Bhagvana Mahavira

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

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Bhagavān Mahāvīra
about them. Getting no reply from the Sramaņa be went about in search of them. He searched for them till late in the night but in vain. He was now so tired that he fell asleep. He got up early in the morning and again began the search for his bullocks but again in vain. When he was again returning to the village, he found the builocks standing near the monk. The boy began to feel suspicious about the Sramaņa whom he thought to be a thug. The presence of the bullocks with the Sramaņa strengthened his suspicion. He thought that the Sramaņa would steal the bullocks away. He had kept them hidden last night. Strength of a wrong conviction enraged the farm-boy so much so that he rushed at the Bramaņa to strike him with the rope he carried. It was a strange coincidence that as the farm-boy raised the rope to strike, Nandivardhana suddenly arrived at the spot. He intervened and persuaded the farm-boy to go. Then he said to the Sramaņa, "Till yesterday you had commanded the status of a prince. Nobody could dare to offend you. Today you are in the position of an insignificant man. It's a pity, you have no security arrangements. It's intolerable. Let me make security arrangements for you."
Sramaņa Vardhamāna replied with a smile on his lips, "Whose security ? I have deliberately chosen the path of equanimity. I lrave willingly adopted the path of ahińså. I do not know who needs the security you are speaking of. I am no more in an egocentric body. I am now firmly entrenched in myself. When I was in such a body, I had the longing to live and was afraid of death. I desired comforts and feared pain. I pined for fame and feared being criticised. I was greedy of gains and feared losses I don't have craving for life any more. Why should I then be afraid of death ? Those who have a longing for life fear death. I know what life and death are. I am not at all interested in them. One who has no desire to live will never crave for cumforts. The
1.
There is also a heresy that Indra arrived at the spot,