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CHAPTER XIII DEFIANT DISCIPLES
Both Mahavira and Buddha collected many worthy men around them who, by dint of their dedication, service, submission and brilliant exertions, created history; but at the same time, they had some bad disciples who built a parallel history of defiance and opposition. Two such leading disciples who became foremost rebels were Gosālaka and Devadatta, the former rebelling against Mahavira and the latter against the Buddha. Both had received their initiation at the hands of their respective masters and both were advanced enough to acquire occult powers through their penances, but in the end, both turned against their masters. Gosalaka called Mahāvira Ajina. Jina and himself a Jina. Likewise, in a great assembly, Devadatta said to the Buddha,
"Sir! You are now aging and are worn out. So you hand over the charge of the Sangha to me. I shall be its leader".
Both Gosálaka and Devadatta conspired to kill their respective masters and this became a cause of concern in both the camps. When, on hearing about this, Ananda was completely upset, Mahavira said to him and to other disciples,
"A Jina cannot be killed before he reaches the time of his exit. He does not die premature".
In the same manner, the Buddha told his disciples,
"Bhiksus / The Buddha cannot be killed before his time. He dies only at the appropriate time. None can kill him".
A striking resemblance between the two events is that while Gosalaka used Ananda to carry his message to
