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Vimala-Vasahi ]
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number of days. Their hermitage was therefore known as the Hasti-tāpasa-ashrama. With a view to kill him, they had recently caught an elephant and tied him to a post nearby. Upon seeing the Jaina sages, the dumb elephant desired to pay his respects to them, at which thought, the bonds were suddenly broken and the elephant ran towards the munis. People were scared and were running about, but the sage Ardrakumāra stood steadfast in his Kayotsarga meditation. The elephant, approaching the sage, quietly bent down with the front legs and gently touched with his trunk the feet of the sage. The meditation over, the muni gave instructions in the path of true religion to the elephant, who, satisfied and turned docile, went away
into the jungle. Ārdrakumāra then preached the doctrine to the tāpasas, and initiated them as Jaina monks. With this increased retinue, he proceeded further. Prince Abhayakumāra, coming to know of all these incidents, was highly pleased and went ahead to pay his respects to the great sage. The muni spent the rest of his life in company of Lord Mahāvīra, obtained Kevalajñāna and ultimately the nirvāņa.
In this panel, an elephant is seen in the centre, paying his respects to a sadhu in front, behind whom are two more Jaina monks. At one end of this panel, Mahāvīra stands in meditation in the Kayotsarga pose. On another side of the elephant, a man is seen fighting with a lion.
(II) In front of the cells nos. 2, 3, 11, 24, 26, 38, 39, 40, 42, 43, 44, 52, 53 and 54, on the walls of the two sides of their entrance-doors, there are relief carvings of shravakas and shrāvikās holding offerings for worship. The wall of cell no. 44 further shows, amongst these figures, a monk standing. On the wall to the left of the entrance to cell no. 52, three figures are sitting with bent knees, in
