Gandharavada

Author(s): Esther A Solomon
Publisher: Gujarat Vidyasabha

Page 32

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In the exposition of this the names and gotras of the Ganadharas and also the following of each are given. It is stated that all the Ganadharas had knowledge of the twelve Angas and the fourteen Purvas. All of them were emancipated. All except Indrabhuti and Sudharman attained nirvana during the life-time of Lord Mahavira. The prezent host (sangha) of Śramanas is descended from the following of Sudharman. The line of the rest has been cut off. Arya Jambu was a disciple of Sudharman and Prabhava that of Jambu and so on. § This is all the information that we obtain in the Agamas concerning the Ganadharas.
It is said of Indrabhuti Gautama, the foremost disciple of Mahavira, that on the very night on which Mahavira attained nirvana his tie of affection binding him to Mahavira snapped off and he too attained nirvana. It is also found mentioned that Indrabhuti was the chief of the 14,000 disciples of Mahavira who had abandoned worldly life and become śramaņas (monks).* From this it is easy to derive that Indrabhuti was highly attached to Lord Mahavīra and that he did not attain the stage of omniscience during the life-time of Mahavira. Bhagavati sutra 14.7 corroborates this. In it, Lord Mahavira alludes to Indrabhūti's love and affection for himself and assures him that both would become alike (having the same end in view and residents of the same place) in all respects after becoming free from the human existence. The commentator Abhayadeva explains here that Indrabhuti was very much disappointed and sad that he had not achieved omniscience though his disciples had, and hence the assurance given by Mahāvīra.
From the questions posed by the Ganadharas it can be seen that they were very inquisitive by temperament and had a very powerful craving for knowledge. Not that they were ignorant or always doubting, but they kept on asking questions for more § Kalpasūtra, p. 217. Kalpasūtra, Su. 127. Kalpasūtra, Su. 134,
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