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vira lived for six years practising great austerities, and from whom he very probably borrowed those rigid rules which were not to be found in the ancient creed as followed by the Niganthas. The other version which is generally believed to be better makes Gosâla one of the 12 disciples of Mahavira, who quarrelling with his master set up a rival order of ascetics under himself. This order seems to have flourished well for some centuries as we find a mention of it, so late as in one of the pillar edicts of Asoka about 234 B. C. The other eleven disciples of Maltavira remained all faithful to him, but only one of them, Sudharman by name, survived him and also left behind spiritual
successors.
Knowing the important events in Mahavira's life, we are in a position to compare them with the principal ones in Buddha's life; and thus dispel the suspicion that he is only a mythical personage invented some centuries after his pretended death, by a
Shree Sudharmaswami Gyanbhandar-Umara, Surat
www.umaragyanbhandar.com
