C tury ma tradition. They spoke of non-violence, truth, and nonstealing, and renouncing external things, as the four vows for life called yama, religion. After P r van tha, when it was Mah v ra's time, he taught non-violence, truth, non-stealing, celibacy and aparigraha in the form of five mah vratas. With the difference in the nature of the vows,the obvious question is, why so.
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Religious teachers /rejuvenators preach religious concepts in accordance with the knowledge of the people of that time. People were simple and unaware in the time of the first T rthamkara and those in the time of Mah v ra are skewed and unaware. The people in V abhan tha's time had difficulty in understanding, while in Mah v ra's times people have difficulty in following the vows. Hence making the vows more specific, he spoke of the mah vratas. The people in the time of the middle T rthamkara were simple and intelligent. They understood the teachings easily and followed them easily as well hence the middle T rthamkara propagated the C tury ma religion.
Celibacy and aparigraha (non-possession) as told by Mah v ra is mentioned only to make it clearer. In one way even a woman is brought into the parameters of parigraha. Hence even if there is difference in the number, there is no fundamental difference between the two traditions.
Caritra (Practice / conduct)
At the time of Lord P r van tha, the monks were given the equanimous conduct(avoiding falws in the practice) 's m yika c ritra’, whereas Lord Mah v ra started the tradition of seeking reinitiating (rectifying flaws in the practice) conduct'chedopasth pan ya' as well. The distinction of c ritra as done in chedopasth pan ya was not necessary for the astute followers in the time of Pr van tha, hence he had the doctrine of undivided s m yika caritra. It is clear based on the reference in Bhagavat S tra that monks who followed C tury ma tenets their caritra was termed s m yikaand when that tradition was transformed to make way for the five vows (pamcay ma), their doctrine was called chedopasth pan ya (returning to right path after correction for a mistake).
Both traditions were followed in Lord Mah v ra's time. For short-term he gave importance to s m yika caritra and for long-term chedopasth pan ya caritra. Mah v ra also propounded, apart from these vows, not eating after dark, as a vrata.
The second difference between Lord P r van tha and Mah v ra is the concept of sacela-acela (with robe, without robe). P r van tha's tradition accepts monks using robe, but Mah v ra taught the practice of nakedness. Here acelaka meant not total renunciation of robes, but those
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with less value, worn out clothes. All rama as keep rajohara a (whiskbroom) and mukhavastrik (mouth-cloth). Hence, linguists say acelaka are of two types – sacelaka and acelaka. T rthamkara are acelaka. After the devad ya falls off, they remain without clothes. However, all the rest Jina monks, etc are called sacelakas. At the very least, they have the practice of whiskbroom and mouth-cloth. In the same way, the monk who is devoid of delusions but with few clothes i.e. acela is also a monk.
Sapratikrama a (Ritualised Confession) tradition
In the time of the first and last T rthamkara, there is the norm of pratikrama a (ritualised confession both during evolving times (ubhayak la) as well as at the time of committing a flaw by way of observing restriction during walking( ry patha) or begging rounds (seaking alms/bhik ) etc are forms of immediate pratikrama a. That is, Lord Mah v ra has instructed that pratikrama a is inevitable whether or not there is fault / imperfection (do a). Whereas in the time of the 22 T rthamkara from Ajitan tha to P r van tha the moment there is a fault/ imperfection there was an immediate purification act ( uddhi), hence they did not have the concept of evolving times pratikrama a as a rule.
Sthitakalpa
At the time of the 19' and the last T rthamkara all (code of conduct) kalpas are essential, hence they are called Sthitakalpa. Whereas for the remaining 22 T rthamkara there are believed to be four Sthitakalpas and six asthitakalpas. For the monks of Lord Mah v ra, m sakalpa i.e. the monks and female-monks should not remain at a place beyond a month without a reason. Today those monks and female-monks for no reason at all, in the name of religious propagation, remain at the same place; this is not according to the scriptural norms.
Heretics of Lord Mah v ra
Jam li
There were seven heretics in the time period of Lord Mah v ra, out of whom two were during his lifetime, Jam li and Ti yagupta. Jam li was the Lord's nephew; and being the husband of the Lord's only daughter, Priyadar an , was his son-in-law. He took initiation from rama a Lord
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Mah v ra and after the Lord became a keval, he became famous as the first heretic as follows:
A few years after initiation Jam li sought permission from the Lord to wander independently. The Lord did not reply. Considering his silence to be acceptance, Jam li and five hundred monks started wandering independently. Wandering through various places, he came to S vatth and stayed there at Ko haka garden. After some days, he got a burning sensation in his body. It was impossible for him to keep sitting. He asked his monks to prepare a bed to observe the pious death (samth r ) so that he may lie down. They were doing so when Jam li reflected in his mind that Lord Mah v ra who calls the one who starts moving as in motion (calam na calita), and theof starting an activity as acting is false. I can see here that during the process of making the bed, the bed is not ready, so even the movement is unmoved. He explained his new understanding to the monks. Many of them liked him and reposed faith in him. However, others tried to explain to Jam li unsuccessfully, left him and returned to Mah v ra.
Hearing the news of Jam li's illness Priyadar an too came there. She was staying at the house of Mah v ra'as ardent devotee, Dhamka, the potter. Because of love for Jam li, Priyadar an accepted his opinion and started trying to make Dhamka to be his follower. Dhamka said to her, "We know only this much that renunciation cannot be false and he decided to explain to Priyadar an." One day when Priyadar an was reading scriptures at Dhamka's workshop, Dhamka carefully lit a spark on the border of her saree. The female-monk said –“ r vaka, you have burnt my saree.” Dhamka said -“No, only the borders are burning. According to your teacher, that which is burning cannot be called burnt." Hearing Dhamka's words, Priyadar an became aware. She repented her mistake saying, “mithy me du k tam bhavatu.” Thereafter, she returned with her disciples to Lord Mah v ra. This way, one after the other all his disciples left Jam li, yet he was adamant. He used to popularise himself as keval . Lord Mah v ra and Gautama both tried but it did not have any effect on him. Dying without repentance, he die ‘kilvi 'god.
