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CHAPTER IX OMNISCIENCE AND ENLIGHTENMENT
On Mahavira's attainment of Omniscience
"Ma hā vira spent a long term of 12 years in enriching his soul by excellent knowledge, vision and conduct, by simplicity, study, energy, lightness, forgiveness, detachment (greedlessness), controls, contentment, truth, restraint, penance and excellent practice, and by the pursuit of the surest way to the ripe fruit of liberation. In the thirteenth year of his career, one day, he was in meditation in a milking posture (go-dohikāsana) exposing himself to the blast of the blazing sun under a sal tree, in the north-eastern direction, neither near nor far from the Vyāvrta caitya, in a farm belonging to a gathāpati named Syāmāka, on the ba nk of the Rjubālikā outside the village named Jambhiya. On that day, he was on fast without water missing altogether six meals. It was the tenth day of the bright half of Vaisakha. The shadow had fallen towards the east. It was the final quarter of the day. The name of the hour (muhurta) was Vijaya, and the name of the star was Uttarā -phālguni. Ma hā vira was immersed in pure (white) meditation with a fine concentration in the midst of an environment which was perfectly serene and silent. At this time, Mahavira, the great master of exertions, reached the acme of spiritual practices. He exhausted his four terminable kar mas, and attained supreme (kevala) knowledge and vision, which were final, excellent, unsurpassed, unlimited, expansive, allround, unshrouded and unobstructed. On the attainment of these, he became capable to know and see the diverse mental states and categories of all living beings in the worlds of men, gods and demons" (1).
No sooner did he attain omniscience than there was light in heaven. The seats of the gods moved. The Indra of the gods, the Sāmānika gods, the Trayas -trimsaka gods, the Lokapālas, their principal consorts, gods who were members of their families, commander gods, body-guard
| SR No. | 022804 |
| Book Title | Agama And Tripitaka Comparative Study |
| Original Sutra Author | N/A |
| Author | Nagaraj Muni |
| Publisher | Today and Tomorrows Printers and Publishers |
| Publication Year | 1986 |
| Total Pages | 804 |
| Language | English |
| Classification | Book_English |
| File Size | 19 MB |