Bhagvana Mahavira

Author(s): Tulsi Acharya
Publisher: Jain Vishva Bharati

Page 27

Thirty Years of Family Life
combination of the two makes a man fearless and strong. Vardhamana possessed both in equal proportion. He was never touched by any kind of fear.
Once his playmates persuaded him to play the Amalaki game with them. They played in the garden of the house. All the children ran towards the tree. Vardhamana outran everyone else and climbed up the tree. When he was coming down, he saw a huge snake coiling around the trunk of the tree. The snake hissed at the sight of Vardhamana. Struck with fear the rest of the children ran away. Vardhamāna, however, remained unruffled. He caught hold of the snake and disentangling it from the tree threw it away. He climbed down the tree and his playmates applauded him. He had won the game.
Vardhamana was hardly eight years old, but his fearlessness and strength came to be recognised even at that tender age. Being born in a family of the Ksatriya he began to exhibit the character of a Ksatriya. He was also born with the accumulated strength of sadhana he had performed in the course of his previous lives. The spiritual and physical growth impressed everyone.
19
Knowledge is a part of the spiritual energy of man. One who is devoid of this cannot acquire knowledge and one who is devoid of knowledge cannot rightly exhibit spiritual energy. A proper synthesis of both leads to success. Vardhamana had both spiritual energy and knowledge in him. His relatives knew that the child was physically strong, but they did not know that he had knowledge also. He was sent to school as usual at the age of eight. (There are some who say that he never went to school).
Vardhamana was a very respectful child.. He was very much devoted and obedient to his parents. As his extrasensory knowledge had already become well-developed, he was conversant with what was being taught at school. Yet
"