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No. IV
NEW STUDIES IN SOUTH INDIAN JAINISM.
159
sarva prāni-dayardha-dabhi-Bhagavad-dhyānëna
sambodnayanarādhyāchala mastake kanaka-sat-sënod bhavat satpatih" "aho bahir-girin tyaktva Baladeva munih sriman ārādhanam pragrihîtva siddha tokam gatar-punah"
(No. 15). Trans :--- With groves adorned with red water lilies and filled with the hum of bees, surpassing Nandana; shining on every side with fields standing with rice, was it beyond the hill. Instructing all in the praise of Bhagavat, the ocean of goodness to all creatures, worshipping on the summit of the mountain ; born to the virtuous kanakasena, was a chief of virtue. Behold, this Bala Deva muni, the honourable, having forsaken beyond the hill, giving himself up to devotion, departed to siddh lôka, did he not ?"
Note that this description gives an idea of the approaches to the Hill at a far later time than that of Bhadrabahu, but it is enough to show that that'ârâdhyachala' or 'gurugini' was still the chiefest attraction in the locality and even that, for Sallekhana, as well as Sadhana.
A similar cultural.ideosyncracy' of Jainism is said to be Ahimsa. This has come into greater prominence in modern Indian political life, like 'fast into death,' Sallēkhana, most inappropriately I think, as a technique of political struggle lt, however, indicates a modern searching of hearts in India, a quest into the past far desciplines or spiritual processes, leading to 'freedom' or moksha from 'bandhana' or 'bondage.' No body can deny that it is a deep spiritual searching, a holy quest, a non-doctrinal, practical, quest, practised in ancient times by persons from different grades of society and even today, practicable to prince in luxury or peasant in poverty alike. But it is well worth making an attempt to understand this Jaina form of descipline of Ahimsa aright.
The Sravana Belgola Epigraphs describe the munis worshipping Bhagavat, there, as 'Srava-prāni-dayarddha-dah (pasifugerist) as those that give their wealth of kindness to all living things, which
| SR No. | 010062 |
| Book Title | Jain Siddhant Bhaskar |
| Original Sutra Author | N/A |
| Author | Hiralal Jain, Others |
| Publisher | ZZZ Unknown |
| Publication Year | 1940 |
| Total Pages | 143 |
| Language | Hindi |
| Classification | Book_Devnagari |
| File Size | 7 MB |