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Heretic Ti yagupta
16 years after Lord Mah v ra's pure knowledge came another heretic named Ti yagupta. He was the disciple of caturda a-p rva- j n (knower of the fourteen p rvas) Vasu. Once, c rya Vasu was sitting in Gu a la caitya in R jag ha. Reading about self-slander Ti yagupta came to a view that a sentient being cannot be of one space-point (prade a), not even those with two, three or with numerable space points. A sentient being (j va) has to have innumerable space-points as j vas are equivalent to cosmos (lok k a) and only in its last prade a only sentient-beingness exists. The teacher tried to explain to Ti yagupta but when his viewpoint did not change, he expelled Ti yagupta from the congregation. Wandering independently, Ti yagupta reached malakalp city and stayed at mras lavana. A r vaka named Mitra r used to live there. He sought a way to explain to Ti yagupta. He called Ti yagupta home one day to give him food. When he came, Mitra r welcomed him with honour, got many things as food offerings, and gave only the last grain of each one of those to Ti yagupta. Seeing this, Ti yagupta said “Oh
r vaka, are you making fun of me?" The r vaka said “Lord, according to you only the last prade a has j va, then how have I erred? If you do not consider even one grain as complete then your doctrine is false." Inspired by the votary Ti yagupta understood his mistake. Mitra r gave him complete honour and alms and sending him back to his teacher, assisted in purifying his spiritual path.
Mah v ra and Go laka
Mah v ra and Go laka had a long connection. According to Jain scriptures being a disciple of the Lord, Go laka continued to behave like his strong adversory also. The Lord introduced him as his bad disciple. Bhagavat S tra gives a clear female-monkciation on Go laka's name. It is said here that in the past there was a clan of Mamkhas, the people of which clan used to earn a living from showing a painting of a certain god. Go laka's father belonged to this Mamkha clan and his mother's named was Bhadr. When Go laka's mother was pregnant with him and when his time of birth was approaching, Mamkhal was staying at the village Saravala at the cowshed (go 1 ) of the Brahmin Gobahula. So he was named as Go laka. Thus, his full name was Mamkhaliputra Go laka and when he grew up, he used to carry a painting in his hands
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for earning a livelihood. The complete introduction to Go laka's life history is available in c rya Gu acandra's ‘Mah v ra Cariyam', which is presented briefly:
In Silindha, province of Uttar patha there lived a village headman named Ke ava. His wife was iv . They had a son whom they named Mamkha. When Mamkha grew up, he went one day with his father to the lake for a bath. There he saw a pair of geese indulging in loveplay. At that time, a hunter stuck an arrow into the female goose, which started fluttering in pain. Seeing her suffer, out of sorrow, the male goose gave up his life. Seeing the plight of the goose pair, Mamkha fell unconscious on the ground. Ke ava was worried seeing his son. When Mamkha regained consciousness, Ke ava asked him the reason for his fainting. Mamkha told him of the incident and said seeing the geese he was reminded of his past life, where he was killed with his partner goose and have now been born to him.
Ke ava brought Mamkha home, reassuring him, yet even at home that Mamkha was always in thoughts. He was treated with many remedies; even many t mtrikas were called, but all was in vain. One day an elderly person suggested that a painting depicting his past life story of the geese shown to him. Let Mamkha take the painting around and show it to people. Perhaps doing so someone would remember the past life and he might get his wife of the past life and attain peace. Ke ava did as told and Mamkha started wandering with that painting.
People would see that painting and sometimes ask him about it, and he would narrate the whole account. Wandering this way, Mamkha reached Camp city. His journey was over and he had no means to sustain himself, so he made that painting his means of sustenance and singing songs, started seeking alms.
An extraordinarily lazy man named Mamkhal lived in the same city. He was always looking for a convenient way to sustain himself. One day, he met Mamkha; he got hold of him, and started serving him, learnt some songs from him. Later on when Mamkha died, he took all his details, and prepared the same kind of painting and went to his house. He took his wife along as well and like Mamkha, started making a living showing the painting around. Wherever he went people would follow him, shouting,
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“Mamkha has come, Mamkha has come". Gradually, he became popular as Mamkha'. Wandering, suddenly Mamkha reached Sarava a village and stayed at Gobahula Brahmin's house where his wife Subhadr gave birth to a son named as Go laka.
By nature, Go laka was wicked. He would not obey his parents and would misbehave with people. When his mother would say “I bore you for nine months in my womb and brought you up with love, yet you do not listen to me”, he would retort, “Mother, come into my stomach I will hold you there twice as long." People kept distance from him due to his bad behaviour. Once he fought with his parents and taking their me livelihood, taking the painting, went off alone and wandering, reached the place where Lord Mah v ra was staying for c turm sa during the second year of his mendicancy at N land outside R jag ha. At that same time, Go laka came there with his painiting. He decided to spend the c turm sa there. Lord Mah v ra broke his first months fast at «Vijaya' gth pati's house. The gods showered five auspicious things to express glory of the alms giving. Mamkhaliputra Go laka was amazed seeing this. Approaching Lord Mah v ra and saluting him, he said –“Lord, from today I am your disciple and you are my c rya.” Allow me to be at your feet and serve you.” The Lord stayed quiet.
The Lord had gone out seeking alms when Go laka was not around and when he returned there, not finding the Lord, he was very sad. He looked for him in the entire R jag ha but could not find him. In the end, tired, Go laka left for Koll ga province. Hearing news from people about the showering of five auspicious things at the house of 'Bahula' Go laka was certain the Lord was residing thereabouts.
Approaching the Lord and paying obeisance to him he said –“I cannot be without you for a moment. I have placed myself at your feet. I have said earlier I am your disciple and you are my spiritual teacher.” The Lord saw Go laka's faithful mind and placed ‘so be it' insignia on his request. After the Lord accepted him, Go laka spent more than six years wandered as a disciple with the Lord. Once obtaining the art of producing hot flash from the Lord, he separated from him and became a strong proponent of fatalism. After sometime, he also got disciples and followers and started calling himself Jina and a keval .
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j vaka and
j vakaism
Go laka's tradition is popular as j vaka tradition. Followers of this tradition observe various kinds of penance and meditation. However, they believed in soul, nirva and self-suffering, yet they were staunch fatatlists. In their opinion, human endeavour does not get any work done. Whatever be the other reasons for the name “ j vaka', one of the reasons is also . j vaka’, livelihood. According to Jain gama, Bhagavat , Go laka followed the doctrine of logic / reasoning. The j vaka used to accumulate pleasurable things using this knowledge. This way, they managed their living easily. This is why in the Jain scriptures this sect is called as j vaka and limga-j v.
