Agam 35 Chhed 02 Bruhatkalpa Sutra

Author(s): K C Lalwani
Publisher: Motilal Banarasidas

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Kalpa Sūtra
other Tirthařkaras there was no association whatsoever with a Brahmin on important occasions of their life. What was the Kșatriya reaction in general to this, particularly reaction from within his own clan, may be an appropriate subject for research, but the reaction of the Kșatriya youth Jamali to Mahāvīra's doctrines, as against the reverence of Skandaka who was a Brahmin and Vedic scholar, both of whom had joined the order of monks under Bhagavān Mahāvira (vide Bhagavati Sūtra) stands out as the most typical of the Ksatriya attitude.
Another thing in the life of Bhagavān Mahāvīra which struck the translator more than anything else is Bhadrabāhu's brief account of the last day on which Bhagavän Mahävira's earthly mission was to close. According to Bhadrabāhu, it was the divāli day, which happened to be the last day of the month of Kärttika when the rainy season was to formally end and when Bhagavān Mahāvira was to enter into liberation, that 18 Malla and Licchavi kings from the Licchavi Confederacy, all his kinsmen, and 18 rulers from the Kāśi-Kośala region, in all 36, mustered strong at Pāvā. No sooner did Bhagavān Mahāvīra's soul discard its mortal frame than, writes Bhadrabāhu, these rulers declared,
The Light of Intellect being out, let us lit the earthen lamps.
At this point, Bhadrababu abruptly ends his narrative without offering any comment, and subsequent ācāryas have preferred to keep silent over what had happened on that fateful day.
Looking back in a dispassionate spirit, the above looks like a determination on the part of the Ksatriya rulers to participate in and determine succession to the spiritual seat of Bhagavān Mahāvīra even when he was still alive. Other events like the removal of Indrabhūti Gautama from Pāvā and Bhagavān Mahāvira's entering into a long recital of some texts are no less significant of the fact that he preferred to be indifferent at what was going on at this moment. It is true that remaining at a distance Indrabhūti attained omniscience on this fateful day, but that was no disqualification for him against Sudharman to succeed to the chair of Bhagavān Mahāvira. Be it noted that Sudharman attained omniscience long after this event. Indrabhūti was alive