Jain Heritage and Beyond

Author(s): Shailesh Shah
Publisher: Oshwal Associations of The UK

Page 66

some mendicant named Kamath is doing a harsh penance named Panchagni Tap (five fire penance). The citizens are going to pay homage to him with all these presents. Prince Parshva also proceeded to witness this strange scene.
When prince Parshva came near the mendicant he saw that some logs of wood were burning all around the mendicant. Inside one of the logs was a pair of serpents, writhing in pain due to the intense heat of burning flames. Moved by a feeling of compassion Parshva then ordered his attendants to draw the specific log aside and split it. As soon as the attendants did that, a pair of serpents, partially scorched, fell on the ground writhing in pain. Realizing that they were about to die, prince Parshva said to them that they should not be annoyed with the ignorant mendicant and should remain euonymus during the last moments of their lives. He also recited the Namokar Mantra. As a result of euonymus thoughts and hearing the Namokar Mantra, after death the pair was born as the king and queen of the gods of the Nag Kumar clan (Dharanendra and Padmavati).
Parshva Kumar to step on the right path and show the path to the masses misled by such ignorant hypocrites. While he was contemplating this, he one day went to a garden and chanced to see some frescoes about the incidents of life of Bhagavan Arishtanemi. These vivid paintings pushed him to the decision of becoming an ascetic. He sought permission of his father and started the year long charity. On the eleventh day of the dark half of the month of Paush he became an ascetic under an Ashok tree.
After eighty three days of penance and spiritual practices Parshva Muni came to Ashrampad garden in Varanasi and stood in meditation under a Dhataki tree. With fast increasing purity he attained omniscience on the fourth day of the dark half of the month of Chaitra. The gods created the divine pavilion. Bhagavan Parshvanath gave his first discourse on the form of religion.
Inspired by the discourse of Bhagavan Parshvanath, many members of his family including his father Ashvasen, mother Vama Devi and wife Prabhavati took Deeksha from him. Many other princes and scholars includding the famous Vedic scholar Shubhdatta also took Deeksha after hearing to his discourse.
Bhagavan Parshvanath was householder for thirty years and then an ascetic for seventy years. When he was 100 years old he got liberated on the fifth day of the bright half the month of Shravan at Sammetshikhar.