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.64 MAĦĀVĪRA · HIS LIFE AND TEACHINGS ription of Maharrar
· Now let us see how the Tīrthankara has been described in the Jaina Sūtrakstānga, and in what light his personality and teachings were viewed by his immediate disciples. He is the glorious man who lived before their eyes He is the great sage who possessed infinite knowledge and infinite faith He is the highest and the wisest in the whole world He is the omniscient sage Kāśyapa who proclaimed the highest law of the Jinas His knowledge is inexhaustible like the water of the sea He is limitless and pure like the great ocean. He is passionless, unfettered, and brilliant like Sakra, the king of the gods By his vigour he is the most vigorous He stands 111 the centre of the earth like Mt. Sudarsana, the best of all mountains He is seen in a pure light like that of the sun He is noble, glorious, full of faith, knowledge, and virtue After having taught the highest law he practised the highest contemplation which is the purest of pure, thoroughly white as it were like mother-of-pearl and moon. Having annihilated all his karman by his knowledge, virtue, and faith, he reached the unsurpassable, highest perfection, which is a state with a beginning but without an end He is the best of teachers who have taught Nirvāņa. He is the hero who grants protection to all, and whose perfection is infinite.
