________________
Prince Mahāvīra
Mahāvīra Vardhaman grew into a fine young man but he was given to deep thought and kept to himself thinking and reflecting over things that others found of little interest. He thought about the pain and misery of the world at large and the pitiable plight of the worldly living beings. He wanted to devote his life to finding ways and means to mitigate the miseries and to discover a way of life that could make everyone happy. His parents and the elder brother, Nandivardhan, however, had different plans for him and got him married to a beautiful princess Yasasvati.' Soon he was a father of an extraordinarily beautiful daughter whose name was Priyadarśanā. However, his mood did not undergo any substantial change and he remained aloof and withdrawn from mundane pleasures. The time flew and soon he was twenty-eight when his parents passed away. He thought that the time was then ripe for him to leave the worldly life and to become a monk. He was, however, persuaded by his brother to wait for another two years, which he agreed.
Monk Mahāvīra -
At the age of thirty Vardhaman Mahāvīra left the princely life and accepted monastic self-ordination and became a monk. Immediately he also gained the unlimited telepathic perception. He plucked his hair in five handfuls disrobed himself of all clothes save a divine body wrap devotedly presented by Devendra the king of heavenly gods.2 This piece of cloth, too, was discarded by him when it got entangled in the thorny bushes. Mahāvīra left his home-town and toured the countryside observing most severe penance and mostly devoting his time to intense meditative
This is the Svetambara belief; the Digambara tradition believes that Mahāvīra did not marry and was ordained a monk as a celibate. 2 The Digambara tradition believes that no such piece of cloth was
retained by Him.
1
16: JAINISM: THE CREED FOR ALL TIMES