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3. C RYA PRABHAVA SW M
c rya Prabhava Swm was the third Pontiff of Lord Mah v ra and was the successor of Jamb Sw m. He remained as a householder for 30 years, followed by 64 years as an ordinary monk and 11 years as epochal- c rya serving the Jain religion. His total tenure as a monk was 75 years and he lived up to the age of 105 years. He left for the heavenly abode in V.N. 75.
Prabhava Kum ra was the eldest son of the K atriya King Vindhya of Jayapura kingdom, situated at the foothills of Vimdhy cala. He belonged to K ty yana Gotra. He was born in BC 557 (30 years prior to V.N.) in Jayapura in Vimdhy Prade a. His younger brother was Suprabha. Both of them were brought up with lot of love and care befitting their noble birth.
When the adolescent Prince Prabhava turned 16, his father was displeased with him for some reason. Out of anger, he Stripped Prince Prabhava off his imperial right and declared his younger son as his successor.
Bandit leader Prabhava
Prabhava was deeply hurt and depressed as he was denied of his hereditary right. Displeased with his father, he left R jag ha and headed towards the dense and dreadful forests near Vimdhy Mountains and started living there. The bandits living in the Vimdhy forests, seeing the courageous and young prince, established friendly contact with him. Prince Prabhava would accompany them in all their robberies. Looking at his bravery and courage, the gamg of bandits made him their Leader. Bandit Leader Prabhava, now with a gamg of 500 robbers was everyday plundering major towns and villages in broad daylight. The more he became successful in his robberies, the more ambitious he became. To fulfill his high ambitions, he learnt and became proficient in “opening the strongest locks skill” and “putting others to deep sleep skill”. With his powerful gang of bandits and his knowledge of these two arts, Bandit Leader Prabhava would enter into the houses of the rich of the major towns without any apprehension and without shedding even a drop of
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