________________
205
gold coins per day, so that during the year, he gave 3,88,80,00,000 gold coins in all.
Great Renunciation - At the age of 30, Mahavira completed his resolve. As per their convention, they came to Mahavira and submitted as follows:
Jai jai khattiya vara vasabha
bujjhani bhayavam savva jagajjiva hiyam arahań
tittham pavvattehi
(Oh Bull among the noblest Ksatriyas! Victory be to thee. Now it is for thee to get initiated and organise the holy order for the good of all living beings on earth).
Mahā vira now placed his firm resolve regarding his own initiation before his elder brother Nandivardhan, his uncle Suparsva and his other kinsmen. All the kinsmen approved of his resolve. .
Nandivardhana started the celebrations to mark the occasion of the great renunciation. He ordered his men to procure jars made from eight substances (viz., gold, silver, jewels, gold-silver, gold-jewels, silver-jewels, gold-silver-jewels, and simply clay), 1008 of each variety. The order was immediately put into effect. To participate in the celebrations, Sakrendra arrived with his entire family. Then, Nandivardhana, Sakra and other gods placed Mahāvira on a golden throne facing the east and poured water on him from the eight varieties of jars (as aforesaid). His body was then dried with a scented saffron cloth, and divine sandal paste was a pplied to it. Then he was made to wear light but costly robes and ornaments. Having gone through these initial rites, Mahavira sat on a spacious and decorated palanquin named Candraprabhā. Sakra himself, men and gods together shouldered the palanquin. Fallowed by a vast crowd, the procession passed through the heart of Ksatriya-Kundapura and stopped beneath an excellent asoka tree in a park na med jnátr-khanda. There Mahavira took off all his clothes and ornaments with his own hands. Then he plucked out five handfuls of hair from his head. Sakra received the hairs on a saucer made from vajra-ratna in a kneel-down posture . and immersed them in the ocean of
