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F01 Story - Tirthankars
01 Bhagwan Mahävir
Chandanbälä
During the twelfth year after initiation, Bhagawan Mahavir entered the city of Kaushambi after a long penance. He had decided to accept alms only after satisfying the following unspoken conditions: he would accept an urad preparation from the corner of a winnowing basket given by a person with one leg on the threshold and the other outside. She had to be a princess turned into a slave with a shaven head and legs bound by chains. She must be a chaste woman performing the penance of Attam (three days of fasting) and should serve him with tears in her eyes. Five months and twentyfive days elapsed, but no donor fulfilled these conditions. One day, he came upon Chandanbälä, a princess sold as a slave, shackled and shaved by the jealous wife of a rich merchant. She fulfilled all the conditions so Bhagawän Mahävir accepted the alms.
The full Chandanbala story can be found later into the Story Section.
The Last Calamity: Nails in His Ears
Once, in his thirteenth year of contemplation, on the outskirts of the village Chammani, Bhagwän Mahävir was standing while absorbed in deep meditation.
A cowherd left his oxen near him and asked him to keep an eye on them. When he returned, he did not find the cattle and so he inquired about the missing cattle. When he received no reply to his persistent queries, he became furious and plugged hard grass pegs in the ears of Bhagawän Mahävir. Mahävir bore all of the pain patiently. From there, Bhagawan Mahavir went to Pävä.
While going for alms, he entered the house of a rich merchant named Siddhärtha, who was sitting in the company of an eminent physician named Kharak. The physician immediately realized from the facial expression of Bhagawän Mahävir that he was suffering from some acute pain. With great difficulty Mahavir was persuaded to undergo an operation. He was made to sit in a basin filled with oil, given a massage and then the pegs were removed by means of medicated pincers. The pain was so excruciating that even Bhagawän Mahävir cried out in agony. Afterwards, as the doctor dressed the wound, Mahävir continued to remain calmly and quietly in deep meditation.
The full Last Calamity story can be found later in the Story Section.
Keval-jnän and Nirvana
Mahävir-swämi practiced severe austerities and deep meditation for a period of twelve and a half years. During this period, he resided in parks, forests, and deserted places and observed fasts lasting from a single day up to six months. Having beared all of the obstacles and tortures patiently and bravely, he had now reached the highest stage of meditation. He reached the village Jambhikä and stayed on the banks of the river Rujuvälukä. At that time, he was observing a fast of two days. In order to annihilate the lingering remnants of the destructive karma, Bhagawan Mahavir sat down in the "cow-milking" posture. His mind was absorbed in the highest type of meditation, and by destroying all his ghäti karmas completely, he attained absolute knowledge on the tenth day of the bright half of the month of Vaisakha. He became omniscient, comprehending and visualizing everything in the whole universe. Free from all ghäti karma, he became an Arihanta.
The thrones of Indra and the other heavenly gods trembled the moment Bhagawän Mahävir attained omniscience. Immediately, hosts of gods thronged there to celebrate the fourth Kalyänak, or auspicious occasion.
They constructed a divine assembly hall known as a samavasaran for Bhagawan Mahavir's first sermon. He delivered the first sermon at night when only the gods were present. Then, Bhagawan Mahavir traveled to Päväpuri and stayed in the garden named Mahäsen. Here, the gods constructed another samavasaran hall. Sitting under the Ashok tree, Mahävir delivered a sermon in the Ardha-Mägadhi language.
Eleven Learned Brahmins Initiated as Ganadhars
Bhagawän Mahävir, endowed with many Atishaya or distinguished attributes, delivered a soul-stirring and heartfelt sermon in the assembly of gods, human beings, and animals. Even though a great sacrifice was in progress simultaneously in another part of the city, huge crowds were seen going in the opposite direction towards the samavasaran. Indrabhuti of Gautam Gotra, the chief priest at the
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Compendium of Jainism - 2015
