Pearls of Jaina Wisdom

SR No.: 001668
Original Sutra Author: N/A
Author: Dulichand Jain
Publisher: Parshwanath Vidyapith
Publication Year: 1997
Total Pages: 368
Language: English
Classification: Book_English, Principle, & Religion
File Size: 16 MB

Page 53

Life of Lord Mahāvīra
of philosophical thought created intellectual confusion in society. The common man did not know what to accept and what to reject. In the social field also there was uncertainty and disorder. The priests were professing to be a link between God and men and to lead the common man to heaven through the performance of Yajña. Animal sacrifices were made and surprisingly this type of violence was not at all considered as violence. Brahmanic class was asserting its superiority and claiming the monopoly of preservation of religion. The other castes were treated as inferior. The Śūdra was lower than the other classes of human beings. Women were also treated as inferior. The caste system, which was originally designed to promote efficiency at work began to degenerate during this period. Mahāvīra became sad when he observed ignorance among the people and the exploitation of the lower castes by higher castes.
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Politically too it was an age of unrest and upheaval. Although there were many republics, the mighty rulers tried to suppress the smaller kingdoms. There were attacks and counter-attacks periodically over trivial matters.
Parentage and Birth
The word 'Mahāvīra' - great hero, is an epithet, not the name of Mahāvīra at his birth. However, the universality of its application has made it equivalent to his personal name. The childhood name of Mahāvīra was Vardhamana. He was born to Siddhartha, a warrior chieftain of Kuṇḍagrāma, a large city, in the kingdom of Vaiśālī, near modern Patna. His mother was Triśalā who was the daughter of Cetaka, a powerful ruler of Vaiśālī, capital of Vajjigana. Vardhamāna was born on the thirteenth day of the lunar fortnight of the month of Caitra in 599 B.C.
Tisala's Dreams
The story of the mother of a Tīrthankara getting the auspicious dream of 14 or 16 objects at the time of the life entering the womb of the mother is uniformly found in the life of all Tirthankaras. Queen Triśala witnessed the following fourteen dreams - 1. a white