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down from Madālasă of ancient times to mothers of the new generations, that Rup-Rajendra Shah, a winged soul, a free spirit, the subject of our story, was born. Rup-Rajendra, 'handsome like a king,' was so named for the way he presented himself from the first moment as a majestic and leonine energy. Within a radiant outer form, a rush of Rajput fire seemed to glow along with a cooling saintly peace.
His mother, Chunibai, a soft and gentle woman, and his father, Chhogalal, a man of honesty and great piety, were both highly devout people, of the Jain tradition, as their families had been for generations. They lived as simple folk, in harmony with each other and with life at large. At this point in their marriage, their hearts were longing for the arrival of this baby. They prayed that he would live to be strong and healthy. Only three years before, they had shared the pain of seeing their second-born child, a son named Jaravi, expire after only one year of life, and two years before him their first-born son, Saremal, not live past infancy.
On the twenty-sixth of July, in the year 1922, their dream came true. When the cry of the baby announced a new presence in their world, they wept with joy and knew they had been blessed.
“The greatest gift has come to us, O Lord, I bow to Thee," Chhogalal offered his gratitude to Mahavir, twenty-fourth of the Jain Prophets, who is remembered and revered for having exemplified in every aspect of his living a love and compassion which swept past all boundaries and embraced all of life.
"O may my care and wealth and love sustain this child in perfect health and well-being!” As he prayed, Chhogalal rejoiced that he was indeed able to give to his precious son the provisions he would need. In the past few years, the cloth business he shared with his brother in Tumkur had been prospering. Together, they had even been able to open a branch in Bangalore.
Tumkur, where they lived, was in the south, in Mysore state. But, for the occasion of childbirth, as on all significant occasions, they traveled back to their homeland in Takhatgadh, a calm village nestled into a corner wing of Jodhpur state, the capital city of Rajasthan at that time. Since Chhoga
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