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APRIL, 1973
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refuge, the givers of life and the givers of enlightenment ; obeissance to the givers of law, the preachers of law, the masters of law, the leaders of law and the world monarchs of law who are the best in all the four directions ; obeisance to those who are liberated from the bondage of) wrong knowledge, who are the holders of unrestricted and best knowledge and faith, who in this world) are the light, the liberator, the refuge, the mover and the rest ; obeisance to those who are the victors and the givers of victory, the saviours and the saved, the givers of enlightenment and the enlightened, the givers of liberation and the liberated ; obeisance to the all-knowing, all-seeing Jinas, who have conquered fear, and who have attained the blissful, stable, formless, infinite, imperishable, unobstructed and never-to-end, status and existence of Siddhaloka ; obeisance to the Sramana Bhagavan Mahavira, the Adikara, the last Tirthankara, whose advent was predicted by the preceding Tirthankaras. From this place do I pay homage and obeisance to the Lord who is there, and may the Revered Lord from there cast his gracious glance at me here." So saying, he (again) paid homage and obeisance to the Sramana Bhagavan Mahavira, and sat on his excellent throne facing the east. At this time, this coveted (commendable) and reflective idea took shape in the mind of Sakra, the king of gods and the highest of gods : 16
'It has never been, nor is, nor will ever be, that either an Arhat or a Cakravarti, or a Baladeva or a Vasudeva, has ever come, comes or will ever come in low families, mean families, degraded families, poor families, miserly families, beggar families (or) brahmin families. 17
'Indeed, an Arhat, a Cakravarti, a Baladeva or a Vasudeva has come, comes or will come in families in the race of Ugra, Iksvaku, Rajanya-ksatriyas or of Hari, or similar other families of pure descent and pure race. 18
'Or, is it possible that such an unusual event may even take place in the time-flow of ascensions and descensions May be, for reason unknown, for not being able to exhaust the bondage of nāma-karma concerning race and clan, some Arhat, Cakravarti, Baladeva or Vasudeva has, does or will come, and has been, is or will be lodged as an embryo in a womb in a low family, mean family, degraded family, poor family, beggar family, miserly (brahmin) family ; but certain it is that such one has never been, nor is, nor will ever be brought forth by birth from such (lowly) womb. 19
“This Sramana Bhagavan Mahavira is (at this time) staying lodged as an embryo in the womb of Brahmani Devananda of the line of
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