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PART II GANADHARS AND ÄCHÄRYAS
celestial beings that he was more knowledgeable than Mahävir, and so he left the ritual with his 500 disciples to debate with Mahävir. Even though they had never met before, Mahävir immediately welcomed Indrabhuti by his name. At first, Indrabhuti was caught off guard, but then he thought, "Why shouldn't Mahävir know my name? I am Indrabhuti Gautam, the famous scholar." However, it was really Bhagawan Mahävir's omniscience (unbounded knowledge) that allowed him to recognize the Brahmin and know all of his thoughts. Mahävir knew that Indrabhuti had come to debate with him. He also realized that Indrabhuti had doubts about the existence of the soul, or Atmä. Mahävir asked, "Indrabhuti, do you doubt the existence of soul?" Then he explained that the soul exists and is eternal. He provided the proper interpretation of the Hindu scriptures (Vedas) and convinced Indrabhuti that the soul does exist. Indrabhuti was shocked and surprised that Mahävir had known his doubts about the existence of the soul and the proper interpretation of his scriptures. Upon realizing how incomplete his knowledge had been, he felt awakened and refreshed and became Mahävir's first and chief disciple at
the age of 50. From then on, he was called Bhagawan Mahävir answering queries of Gautam
Gautam-swämi, as he came from the swämi
Gautam family. Meanwhile, Somil and the other ten scholars were at the yajna waiting to greet the expected winner of the debate, Indrabhuti Gautam. However, they were stunned to learn that Indrabhuti had become a disciple of Mahävir. The other ten Brahmin scholars, with their disciples, immediately set out to debate with Mahävir and became his disciples, too. Dejected and abandoned, Somil cancelled the ceremony and set all the animals free. These eleven learned scholars became the main disciples of Lord Mahävir and are known as the eleven Ganadhars. This event occurred when Mahävir was 42 years old and had just attained omniscience. Mahävir lived for another 30 years. During that period, he continued to travel to different parts of the country in order to spread the message of compassion and explain the path of liberation.
Änand Shrävak's Clairvoyance Knowledge Gautam swami was living his life as a Jain monk, observing all the austerities and following the five great vows. Once, while returning from gochari (getting food or alms), he learned that many people were going to pay homage to Anand Shrävak (a Jain layman). He also learned that Anand Shrävak had attained clairvoyance knowledge, also known as Avadhi-jnän, by performing severe penance and austerities. Since Anand Shravak was one of Mahävir's followers, Gautam swami decided to visit him. When Anand saw Gautam swami approaching his house, he was very happy. He welcomed Gautam-swämi, who inquired about Anand's health and asked about his special knowledge. Anand respectfully replied to Gautamswämi, "Reverend Guru, I have attained Avadhi-jnän. With this knowledge, I can see as high as the first heaven
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JAIN STORY BOOK