According to Majjhimanik ya, just like the nirgranthas, the j vaka too had tough norms of living. Their alms seeking practice praised as
j vaka monks used to take alms from alternate homes or sometimes from one out of three homes. Just like the six karmic stains, Go laka propounded six abhij tis (divisions) with names such as black, blue etc. Giving a brief introduction of j vaka followers, Bhagavat states that Go laka's followers consider; Arihanta as God; serve their parents; not consume fruits like the wild fig, fruit of the banyan tree, jujube, fig fruit, pilamkhu, etc; would neither emboss on oxen nor pierce their ears or nose; and would not do any business where there is violence on mobile beings.
The Founder of j vaka Sect
Many to date consider Go laka as the founder of the j vaka sect. According to Jain scriptures, Go laka was the proponent of fatalism and main teacher of the j vaka tradition, but there is no mention anywhere of him being its founder. In the Buddhist, text D rghanik ya and Majjhimanik ya we find names of 'Kissa Samkicca' and 'Nandavaccha', apart from Go laka among the j vaka leaders, who were j vaka monks before Go laka. Perhaps after accepting the j vaka sect, knowing Go laka as one with miraculous powers (labdhidh r ) and with knowledge of fatalism, they made him the leader of the j vaka order. There being no clear account of the founding of the j vaka sect, Ud y Ku diy yana who existed 133 years prior to Go laka's death is believed as the founder of the j vaka order.
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The j vakaAttire
There is no reference to the attire of the j vaka. The Buddhist scriptures refer to the j vaka monks as being naked and use the term acelaka for them. Mah v ra seems to have inspired Go laka for nudity, because he was clothed when he came to the place where Mah v ra was staying in N land . In the 'Drghanik ya’, K yapa and in the ‘Majjhimanik ya’ Saccaka' speak of the following conduct of the j vaka _“They renounce all clothes, stay away from civilsed manners and eat food in their hands, etc.”
‘Majjhimanik ya' refers to the j vaka ways – “They do not listen to those who wait for them to take alms; they do not accept food made for them; do not take food from the vessel it has been cooked in; they do not take food kept within the threshold, pounded in a mortar or cooked on fire; they observe various fasts.”
This kind of practice is unique to nirgranthas. It is clear that Mah v ra inspired Go laka. Based on similarties between the j vaka and the nirgranthas, some scholars think that both their practices are similar, but in fact, there is a fundamental difference between the two. The difference between j vaka as and nirgranthas is in not just in accepting certain kinds of food. The nirgrantha tradition prohibits even touching of certain kinds of food and vegetables, whereas the j vaka tradition allows, partaking of vegetables, fruits, seeds and clear water
Go laka in Digamabara Tradition
Digambara tradition states Go laka as Mah v ra's disciple, but introduced as a monk of the P r van tha tradition. Maskar Go laka was present in Mah v ra's first sermon. However, Mah v ra did not deliver his sermon and he left, angry. Some say that he wished to be a ga adhara, but when he did not get that status, he separated and became the leader of the j vaka tradition at S vatth and started calling himself a T rthamkara. The source of j vaka tradition lies in the rama a tradition. The main difference between j vaka and rama as is that
j vaka use their knowledge for their sustenance, prohibited in the rama a tradition. j vaka belonged to the P r van tha tradition primarily. Fatalists are termed as 'P sattha' in the S trakt mga. For this
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reason, too, some connect j vaka to P r van tha's tradition. The Samsk ta form of 'P sattha' is P r vastha'. Therefore, it does not seem appropriate to identify it with the P r van tha tradition. By the way, P sattha can mean ascetics of any tradition as it means 'to stay close to a good doctrine like knowledge etc. j vaka are P sattha as they keep three kinds of knowledge close to them. Hence, it is not right to link
į vaka Go laka to P r van tha tradition. According to facts in Jain gamas, it is more appropriate to consider him related to Mah v ra's tradition.
Religious Traditions in Mah v ra's Times
During Mah v ra's time, religious traditions were basically of four ty namely, based on Action (Kriy v d); based on non-action (Akriy v d); based on ignorance (Aj nav d); and based on modesty /veneration (vinayav d)
1.
Kriy v d: They consider an intrinsic relationship between soul and action. Their opinion is that without a doer there are no good and evil acts. They consider nine substances including soul, etc as independent existences. Their 180 sub-divisions are as follows. Nine basic elements i.e. Being / soul; non-being (nonsoul); meritorious deeds (pu ya); demeritoriuos deeds (p pa); k rmika influx ( srava); karmic binding (bandha); stoppage of karmas (samvara); dissociation from karmas (nirjar ) and, mok a (liberation). Each basic element four sub-types namely self (svatah ), by others (paratah ), eternal (nitya) and transitory (anitya) with further sub-division of each sub element with respect to time, god, soul, fate, and destiny; giving a total of 180 sub-divisions.
Akriy v d: They believe that an action cannot be meritorious (pu ya) etc because action is performed on inert/steady substance and it is destroyed the moment it is born. Due to this, there is no still / unmoving substance in this world. They do not believe in soul either. They have 84 categories as follows. Seven basic elements, namely, living beings/ non living being; k rmika influx; stopping of karmas; dissociation form karmas; binding karmas; mok a and each having seven categories; sva and para
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and their categories and six sub category of the 14 namely, k la (time); god; soul; destiny; character for a total of 84. Since they do not accept existence of soul, they do not have the eternal and transistory states in their doctrine.
Aj nav d: They opine that knowledge leads to arguments, because nobody has complete knowledge and half-baked knowledge often gives rise to different sects. Hence gaining knowledge is useless. Ignorance will save the world. They have 67 categories, namely, nine basic elements each with seven sub classification i.e. existence; non-existence; true existence; unworthy utterance; truthful utterance; untruthful utterance; truetruthful utterance. Multiplying the seven there are 63 and then putting together origination and in four states like existence etc together constitute 67 divisions.
