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he took him to be a bad omen; and getting angry, he left on the monk his hunting dogs. Through the influence of the monk, even the dogs became quiet; and the arrows hit by the king turned into flowers. Then the king, to satisfy his vengeance, put a dead serpent round the neck of the monk. As a consequence of this dire sin, he became destined for being born in the seventh hell. But he could observe that the great monk, even though harassed so much by him, was not in the least affected or disturbed either. When the monk saw that now the king had the mental peace, he blessed him in sweet words and gave him religious instructions. Well, that is how Sreņika got rid of his mithyātva and developed kṣāyika-samyaktva. He bowed down at the feet of the saint and returned home in a happy mood.
One day king Sreņika received the report that lord Mahāvīra has arrived on the mount Vipulācala. He proceeded there with devotion, bowed down to him, and offered prayers. As a result of this religious bent of mind, his samyaktva was strengthened; his life in the seventh hell was commuted into that of the first hell; and he incurred the bondage of the tirthakara-nāma-karman. On this occasion, king Sreņika inquired of Gautama Ganadhara as to why he (i.e., himself) is not inclined to accept the vows (vrata), even though he has great faith in Jainism. The Ganadhara pointed out to him, in reply, that he had excessive addiction to pleasures and is under the operation of deep mithyātva; and further his conduct has been bad because he has committed preliminary sins (ārambha). The consequent acute sins, the Ganadhara continued, have led him to the bondage of life in hell. The bondage of any other grade of existence (gati) than that of heaven will not allow the soul to accept and practise the vows; but such a soul can, however, possess samyag-darśana or right faith. This is the reason, Gautama explained to Śreņika, why the latter was possessed of samyaktva, but not in a position to
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| SR No. | 006504 |
| Book Title | Mahavira his Times and his Philosophy of Life |
| Original Sutra Author | N/A |
| Author | Harilal Jain, A N Upadhye |
| Publisher | Bharatiya Gyanpith |
| Publication Year | 1977 |
| Total Pages | 70 |
| Language | English |
| Classification | Book_English, History, & Philosophy |
| File Size | 4 MB |