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Bhagavai 5:9:254-257
- 331 :
Bhagavān Mahāvīra belonged to the order (i.e., were followers) of Lord Pārsva.? The order of Pārśva was still prevalent at the time of Bhagavān Mahāvīra. Pārsva's disciples called on Lord Mahāvīra and his disciple Gautama for philosophical discussions on many an occasions:
1. Käläsavesiyaputta of Pārsva's order approached the elders of Mahāvīra's order and discussed the subjects like sāmāyika, etc. with them and ultimately got ordination in the Mahavira's discipline.
2. The Mahāvīra's followers, of the city of Tungiya, held philosophical discussions with the three elders of the order of Parśva, namely, Kalikaputra, Mehila and Anandarakṣita Lord Mahāvīra endorsed the replies of the elders. There is however no mention whether they were ordained in Mahāvīra's discipline.
3. The elders of Pārsva's order pay visit to Lord Mahāvīra and ask him about the infinite number of days and nights in finite cosmos. Lord Mahāvīra solved their queries by quoting the doctrine of Lord Pārśva. They were convinced of the omniscience of Lord Mahāvīra and were ordained in his discipline.
4. An ascetic, named Gāngeya, of the order of Pārsva, goes to the city of Vānijyagrāma and asks the questions about the births and deaths of living beings to which Mahāvīra gives reply. Here also Pārsva's doctrine about the cosmos is quoted. The ascetic, Gāngeya, is convinced of the omniscience of Lord Mahāvīra and gets ordained in his discipline.
5. According to the Nālandijja chapter of Sūyagado, Udaka Pedhāla of Pārsva's order approaches Gautama at Nālandā and elaborately discusses with him the procedure of conferment of vows. After the discussion, he gets ordained in the order of Mahāvīra.?
6. There is a reference in Uttarajjhayanāni to the young ascetic, Keśī, of the Pārsva's order, approaching Gautama Swāmī at Śrāvasti, when a long dialogue takes place between them. Ultimately, the young ascetic, Keśī, gets ordained in the order of Lord Mahāvīra.
From these references to Pārsva's order, it is evident that Pärsva's order was concurrently flourishing even after the omniscience of Lord Mahāvīra. The elderly monks of the Pārsva's order approached Lord Mahāvīra and asked him an intriguing question, "O Lord! whether in the cosmos of finite dimensions, there occur and pass away infinite number of nights and days or do there occur a finite number of nights and days?"
Lord Mahāvīra endorsed both the alternatives. The problem was that the number of nights and days couldn't be both infinite as well as limited in number. The apparent contradiction was resolved by Lord Mahāvīra by pointing out that there were souls with common body and also with personal (uncommon) body.
In a common body, infinite number of souls originated and die, while with the personal body, a limited number of souls originate and die. Time is a soul's mode that is characterised by constancy of duration. In the case of souls with common body, infinite number of days and nights originate and pass away, while in the case of souls of personal body, limited number of nights and days originate and pass
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