Vinayav d: One who is humble is vinayav d. They do not have separate scriptures, etc. They only believe in mok a. They have 32 divisions - god; king; yati (teacher); j ti (intelligent or wise); elder monk, Adhama; mother; and father. Be courteous to all of these from mind, speech and body and give them due charity keeping in mind place and time. This way, multiplying 8 by 4 they have 32 categories.
Bimbas ra- re ika
King re ika Bimbas ra or Bhambh s ra of the i un ga clan was a famous and brave king. He belonged to V h ka clan as he hailed from V h ka country. re ika was the king of Magadha and one of the prominent king-followers of Mah v ra. His father Prasenajita was a devotee of P r van tha and a votary with right perception. Some texts in Jain literary tradition say that he dissociated himself from the Jain religion for sometime even though he was a born Jain.
According to Jain gamas Da ruta-skandha, re ika was very happy to hear news of the Lord's arrival in R jag ha. He went with his queen Celan to be of service to the Lord. Hearing his sermon, inspired by his renunciation and detachment, he accepted the Jain religion with pure feeling. He obtained right knowledge on Jain religion.
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King re ika had deep faith in the nirgrantha path. In the context of Meghakum ra's initiation, he said that only the nirgrantha religion is true, the best, complete, liberating and of good logic and is incomparable. In the first year after attaining omniscience when Lord Mah v ra came to R jag ha, King re ika became a Jain again.
Later, his son, K ika, along with his friends, imprisoned re ika and became king. K ika causws troubled his father in many ways. One day, when queen Celan told K ika about his father's love for him, he repented his mistake. In an emotional outburst, he went with an axe to untie his father re ika's chains. To protect his son from the sin of killing his father, re ika consumed poison on his finger ring and after death, due to biding of bad karma, went to the first hell. In his lifetime,
re ika had been devoted to Mah v ra's religion. As a result, he attained the T rthamkara gotra. After exiting from hell, he will be the first T rthamkara of the next 24 T rthamkara and like Mah v ra, shall give religious sermons.
King Ce aka
Just like re ika king Ce aka was also a firm follower of Jain religion.
va yakac r i calls him a vrat dhar r vaka (votary). He was a devotee of Lord Mah v ra, and by relation, was his maternal uncle. He was a Haihaya clan chief of the Vai 1 republic. He was a great warrior, able ruler and supporter of justice. Because of this he had to wage a fierce war with K ika and in the end, with the fall of Vai 1, disenchanted, he observed the pious death and became a god in the next life.
Aj ta atru K
ika
K ika has an important place among the devotee-kings of Lord Mah v ra. King re ika was his father and his mother was queen Celan. The mother saw a dream of a lion. During pregnancy, she had a whim to eat the heart of king re ika. With the cleverness of Abhayakum ra king
re ika fulfilled her whim, but seeing her child having such feelings in her womb, she was very unhappy. She attempted to abort the child but was unsuccessful. When he was born, she threw him in a dustbin where a cock bit his thumb finger and a fungus developed. The child started crying and re ika removed the fungal matter by sucking it out wit
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mouth and cured the thumb. He was named K ika due to the injury on the thumb. As he grew up K ika started nursing feelings of being a king. Taking some of his brothers along with him, he imprisoned re ika and became king. He repented later after his mother spoke to him. He went with an axe to break his father's chains. re ika thought he is coming to kill him. To save his son from the sin of killing his own father,
re ika ate the poison from his finger ring and died.
K ika became very unhappy with all this and leaving R jag ha, he made Camp the capital of Magadha and stayed there. Mother Celan 's upbringing and values produced in him deep faith in Lord Mah v ra. He had a separate division, which followed up on news of Mah v ra's wandering and everyday activities. Once when Mah v ra arrived in the garden in Camp he went to him along with his family members. K ika was overwhelmed when he heard the Lord's nectar-like speech and paying obeisance to him, returned to his palace. He was brave and bright right from the beginning. Defeating many enemies during his reign he became known as Aj ta atru.
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K
ika's attack on Vai 1
K ika was the son of R jag ha's king re ika and queen Celan . King
re ika had two other sons, Halla and Vihalla. Niray valik talks only of Vihalla. re ika had presented them the best elephant of the time called Secanaka, and an invaluable necklace gifted by a god. Hearing the praises of those two the queen of K ika, Padm vat was adamant that she wanted them. K ika did not consider it right to take away those gifts of his father to his own brothers, but bowing to female obstinacy he asked Halla and Vihalla for those two things. The two brothers said, "Since their father had gifted them, they had the right over them." Yet if king of Camp K ika wants them, he should give them half his kingdom in return. K ika did not accept his brothers' demand. With this, fearing an attack, Halla and Vihalla rode on the elephant, wearing the necklace, went to their maternal uncle Ce aka in Vai 1.
Hearing this, K ika became very angry. He sent a messenger to king Ce aka to return the elephant and necklace along with Halla and Vihalla to him. King Ce aka replied that both brothers are seeking refuge with him so he would not send them in a helpless state to K ika. However, if the king of Camp so wishes, he may give them half his kingdom and take the elephant and necklace. Angry with Ce aka's reply K ika attacked Vai 1 with his army and armies of his ten brothers. Ce aka too came to the battlefield with the armies of Kau ala and Ka . At the end of the first day general of K ika's army K lakum ra, moved his elephant towards king Ce aka and invited him for a duel. With a smile of acceptance, Ce aka asked his elephant rider to take the elephant towards K lakum ra. There was a vast difference in the age of the two. Respecting his maternal grandfather K lakum ra said -“ rya, you attack first." Ce aka said – “No, you must attack first; it is Ce aka's resolve not to attack a person who has not attacked him first."
With his full strength, K lakum ra released his arrow aiming at Ce aka's forehead. Surprising everyone Ce aka released his bow shaped like a crescent moon at K lakum ra, cutting his arrow in two and said - "Prince, if you want to save your life from this old man, leave the battle
Niryavalika only mentions Vihalla Kumara
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field, or else...” He released an arrow at K lakum ra. All attempts to protect him failed and K lakum ra died on his elephant.
