Lord Mahavira and His Times

SR No.: 011080
Original Sutra Author: N/A
Author: Kailashchandra Jain
Publisher: Motilal Banarasidas
Publication Year: 1974
Total Pages: 427
Language: English
Classification: Book_English
File Size: 20 MB

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Lord Mahāvira and His Life tion was not fruitless, for in the thirteenth year, Mahāvira at last attained supreme knowledge and final deliverance from the bonds of pleasure and pain. The Jainas themselves have described this most important moment of the prophet's life:
"During the thirteenth year, in the second month of summer, in the fourth fortnight, the light (fortnight) of Vaišākha, on its tenth day, called Suvrata, while the moon was in conjunction with the asterism Uttara-Phalguni, when the shadow had turned towards the east, and the first wake was over, outside of the town Jțimbhikagrānia on the northern bank of the river Rijupālikā, in the field of the householder Sāmāga, in a northeastern direction from an old temple, not far from a Sal tree, in a squatting position with joined heels exposing himself to the heat of the Sun, with the knees high and the head low, in deep meditation, in the midst of abstract meditation, he reached Nirvāņa, the complete and full, the unobstructed, unimpeded, infinite and supreme, best knowledge and intuition, called Kevala."
When the venerable Mahāvira had become an Arhat and a Jina, he was a Kevalin, omniscient and comprehending all objects; he knew all the conditions of the world, of gods, men and demons; whence they come, where they go, whether they are born as men or animals, or become gods or hell-beings; their food, drink, doings, desires, open and secret deeds, their conversation and gossip and the thoughts of their minds; he saw and knew all the conditions in the whole world of all living beings.
At this time, Mahāvīra (the great hero) or Jina (the conqueror) was forty-two years old; and from this age, he entered upon a new stage of life, that of a religious teacher and the head of a sect called the Nirgranthas, 'free from fetters'. He went from place to place for the propagation of his doctrine, and for making converts. His first declaration about himself aroused confidence among his followers and urged them to follow his example in their own life. The Buddhist texts give us an idea of his first declaration which is as follows:
I am all-knowing and all-seeing, and possessed or an infinite knowledge. Whether I am walking or standing still, 1. Achā, II, 15, 25-26; Kalpa, 120, 121.