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56
TIRTHANKARA MAHAVIRA AND HIS SARVODAYA TIRTHA
in the month of Sravana imparts joy to every body, so did the divine words of the Lord All were especially grateful to Gautama and gossip was afloat that the divine words had emerged only after his auspicious entry. Even Indra was grateful to him In singing in praise of him, said he, “My master! because of your auspicious grace, people got the chance of receiving the divine words"
Said Gautama, "Oh king of the gods! You are exaggerating, What grace could I shower ? Rather, grace has been showerd on this humble fellow from the Lord. Anything happens as per destiny on the arrival of the appropriate time, and at that time necessary endeavour is made and favourable factors rally That the Lord did not speak till my coming and that his words came out after my arrival—this is said in usage but the truism is that the moment had at last arrived for the Lord to speak and for
e to come on the right track which in fact coincided.
Taking his query a little further, Indra said, “How it is so ?”
Said the Ganadhaia, “Before Bhagavan Mahavira, from the first Tirthankara Risabhadeva till Parsva, for all the 23 Tirthankaras, there was hardly any time gap between their omniscience and their divine voice coming out, but in the case of Mahavira, he attained omniscience on the 10th day of the second half of Baisakha, and his divine voice came out on the first day of the first half of Sravana, a gap of 66 days, which was some what unprecedented When the cause was looked into, it was found that on the surface of it, three events, viz. my coming, the commencement of the divine voice and my appointment as a Ganadhar, took place more or less about the same time. So outwardly they were colinked, and it is being said like that ”
Said Indra, “Do you then think that to say like this is a false statement ?"
Said the Ganadhara, “Who says it is a false statement ? Relative to the cause people say like that but cause does not give rise to the action. Whatever happens to a thing is inherent in it