After K lakum ra, the remaining nine brothers too died at the hands of Ce aka. K ika finally resorted to divine powers. He meditated on
akrendra observing a two-day fast. Because of his past life good deeds and friendship, both Indras came to K ika. K ika said – “Ce aka has killed my ten brothers with his arrows. I have taken an oath that I shall destroy Vail and make donkeys to pull the plough over the land there; else, I shall take my life by jumping off the Uttumga mountain peak. Hence you show a way to end Ce aka's life.”Devar ja akra said - "I cannot kill Ce aka who is the Lord's follower and of my own religion, but I can protect you from his arrows.” Saying this, he gave K ika impregnable armour. Camarendra too was an ascetic friend of K ika's in his last birth. He gave K ika the knowledge of making and using an airborne weapon called 'Mah il Kamtaka' and a destructive weapon called “Ratham sala.' Thus helped by gods, K ika jumped into the battlefield the next day with double enthusiasm.
Ce aka moved his elephant towards him. He released his arrow, from his bow at K ika. That arrow broke into pieces hitting against the armour provided by akra. Seeing his arrow fail, the truthful Ce aka could not release a second arrow. K ika now used the 'Mahil Kam weapon. With the use of this weapon whatever arms were hurled at the Vai 1 army made of wood, leaf; iron, etc, they would turn out to be deadlier than attack with huge rocks. Soon 84 lakh soldiers of Vai 1 died. That day's war became famous as the “Mah il Kam aka Samgr ma (war)'.
K ika came the next day with his destructive weapon, the 'Ratham sala'. Ce aka released an arrow at K ika that fell to pieces hitting against the armour. Ce aka did not use any other weapon again that day following his resolve. The iron Ratham sala weapon pounced at the army of Ce aka, without anyone releasing it, without a vehicle, like dark clouds with the speed of light. The implements attached to it on their won started attacking. With their stormy speed, there was human killing in all directions. The battlefield resembled a quicksand of blood and human corpses and nobody got a chance to use their weapons. The Vai 1 republic's armies started to retreat in fear and returned to their
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own cities. Ninty three lakh soldiers died on that one day. Seeing no way out king Ce aka returned to Vai 1 with his remaining few soldiers. K ika surrounded Vail on all sides.
We find out from Jain gamas and texts that K ika surrounded Vai 1 for a long time. Halla and Vihalla for their part would come out at night on their elephant and killing K ika's soldiers, return. This went on for long resulting in heavy loss and K ika became worried.
K ika thought of many ways to break through the domes but did not succeed. Ultimately, through an unseen power he found out that a
rama a mendicant named K lav laka can enter Vail and help him pass through. K ika took the help of the famous courtesan of Vai 1, M gadhik , who seduced K lav laka and made him accept to help in breaking through into Vail.
He also found a trick to stop the destruction by Halla and Vihalla at night. In their path a deep pit was dug; filled with burning splinters the pit was covered. Halla and Vihalla came out at night but through its knowledge, the elephant sensed danger ahead and stopped short of the pit. Thinking the elephant to be timid Halla and Vihalla forced it to move ahead. Seeing no other way Secanaka put the brothers down and he jumped into the pit and burnt to ashes. The brothers understood everything, were repentant, and became disgusted with life. The Jina sana goddess Rak ik took them to Lord Mah v ra, and they took initiation into mendicancy.
K lav laka took the disguise of a soothsayer and entered Vai 1 easily. He found out that because of a grand st pa for Lord Munisuvratan tha, Vai 1 was impregnable. When K lav laka was thus roaming around like a soothsayer some subjects asked him with inquisitiveness – "Lord, when will we be free from this barricade?" Seeing the apt moment K lav laka said – “Until this st pa stands here this will continue. This st pa is the reason for this inauspiciousness.” People started to break the st pa and within minutes, the st pa disappeared. K lav laka indicated to K ika, and in the night, K ika attacked Vai 1 breaking through the fortress. Hearing this king Ce aka gave up his life observing a fast and became a god in heaven. K ika got the land of Vai 1 tilled by donkeys and fulfilling his oath returned to Camp.
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He started considering himself unconquerable with this "Mah 1 Kam aka' and 'Ratham sala' weapons and desired to become a cakravart. Lord Mah v ra was staying in Camp's Prabhadra caitya. He went there and said – “Lord, will I become the victor of the six divisions of Bharataa and become a cakravart ?" The Lord said – "No, there are only 12 cakravart s in the present avasarpi half-cycle. It is impossible for you to be one." He then asked – “What are the indicators of a cakravart ?” The Lord said – “They had fourteen divine jewels such as cakra, etc. K ika found out all about the jewels from the Lord and returned to his palace.
He had full faith in the Lord but at the same time, he had also seen the amazing miracles of his weapons. He got jewels made from the artisans and with fasts, etc, and all the weapons, he left for establishing rule over the six divisions. He reached Timisraa cave after conquering many kingdoms and attacked its doors, after observing a fast. The doorkeeper of the cave asked - "Who is it?" K ika replied - "Cakravart A okacandra." The doorkeeper said – “Impossible! Twelve cakravart s have already existed." K ika replied – "I am the thirteenth." Angry at this the doorkeeper god fumed and K ika was burnt to ashes. After dying, he went to the sixth hell. In spite of being a devotee of Lord Mah v ra, on account his selfishness and greed, he skipped the path and went to doom.
K ika remained Lord Mah v ra's devotee and follower throughout his life. Though Dr. Smith writes that the Buddhists and Jains both call Aj ta atru their follower but the claim of the Jains is stronger. K ika's real name was A okacandra or Emperor A oka.
King Ud yana
Among the foremost of devotees and followers of Lord Mah v ra, such as re ika, K ika, Cetaka, King Ud yana also belong this category. He was a popular king of Simdhu-Sauv ra kingdom. The capital of this kingdom was V tabhaya city, which was large, beautiful and prosperous in everyway. Prabh vat was the queen King Ud yana Abh cakum ra was their son. Ud yana's nephew Ke kum ra too used to live with him. King Ud yana had great faith in the words of Lord Mah v ra. He was a 12-vowsfollower of Mah v ra. Once king Ud yana was in his fasting
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hall, fasting and deep in spiritual contemplation, when a feeling emerged in him – “Those people are blessed who have seen the rama a Mah v ra, listen to him and, serving him, do good. When will I get such a golden opportunity?"
The next day, leaving Camp city, the Lord arrived at the M gavana garden in V tabhaya city. On knowing this, Ud yana was beyond himself with joy hearing and saw his dream come true. Getting up from his throne, with intense feeling, he prayed to the Lord and reached the garden with his family members and others. The detached sermon of the Lord had such an impact on Ud yana that he requested the Lord – "I want to take initiation, handing over my kingdom to my son Abh cikum ra.” The Lord said – “Do not delay doing the work that gives you happiness".
