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HISTORY OF THE
recalling what they had learnt during the day, and their head, the gargarişi, as he was called, told him that before he could join their company he must become a sādhu too. Siddhasūri instantly resolved to do so: he obtained his father's permission, though with great difficulty, and was initiated on the following morning. He studied Jainism deeply and became a great scholar, writing a commentary on the Upadeśamālā of Dharmadāsagani. He then wished to study Buddhism and asked the gargarişi's permission to go to a Buddhist monastery for this purpose. The gargarişi agreed, though with misgivings, but stipulated that if ever Siddhasūri felt he was being drawn to the Buddhist faith, he should come back and see him at least once before he joined their order. It fell out as the gargarişi had feared; the Buddhists were so struck with Siddhasūri's learning that they proposed that he should turn Buddhist and become their Acārya. Remembering his promise, he returned home to see the gargarişi once again; he was, however, engaged, and asked Siddhasūri to read a certain book, the Lalitavistara by Haribhadrasūri, whilst he waited. As he read it, repentance overtook him; he was again convinced of the soundness of the Jaina faith, sought forgiveness from the gargarişi, performed the penance imposed and became a sound Jaina. Eventually he rose to the position of Ācārya
and strove by every means in his power to spread the faith. śīlaguņa- The biographies of the successive leaders of the comsūri,
munity need not detain us, but about two hundred years later there arose a great sādhu named Sīlaguņasūri, who is famous as the restorer of the Cāvadā dynasty. Once when wandering as a sādhu in the jungle between Wadhwān and Kadipāțaņa he saw a cradle hanging from a tree with a baby in it. By his knowledge of palmistry he at once discovered that this forlorn child would some day be a king. The child's mother appeared and told him that she was the
1 The Jaina now wish to institute a period of testing and training before a candidate can obtain initiation.
