________________ TIRTHANKARS sincerely begged the Lord to forgive him for his evil acts. During that period of distress, Parshvanath had been deep in meditation. He had not been aware of Meghamali's attacks or Dharanendra's protection. Parshvanath had developed perfect equanimity. He did not have any special affection for Dharanendra for the protection he had extended or hatred for Meghamali for the distress he had caused. Developing a higher purity of consciousness, he ultimately attained omniscience on the 84th day of his renunciation. That was the 4th day of the dark half of the month of Falgun (that usually falls in April). Dharanendra protecting Bhagawan Parshvanath Parshvanath then began preaching true religion. He reinstated the Tirtha or religious four-fold order and became the 23rd Tirthankar of the Jain religion. He attracted many followers. He had ten Ganadhars, the principal disciples of Tirthankars. His parents and his wife Prabhavati renounced the world and became his disciples as well. Thereafter, he lived long enough to spread true religion and attain nirvana at the age of 100 at Sametshikhar. This hill is located in the state of Bihar and is the most famous place of pilgrimage for Jains. Parshva-kumar demonstrated a very keen sense of nonviolence and detachment from all material possessions and from relationships with people. These are the qualities essential for attaining self-realization. He showed us that one should be detached and impartial regardless of whether a person is our wellwisher or enemy. We may not always know and understand the reason why a person behaves in a strange way towards us for it may be because of our Karmas from a past life. 34 Jain STORY BOOK Jain Education international For Private & Personal Use Only www.jainelibrary.org