Feeling very happy, king Ud yana was returning to his palace. On the way a thought occurred to him – "If I hand over this kingdom, which I am giving up for it being a cause for great sorrow, to my son as a successor, if he becomes attached to it he will expand his worldly attachment. Hence let me give it to my nephew, Ke kum ra, in place of my son.” Accordingly, he made Ke kum ra the successor of his vast kingdom and became a monk taking initiation from Lord Mah v ra.
K
Being denied his paternal rights to the kingdom by his father, Abh cikum ra felt deeply wounded, yet he obeyed every word of his father and peacefully went to Camp to the emperor of Magadha,
ika. His father's act pained him for long like a thorn. In spite of being a dedicated devotee of Lord Mah v ra, he did not even salute his father, monk Ud yana in his lifetime, and keeping this resentment in his mind, observing the r vaka conduct, completing his life with a month's samlekhan , without repenting the bad feeling towards his father, he became a demon god, Asurakum ra. On completing his life span as Asurakum ra; he will be born in Mah Videha and shall attain enlightenment, emancipation and liberation.
Maha rama a Ud yana, after initiation, studied the eleven Amgas and became immersed in observing severe penance, etc. to annihilate all his karmas. Because of different kinds of intense penance, his body had
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become mere bones and because of limited food, a severe disease affected his body. On request by physicians, he began to consume curd.
Once, wandering alone, Ud yana reached V tabhaya city. When the minister found out, with a bad feeling, he told the king Ke - “Sage Ud yana is coming again to take his kingdom. Hence killing him immediately is better for us.” Ke immediately did not agree with the minister, but the minister continuously explained to him he agreed with the plan of giving Ud yana poisonous food. Upon his orders poisonous curd, brought by a herdswoman, was given to Ud yana, eating which, within a while of the poison having its effect, sage Ud yana became alert and accepting that food with equanimity, ascending the ksapaka re through deep meditation, he attained pure knowledge and after a half month's samlekhan , obtained nirva.
This sage Ud yana is the last king who attained mok a following sermons of Lord Mah v ra.
Some memorable moments of Lord Mah v ra
Once, Lord Mah v ra was seated in the garden named Manoramin Pottanapura city. The king of that city, Prasannacandra, impressed by the Lord's detachment inspiring sermon, took initiation and learning under elder monks, became well versed in the S tras. After sometime, the Lord left Pottanapura and came to R jag ha. Monk Prasannacandra was also with him. At R jag ha, a little distance away from the Lord, he stood at one place in meditation. By coincidence, going to serve the Lord, king
re ika passed that way and saw him standing on one leg, meditating. After paying obeisance to the Lord he said – “Lord, the monk who is meditating on the way, if he dies now, what destination he will reach?” The Lord said – "The seventh hell."
re ika was surprised that even a monk doing great penance can go to hell. After sometime, out of curiosity, he asked that question again. Lord Mah v ra said - "If he dies now, he will be a god in the Sarvartha Siddhi vim na.” Hearing this, re ika was even more perplexed. Clearing his doubt the Lord said –“Oh king! When you asked the first time, the meditating monk was indulging in a mental battle with his opponent monks and during the time of your second question, repenting for his
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error, he had ascended the height of lofty thoughts. That is why the answer for the two questions is so different."
Upon re ika's request the Lord further said “The meditating monk overheard the conversation of two army generals, Sumukha and Durmukha. He learnt that his minister and an enemy king might be possibly dethroning his son to whom he handed over his kingdom to become a monk. Angry, giving in to love for his son, he was battling in his mind with the minister and the enemy king. In the fearsome time of these results, you asked the question so I said he would go the seventh hell. But after sometime when he realised he is but a monk and what is his business with kingdom and thrones, and repenting, he took to lofty thoughts, hence I said he would attain to Sarv rthasiddhi vim na.”
Lord Mah v ra was explaining to re ika the secret of his statement when the skies resounded with divine sounds. The Lord told re ika"That same monk, Prasannacandra, who became eligible for the SarvarthSiddhi vim na, in the second stage of his deep meditation, ascended the vimalasreni, and destroying, at the same time, his obscuring karmas, has attained pure intuition and pure knowledge. To express the glory of that, the gods are beating the drums.” re ika was pleased in his mind to see the Lord's omniscience.
Once, Lord Mah v ra was staying in R jag ha's garden. A person came to Mah v ra at that time and falling at his feet, said – “Lord! Your sermon is like crossing the worldly ocean. Once I had the opportunity to hear your speech and your teachings at that time saved me from trouble. Today I wish to benefit from your speech.” Thus, with a firm resolve, he heard the Lord's sermon, hearing which he felt guilt for his past actions. With folded hands, he requested the Lord - "Lord! My past life is full of misdeeds. Can I get a place at your feet to purify it? Can a thief and a perpetrator of atrocities obtain rama a dharma? Hearing that person's pure words, the Lord said - "Rohineya! True repentance clears the blackness of sin. All your impurities have burnt to ashes by the selfcriticism. Hence you have become eligible for the rama a status."
Soon the infamous thief Rohineya became a monk and went far ahead because of his penance and good deeds. It is true, after all, that the
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detachment-inspiring sermons of the Lord can turn a thief into a pious soul.
Abhayakum ra in the precincts of R jag ha
The king of R jag ha, re ika and his family were the best devotees of Lord Mah v ra. This minister Abhayakum ra contributed towards bringing them this credit. Abhayakum ra was also re ika's son, born to his queen Nanda. Abhayakum ra saved re ika many times from political troubles.
Once Ujjayin 's king Ca dapradhyot attacked R jag ha along with many other kings. Abhayakum ra showed such intelligence that Ca dapradhyot went back in fear. Where the enemy camp was about to be housed, Abhayakum ra got gold coins to be placed there in pits. When Ca dapradhyota surrounded R jag ha, Abhayakum ra sent word to him saying the kings who have come with him have actually joined hands with king re ika and that they plan to make him prisoner of
re ika. In return for this re ika has given them lots of money, which has been placed in pits under your camp. The moment he heard this Ca dapradhyota got the place dug up and found the gold coins. Out of fear, he at once returned to Ujjayin .
