Jain Legend Vol 2

SR No.: 007595
Original Sutra Author: N/A
Author: Hastimal Maharaj, Shuganchand Jain, P S Surana
Publisher: Hastimal Maharaj Shugan C Jain P S Surana
Publication Year: 2011
Total Pages: 342
Language: English
Classification: Book_English
File Size: 2 MB

Page 61

Why Sudharm Sw m alone was made successor of Lord
Mah v ra's creed?
Lord Mah v ra attained liberation on K rtika K. Am vasy in 528 BC. The same night Indrabh ti Gautama obtained omniscience. The very next day Dharma congregation declared and nominated rya Sudharm as the first Successor of Lord Mah v ra. The three-fold reasons are as follows:
Thirty years before his nirva, on the very day of the establishment of T rtha, Lord Mah v ra foresaw the longevity & ability of Sudharm and gave him order for the Ga a which the Caturvidha congregation knew very well. Caturvidha T rtha also knew that during the lifetime of Lord Mah v ra itself, the nine omniscient ga adharas – Agnibh ti and other. Attained nirva. One month before their nirv a they entrusted their respective Ga as to rya Sudharm , knowing that he is a Ga anayaka and D rgh yu (with long life). Apart from these two well-known facts, after the nirv a of Lord Mah v ra, the senior most and the best disciple Indrabh ti had all the abilities to hold the office of pontiff. But the same night he attained omniscience and hence he could not succeed Lord Mah v ra. The reason being, the successor has to carry forward and implement the teachings, preaching, and principles of his predecessor. Keeping all that in mind, he had to propagate and convey the message to the people and had to see that the followers obey and carry out His orders. However, an omniscient possesses the knowledge about all the beings of the world. Whatever he says or commands is based on his omniscient knowledge and is not based on the doctrines and commandments of the preceding c ryas.
rya Sudharm, at the time of nirv a of Lord Mah v ra, was not an omniscient, but an eminent scholar and knower of the fourteen P rvas. Hence he had the authority to quote Lord and say that Lord had counseled in that manner, or, I am repeating exactly what Lord said so on and so forth. Whereas, as Indrabh ti had attained omniscience on the very night after the nirva of Lord he could not have said that he was
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