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Austerity and endurance of...
and Kasi-Kosala dominate among his places of convents. Rajagṛh and other places that we come across in the Bauddha works as the places where Nirgrantha ascetics performing austerities were found, were the principal sacred places of the time of Sadhanā and religious preaching of Mahavira. The Nirgrantha Sangha of Mahavira was mostly residing at those places. Thus, putting together the Bauddha Pitakas and the Jain Agamas, we come to the following conclusions:
(1) Mahavira and his Nirgrantha Sangha laid greater stress on a life full of austerity.
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(2) Nirgranthas in large numbers, who were performing austerities. were living and moving in cities like the Rajagṛhi of Angamagadha and Śravasti of Kasi-Kośala.
Domination of austerities even before Mahavira
On the evidence given above, no doubt whatsoever remains about the fact that the Nirgrantha tradition that was contemporary and following Mahavira's times, held inclinations that were dominated by austerities. What we have to consider now is whether or not austerity dominated the Nirgrantha tradition before Mahavira.
The reply to this question is in the affirmative because actually Bhagavan Mabāvīra was initiated in the Parśvāpatyika Nirgrantha tradition Right from the beginning, he was inclined towards auste-rity. We can know from this what the inclination of the Parsvapatyika tradition was towards austerity. From the narration of the life of Bhagavan Parsvanatha that we have in the Jain works, we can emphatically state that the Nirgrantha tradition of Parsvanatha was dominated by austerity. Bhagavan Mahavira has, no doubt, introduced the elements of purity and development in it; he has. certainly not newly introduced the path of austerity. We have evidence of this in another way also. Buddha refers to the austerity of the Nirgranthas at the place where he reveals the uselessness. of various types of austerities while he describes his former life before his pupils. Buddha was born earlier than Mahavira, had renounced worldly life and had resorted to the path of austerities.. Buddha temporarily resorted to the Nirgrantha cult like the other cults known then. He had even followed the conduct of the
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