A woodcutter of Rajgrhi, Drumaka, took initiation from rya Sudharm. When Drumaka used to go seeking alms, people would make fun of him and say – “Here comes the great renouncer, See what a great wealth he has sacrificed." Drumaka was very unhappy with this behaviour of people and told this to rya Sudharm . To cure Drumaka's disgust, rya Sudharm decided to leave from that place the next day. When Abhayakum ra learnt of this he requested rya Sudharm to change his decision and placed a crore each of gold coins in a heap in the city, and announced that whosoever leaves his wife, fire and water for life may take these three crore gold coins. When nobody was prepared Abhayakum ra said – “See this Drumaka is such a great renouncer. For a lifetime he has sacrificed woman, fire and fresh water." Because of this cleverness of Abhayakum ra, people's taunts at Drumaka ended.
When Lord Mah v ra arrived at R jag ha, Abhayakum ra too came there to listen to his sermon. At the end of the sermon, Abhayakum ra asked the Lord - "Lord, who will be the last king to attain mok a in your
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time?” The Lord replied – “V tabhaya's king Ud yana, who is a monk with me; he will be the last king to gain mok a.” Abhayakum ra thought, ‘if I take initiation after becoming a king, the path to mok a will be closed for me. It will be better if I take initiation while I am a prince. When he placed this thought before re ika he said – "Child! It is my time to take initiation; you must take over the kingdom.” When Abhayakum ra made a special request re ika said - "the day I become angry with you for some reason and ask you to go away from here and do not show me your face even by mistake, that day you can renounce.
After sometime, Lord Mah v ra again arrived at R jag ha. It was extreme winter. One day re ika went for a stroll with his queen Celan. Returning in the evening on the way they saw a monk in meditation. Suddenly the queen woke up in the night and remembering that monk and suddenly she said – “Ah! What must he be doing?” hearing this, the king developed suspicion towards the queen and in the morning he instructed Abhayakum ra – "Burn Celan 's palace, it is infested with bad conduct." Abhayakum ra took Celan out of the palace and burnt it.
There re ika asked the Lord about the behaviour and conduct of the queen, to which Lord Mah v ra said – “Your Celan and other queens are faultless and of chaste character.” Hearing this praise for his queens
re ika began to repent having given those orders and fearing that no harm may happen, returned to the palace. Seeing Abhayakum ra on the way he asked – “What happened to the palace?" Abhaya said – “As per your instructions it has been burnt.” Hearing this, the king was very sad and said -"You did not do the right thing. Despite my orders you should have used your intelligence and obeyed the orders after stalling it for sometime.” To this Abhaya replied – “You should not have given those orders without thinking."
The king was very angry due to persistent arguments with Abhayakum ra and with his own evil orders, He suddenly said - "go away from here, and do not show me your face again.” Abhaya was waiting for this. He left at once and accepted initiation at the Lord's feet. King re ika returned to the palace and seeing everyone safe was sad again for giving hasty orders. He felt he had lost a clever son and an able minister. He went at once to Lord Mah v ra but Abhayakum ra initiated
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already. Observing with purity the monk conduct muni Abhayakum ra became ahamindragod named Vijaya in the Anuttaravim na.
Nirv
a from a historical Point of View
Lord Mah v ra attained nirva in 527 B.C. Evidence for this is available in good amount in all the ancient and modern scriptures of the Jain tradition. The strong evidence is completely unambiguous based on which this time has been calculated. Still, modern historians and researchers have from time to time given different viewpoints on this matter. We shall briefly review these now.
The name of Herman Jacobi is prominent among those scholars. Based on all these evidences he compared the nirva of Lord Mah v ra and Buddha and concluded that Buddha was younger than Mah v ra. After careful study of Dr. Jacobi's evidences, scholars have opined that it is not correct to take Dr. Jacobi's conclusion to be the final one. According to
c rya Hemacamdra Mah v ra's nirva was in 527 B.C. Dr. K. P. Jaiswal states that Mah v ra's nirva account in Buddhist gamas do not agree with historical facts. He considers Mah v ra's nirvato have occurred prior to Buddha. Dr. R dh kumuda Mukharj and investigator of archaeology, muni Jinvijaya, according to Dr. K. P. Jaiswal's opinion, he accepts Lord Mah v ra to be older. In the same way, Dr. Hasle talks of Buddha's nirva as having taken place five years after Mah v ra. According to him, Buddha was born three years before Mah v ra. According to muni Kalyavijaya Buddha's nirva took place in 542 BC (in May) and Mah v ra's nirva in 528 BC (November); thus Buddha had attained nirv a 15 years before Mah v ra. He also places Lord Mah v ra's nirva in 527 BC, which is also in accordance with the tradition and evidence as well. Sr Vijayendra Sr's 'T rthamkara Mah v ra” also uses different evidences and places Mah v ra's nirva in 527 BC.
Buddhist Pitakas perhaps give real and clear evidence about Lord Mah v ra's nirva. In those, Buddha speaks of Anamda's and Cunda speaks of Mah v ra's nirva. Where the question of Lord Mah v ra's nirv a before Buddha is concerned, we should not doubt it because there is no opposing reference in the Jain gamas for this. According to muni Nagar ja, there are many accounts in Buddhist texts to prove
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Mah v ra's seniority in age, in which Buddha himself accepts that he is younger. For example: Lord Buddha was once wandering in r vast in Jettavana of the orphan Pindik when king Prasenajita had asked him in some context, you are young in age and renounced recently, then how can you say that you have seen samyaka sambodhi?' To this Buddha said - "Fire, snake, k atriya and monk should not be insulted by calling them young.” This is the strongest evidence for Buddha being the younger one among the spiritual c ryas and leaders of his time. Seeing all this there should be no doubt about Mah v ra's seniority in age and nirv a before Buddha. In the same way, keeping in mind both traditional and historical points of view and evidence, his nirva took place in 527 BC.
Candragupta's ascension to the throne (BC 322 which according to Jain tradition) is considered to be another evidence historically i.e. 215 years after Mah v ra's nirva. Ascension of Avanti and this is another historical fact that Candragupta established his kingdom ten years after ascending the throne. Thus, 322-10=312+215=527, that is, according to the Jain time count, too, when Mah v ra's nirvaoccurred in 527 B.C.
