________________
268
and to the surprise of all many ants woro found under it.'70
According to the fourth story, the sūri explained Akbar “ Devatattva," “ Guru tattva" and “ Dharmatattva" and laid great stress on the Jain principle of " Ahimsa' or 'non-violence.' The Emperor was much pleased to hear the sermon and at the end requested the Sūri to accept the books given to him by Padmasāgara, a Jaia monk. The sūri was not willing to accept them, but did so at the repeated requests of Akbar and Abul Fazl. At Hiravijayasūri's suggestion, the books were kept in a library opened at Agra and named after Akbar. Thānsingh, a Jain, was appointed as the trustee of the library or bhandar. 1704
According to the fifth story, several Jains of Agrå went to Emperor Akbar and gave him Hiravijayasūri's .dharmalabba or blessings'. 'Akbar asked them if he could do anything for the sūri. Thereupon Amipala Doshi, their leader, told the Emperor that Paryushanaparva was drawing near and the Sūri wished the Emperor to prohibit the destruotion of lives in those religious days. The Emperor, then, gave a 'firman' prohibiting the destruction of lives in Agra for eight days.171
(170, 170A) Jain Sahityano Itihas:p.p. 545-6.
( 171 ) Vidyavijaya, p. p. 121–2; Desai. Jain Sahityano Itihasa, p. 547. Shree Sudharmaswami Gyanbhandar-Umara, Surat www.umaragyanbhandar.com