Jain Journal 1970 07

Author(s): Jain Bhawan Publication
Publisher: Jain Bhawan Publication

Page 32

JULY, 1970
21
satisfy his pupil by clarifying the original theory but all in vain. As a result, Tisyagupta was boycotted by his fellow disciples and he organised a new group. With his new followers he visited different places and once in the course of his wanderings, he happened to meet a śārvaka (house-holder) who invited him to have his lunch with him. But at the time of taking meal, the śrāvaka offered him only a little of the things prepared and he cited his (Tisyagupta's ) own theory when the latter inquried about this peculiar mode of offering food to a guest. Then he reasoned that the last portion or a particular portion of a body could not be the jiva in the same manner as a little quantity of food could not be the whole meal. This reasoning removed the doubt raised by Tisyagupta and he returned to his previous teacher.
3. Avyaktadssti-The third nihnava known as ayyaktadıști was put forth by Asadharacarya 214 years after Mahavira's nirvana. Once after instructing his pupils and other Jaina ascetics Asadharacarya (a deity in the guise of a Jaina muni) apologized :
"O Munis, excuse me for the fault I have committed by accepting your prayers and services offered to me, because I am an unrestrained deity and you are the restrained ascetics.'
This created a problem for the Jaina munis-how to differentiate between a restrained person and an unrestrained one ; and they gave up all respect and sumbissiveness to the elders. They began to doubt all personalities. They even lost their confidence in the śāstras. They began to doubt the purity of food offered by house-holders because they were unable to answer to the question-how to know that a particular meal was pure or impure. In this way the whole atmosphere became vitiated with doubts. At last the news reached the king Balabhadra who ordered that all the doubters should be killed. Then to save themselves the munis said,
'Oh King, we are munis and munis should not be killed.'
The king replied, 'How do you know that you are munis ? How am I to believe your words as you have affirmed the theory of disbelief and doubt?'
This compelled them to give up their doubts. This also compelled them to believe in the śāstras, because they could not prove themselves to be munis without reference to the śāstras. So this theory of doubt was discarded.