Beyond Doubt

Author(s): Padmasagarsuri
Publisher: Arunoday Foundation

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CHAPTERI
The great Omniscient Lord, the last of the twentyfour Thirthankars, the Lord of Lords, Lord MAHAVIRA had eleven major disciples who are called Ganadharas?. Prior to being Ganadharas, they were eminent scholars of Vedas, but still each one had some doubt or the other based on the Vedic tenets. In the very first meeting, (acquaintance), the Lord had their doubts thoroughly cleared after a discussion and it was this discussion that came to be popularly known as 'GanadharaVada'.
The Pavapuri city of India today was a great city called 'Apapa' in those days. A brahmin named Somil once organized a very big Yagna i.e. sacrificial ceremony and invited distinguished scholars to make the ceremony a great success. Somil called upon the eleven Brahmin pundits (scholars) who brought along with them four thousand four hundred students and made the ceremonial place a very busy and ceremonious one.
Indrabhuti, Agnibhuti, Vayubhuti, Vyaktabhuti, Sudharma, Mandita, Mauryaputra, Akampita, Achalabhrata, Metarya and Prabhasa were the eleven Vedic scholars who came to glorify the holy function. Although each one had some doubt or other, each one regarded himself as an omniscient; overpowered by their ego, they never presented their doubts for clarification for the fear of being labelled as less knowledgable and insignificant to the one who cleared their doubts and moreover their ego would have got a major blow. Each one could have got his doubt cleared if they desired, by presenting it before the others, for each one had a different doubt, buttheir ego-laden minds kept them silent and their doubts lay suppressed in their minds.
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Ommiscient Ganadharas
Kevali Prime disciples