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Shri Mahavir Jain Aradhana Kendra
www.kobatirth.org
Acharya Shri Kailassagarsuri Gyanmandir
BOOK II, LECTURE 15.
one to dress him, one to play with him, one to carry him; being transferred from the lap of one nurse to that of another, he grew up on that beautiful ground, paved with mosaic of precious stones, like a Kampaka1 tree growing in the glen of a mountain. (13)
Then the Venerable Ascetic Mahâvira, after his intellect had developed and the childhood had passed away, lived in the enjoyment of the allowed, noble, fivefold joys and pleasures: (consisting in) sound, touch, taste, colour, and smell2. (14)
The Venerable Ascetic Mahâvîra belonged to the Kâsyapa gotra. His three names have thus been recorded by tradition: by his parents he was called Vardhamâna, because he is devoid of love and hate; (he is called) Sramana (i.e. Ascetic), because he sustains dreadful dangers and fears, the noble nakedness, and the miseries of the world; the name Venerable Ascetic Mahâvîra has been given to him by the gods3.
The Venerable Ascetic Mahâvira's father belonged to the Kâsyapa gotra; he had three names: Siddhârtha, Sreyâmsa, and Gasamsa1. His mother belonged to the Vâsishtha gotra, and had three names: Trisalâ, Videhadattâ, and Priyakârinî. His paternal uncle Supârsva belonged to the Kâsyapa gotra. His eldest brother, Nandivardhana, and his eldest sister, Sudarsanâ, belonged both to the Kâsyapa gotra. His wife Yasodâ belonged to the Kaundinya gotra. His daughter, who belonged to the Kâsyapa gotra, had two names: Anoggâ and
O
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1 Michelia Champaka.
2 Cf. Kalpa Sutra, § 10.
3 Cf. Kalpa Sutra, § 108.
* The spaced words are Prâkrit, the Sanskrit form of which can
not be made out with certainty.
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