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F01 Story - Tirthankars
After returning to his kingdom, Nemkumar spent a year donating all his belongings to the poor and the needy. At the end of the year, he left his royal palace and went to the nearby Raivata garden. Under an Ashok tree, he took off all his ornaments and royal dress and pulled out five fistfuls of hair, becoming an ascetic along with one thousand others. Shri Krishna, deeply touched, blessed his cousin and wished him success in his mission.
Monk Nemkumär first went to Mount Girnar and entered intense meditation. As he stood motionless, trying to find the cause of all unhappiness, he realized that ignorance of the true nature of the Self led to wrong perception, and consequent wrong actions resulted in all sorts of misery and pain. He therefore dwelled deep on the Self.
03 Bhagwän Neminäth
After spending fifty-four days in deep spiritual meditation at Mount Girnar, Neminäth destroyed all his Ghäti karmas, which were obscuring the true nature and power of the soul. He attained Keval-jnän and became an omniscient. He established the four-fold religious order (Chaturvidha Sangh or Tirth) and became the twenty-second Tirthankar of the Jain religion. Thereafter, he lived a long life preaching the path of liberation to the common people.
Back at the time when Neminäth was deciding to renounce his worldly life, Räjul was being adorned by her girlfriends. She was eagerly waiting for the arrival of Nemkumar as the bridegroom when they heard the news that he had turned back. No one could understand his decision. Räjul was in utter grief. Her friends tried to console her in that hour of crisis. Some of them started cursing Nemkumär for putting their beloved friend in such a miserable condition, while others advised her to forget the unpredictable Nemkumar and look for another suitable match. However, in her heart, Räjul had accepted Nemkumär as her husband and she could not even think of any other person taking his place. She did not like anyone cursing Nemkumar or speaking poorly of him.
She also had some spiritual orientation. When she came to know of the reason for his renouncement, she was able to overcome her grief. She realized that Nemkumar had left for a commendable purpose. Appreciating his mission, she thought that the best path for her was to follow his footsteps. She absorbed herself in religious practices.
When Räjul heard that Neminäth had become an omniscient she went to the Samavasaran along with many of her friends and took Dikshä. She absorbed herself in meditation and penance and spent the rest of her life as the head of the order of the nuns. In the end, after destroying all her karmas, she attained liberation.
Moral:
Compassion towards animals is the hallmark of Bhagawän Neminäth's life story. Witnessing the killing and torture of animals on his account ignited his passion to search for a path that freed all from misery. Princess Räjul's story shows that she did not reproach him for his actions but followed him on his search for truth. One should never reproach another for right actions.
Highlights:
• Neminath's parents: Samudravijay and Shivadevi
Alternate names: Aristanemi
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Birthplace: Sauripura
Witnessed cruelty to animals for his wedding and did not get married; decided to search for a path leading to freedom from misery
Princess Rajul took Diksha after him
Page 306 of 398
Compendium of Jainism - 2015
