Arya Sudharma Diwakar Chitrakatha 033

Author(s): Nityanandsuri, Chidanandmuni, Shreechand Surana
Publisher: Mahavir Seva Trust Mumbai

Page 13

THE FIRS
THE FIRST PROPAGATOR OF AGAMS: ARYA SUDHARMA
Arya Sudharma was an expert organizer and alert administrator of the gana."Once after the nirvana of Ganadhar Prabhas his disciples came to Bhagavan
PAPON THE
Alon
Bhante, under
whose order should we be now?
वि
UPR
You should continue your religious practices under Arya Sudharma.
!”
This way after nirvana of other Ganadhars their disciples joined Arya Sudharma's Gana.
Some ancient writings about Arya Sudharma's becoming the head of Bhagavan Mahavir's religious order are as follows
Bhagavan gave Arya Sudharma the order to supervise the Gana. -Avashyak Niryukti by Acharya Shri Bhadrabahu.
In Madhyam Pava, Bhagavan Mahavir conferred the title of Tirthadhip (head of the order) on lion-like Arya Sudharma of Agnivaishyayan gotra who just had an extremely flimsy veil of karma.
-Ganadhar Sattari
After the nirvana of Bhagavan Mahavir on Kartik Badi 30 in Madhyam Pava, Arya Sudharma sat on Bhagavan's patta (religious throne or the status of the head of the order) on Kartik Sudi 1.
All these writings clearly indicate that finding him to be the ablest and with a long life expectancy, Bhagavan Mahavir himself conferred the status of the head of the Gana on Sudharma. After Bhagavan's nirvana, Gautam Swami became an omniscient. The religious heir of a Tirthankar is one who carries on the Shrut tradition without a break. Therefore he has to be a chhadmasth (one who has a finite cognition) and not an omniscient. Arya Sudharma had the knowledge of 14 Purvas. It appears, therefore, that the whole Shri Sangh must have unanimously accepted Arya Sudharma, the Bhagavan's appointee, as the head of the order.
# A group of ascetics. ## He was the eleventh Ganadhar but was the first to get liberated. Boo For Private & Personal Use Only
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