$JES 302 Jain Philosophy Level 3 Book

Author(s): JAINA Education Committee
Publisher: JAINA Education Committee

Page 28

GURU GAUTAM-SWÄMI
Chapter 06 Guru Gautam-Swämi
In 607 B.C., in the village of Gobar of India, a Brahmin couple called Vasubhuti and Prithvi Gautam (family name) had a son named Indrabhuti. He was tall and handsome. He had two younger brothers named Agnibhuti and Väyubhuti. All three were well versed in the Hindu literature (Vedas) and other rituals at an early age. They were very popular and great scholars in the state of Magadh, India. Each one of them had 500 disciples.
Indrabhuti stood out as a bright star. Somil was a staunch supporter of the Brahmin sacrificial rite and was very happy during the ceremony. The whole town was excited by this event in
which they were going to sacrifice sheep and goats. Suddenly, Somil noticed many celestial beings from heaven descending towards his sacrificial site. He thought that this would make his offering ceremony the most popular in history. He told the people, "Look at the sky. Even the angels are coming to bless us." The whole town eagerly looked at the sky.
To their surprise, the celestial beings did not stop at their site, instead they went further down. Somil's ego melted away as he learned that the celestial beings paid homage to Lord Mahavir, who had come to nearby Mahasen Forest for sermon. Indrabhuti was outraged by this incident and his ego was bruised. He started thinking to himself, "Who is this Mahävir who does not even use affluent Sanskrit, but speaks the common public language of Ardha Mägadhi." Everyone in the ceremony was overpowered by the mere presence of Lord Mahävir. Indrabhuti once again thought, "Mahävir opposes animal sacrifices, and if he succeeds then we Brahmins will lose our livelihood. I will debate with him." He left the Yajna site to challenge Lord Mahävir.
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Somil's Yajna
Once in the city of Apäpä, a Brahmin named Somil was conducting a Yajna (sacrificial ceremony) at his home. There were over forty four hundreds Brahmins present for the occasion, and there were eleven popular scholars among them.
JAIN PHILOSOPHY AND PRACTICE I