Bhagvana Mahavira

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

Page 28

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Bhagavān Mahāvīra
he joined school simply because he had been commanded to do so. The teacher welcomed him and he joined his companions. It is said that Indra, the king of gods, disguised himself as a Brāhmaṇa and came to the school to test Vardhamāna. He came to Vardhamāna and asked him several questions about letters and their combinations. The child's answers were grammatically so much of a higher standard that the Brāhmaņa Indra suggested to the teacher that the child was master of subjects taught in that kind of a school, and hence needed no more schooling.
The teacher felt himself to be too small before Vardhamāna. He asked the latter to remove his confusion in matters of teaching. The child did so easily and promptly. Vardhamāna was removed from the school and the king was told that he had done his schooling. Vardhamāna's relatives now began to acknowledge the depth of his knowledge too. It is really more difficult to fathom person's internal depth than the external one.
Detachment and Marriage
Time moves on. It is never at a stand-still. Vardhamāna grew up and stood at the threshold of youth. He commanded a very healthy, beautiful and strong personality.
It was time to think of the marriage of the young prince. The king and the queen considered the matter. Jitaśatru, the King of Kalinga, sent an envoy to Siddhārtha with the proposal of the marriage of his daughter with Vardhamāpa. They were slightly suprised at the proposal. They knew that their son was too much devoted to the self. He mostly lived in the world of his own consciousness. The desire to see the line of succession continue compelled the king and the queen to accept the proposal of Jitaśatru. The envoy returned carrying the message of the acceptance of the proposal for marriage.
When his father informed Vardhamāna of the acceptance