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Jain Society of Greater Detroit
PRATISHTHA MAHOTSAV ASHADH 4-12 V.S. 2054
HARIBHADRASURI
(V.S. 785: death)
"If
11 I come across anything in Sanskrit that I am not able to understand, I will become the disciple of whosoever can explain it to me” was the vow that Haribhadra the renowned Brahmin scholar had taken out of his pride in his knowledge of Sanskrit. He used to wear a gold belt that signified his authority and was against Jainism, having said, "It is better to die under the foot of an elephant then to take the path of Jainism”. However he once had to take shelter in a Jain temple to protect himself from a mad elephant and there looking at the tirthankar's physique he said, “A healthy body shows that one eats good food." And then the time came where he had to act upon his vow. Once he overheard a stanza that sadhvi Yakini was reciting while she was studying, but he failed to understand its meaning. He got its explanation from a Jain acharya, upon which he became a monk and then an acharya. He however once decided to take revenge when some Buddhists killed two of his disciples. His guru came to know of this and asked him to write 1444 books as penance. Haribhadrasuri spent days and nights writing and used the light of a jewel to write by. Haribhadrasuriji mentions Mahattara Yakini, his "religious mother”, at the end of each of the sutras he authored.
Stories Of The Sadhu
93
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