The strongest and universally accepted evidence to prove unambiguously 527 BC to be the nirv a year is also this, which has been unanimously accepted by ancient Digamabara and vet mbara c ryas – that is the beginning of the aka era, 605 years and 5 months after Mah v ra's nirva. In this way, BC 527 is the historically proven and accepted time.
Historical Analysis of Lord Mah v ra and Buddha's Nirva
Lord Mah v ra and Buddha were contemporaries; hence, in deciding the nirv a time of both, scholars have discussed it together, considering the intrinsic connection between their times. It is a different matter that
stead of solving the problem, it has made it more complicated. India's accomplished historian, Pa dita Gaur shamkara Hr chamda Ojh , while discussing Buddha Nirva Samvat', writes that there is no decision on which year Buddha attained nirva. In Lamk , Burm (Myanmar) and
y ma, Buddha's nirva is believed to have taken place in 544 BC as also the s ma royal teachers believe. According to Chinese traveler Fa Hien it happened around 1097 BC and Hiuen Tsang, within 4th century BC. Some other historians say between 4th century BC and 5th century BC. Muni Kaly avijaya has tried to make it clear on his part that Lord
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Buddha was 22 years older than Lord Mah v ra was and Lord Mah v ra attained nirva 15 years after Buddha's nirva . This way, Buddha's nirva is in 542 BC. Without getting into an analysis of scholars' opinions here, we wish to present just facts and evidences so that we get the exact year of nirva.
It may be noted that we have to take a decision on an event that occurred approximately 2500 years ago. It is well-known that at that time San tana, Jain and Buddhist religions were the main ones which are existent even today. There is no description on Buddha's life in Jain
gamas. The description in Buddhist scriptures and texts about Buddha's nirva are so mutually contradictory that not one of them we cannot consider correct. In this situation, it becomes necessary to search for material in San tana religion's ancient literature. Fortunately, there is a
loka in the San tana religion's Sr madbh gavatapura (in its first skamdha), which throws light on Buddha. This loka means that during kalayuga in Magadha (Bih ra) to seduce demons, the enemies of gods, you will be the avat ra of Buddha, son of Amjan ( mjan ).
In Buddha's context, the author of this text refers to the brave king of the time, ‘Amjan'. According to Buddha-related descriptions, uddhodana is Buddha's father; hence, according to the loka there is no scope for considering Amjan to be Buddha's father. Actually, the author of Bh gavata means to say that Buddha was the son of the king Amjana's daughter Amjani. This is a really new but historical fact that Lord Buddha was king Amjana's grandson. The loka mentions Amjana's daughter Amjani in the same way as Janaka's daughter is J nak , and Maithila's daughter is Maithil . The Burmese tradition proves that Buddha's maternal grandfather Amjana was a kya k atriya who started his own era named taj n . In Burmese language, taj n means Amjana. According to taj n era, Buddha's niry a happened in 148 on Vai kha month's full moon day on a Tuesday, which is equivalent to 502 BC, April15, Tuesday.
To solve this problem there is a lokain V yupura in which is mentioned a king named Pradhyota who will be seated on the throne of Avamti after his father Munika will get will get the king murdered and bringing all ministers under his control, will rule for 23 years. According to the Tibbetan Buddhist tradition, Buddha and Camdapradhyota were
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born on the same day, as Buddha became emlightened. All historians unanimously accept this fact that at the time of enlightenment, Buddha was 35 years old. This means that Pradyot too became king of Avanti at the age of 35. Acording to the loka in V yupur a, Pradyot ruled for 23 years and after him, his son, P laka, became the king, and on that day, Mah v ra attained nirva. Thus strong evidence from San tana, Jain and Buddhist beliefs prove that on the day Mah v ra attained nirva at the age of 72, Pradhyota died at age of 58 and Buddha too was 58 years old on that day. With this it is proved that Buddha's year of birth was 14 years after the birth of Mah v ra and niry a 22 years after that of Mah v ra.
According to va yakac r , when Mah v ra turned 28, his parents died. According to the authors of the cr, at the time of death of king Siddh rtha and Tri 1 Dev , Pradhyota was 14 years old. Accordingly, we prove the niry a year of Mah v ra as 527 BC. Mah v ra was born in 599 BC and Buddha was born in 585 BC. Combining all these facts together, we can conclude that Mah v ra attained nirva in 527 BC and Buddha, 22 years after that, in 505 BC.
In A okan edicts, no. 256, which is considered indicative of Buddha's nirv a year, proves that Buddha's nirva took place in505 BC. Many scholars based on this number in the edict, believe that when these edicts composed, after 256 years of Buddha's nirva. According to historians. A oka was coronated king in 269 BC. Eight years after coronation, he gained victory over Kalimga, where, seeing the cruel human killing, he became disgusted with war and became a follower of Buddhism. On his part, he put all energy into propagation of Buddhism. As a result, Buddhism spread not only in India but also in many countries abroad, attaining the peaks of progress after he started issuing the edicts. In all these perhaps 10-12 years were spent, hence these edicts were commissioned in the 20th year of the coronation, 249 BC, when 256 years had passed after Buddha's nirva. According to this calculation, Buddha attained nirvain 505 BC and corresponds with reference in V yupur a to Pradyota's reign. Based on all these indisputable facts, we can say that Lord Mah v ra attained nirva in 527 BC and Buddha in 505 BC.
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Place of nirvana According to Jain belief, Lord Mahavira's nirvana place is Pavapuri near Rajagaha in Patna district, where grand temples have made it a Jain pilgrimage centre. However, historians do not seem to agree with this. The reason being that when Mahavira attained nirvana at that time there were 18 chiefs of republics of Mallas and Licchavis present there. This is only possible to have taken place in north Bihar's Pavapuri because all these republics were in Bihar. South Bihar's Pava was in their enemy land. Dr. Jacobi too, based on descriptions in Buddhist scriptures, concedes that Mahavira's nirvana place Pava was in Sakya land. Rahula Samkrityayana too, confirms this. Nathurama Premi also expresses the same opinion. According to him, Lord Mahavira's nirvana took place at the northern side of Gamga in Pava city, which is in present Gorakhapura district, in a village popular as Pupahara. **** * 367