Jain Journal 1973 07

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

Page 13

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sionary activity of the Lord extended over a period of thirty years during which he worked hard day and night for his self-imposed task. In this noble work, as we have already seen, he had the co-operation and support of his relatives, the Kings of Videha, Magadha and Anga. He travelled all the year round preaching and teaching with his disciples, except during the rainy season, in which period, he settled down in one place for four months. In the towns and places which lay in north and south Bihar, he spent almost all the rainy seasons during his spiritual career, though he sometimes made long journeys to Sravasti near the Nepalese frontier in the north, and to the Parsvanath Hills in the south. He stayed 1 rainy season in Asthikagrama, 3 in Campa and Pristhacampa, 12 in Vaisali and Vanijyagrama, 14 in Rajagrha and the suburb of Nalanda, 6 in Mithila, 2 in Bhadrika, 1 in Sravasti, 1 in Vajrabhumi among the wild tribes, 1 in Pava. He used to stay one night in a village and five nights in a town. As to his mode of travelling, he always travelled on foot; when he had to cross any river, he took a boat.
JAIN JOURNAL
The rainy season of the last year of his life, Lord Mahavira passed at Pava where he took his lodgings in the office of King Hastipal's writers. Here his Nirvana took place 526 B.C. at the age of 72 years. In his last hours, he spoke to those present (we should not omit to mention that Ananda and Kamadeva among śrävakas amd Sulasa and Revati among Srāvikās were very prominent) many words of spiritual advice and comfort. On this occasion, Gautama who was sent by the Master on a mission to convert somebody, was absent. When the Lord had breathed his last, his body was washed with water and wrapped in cloth. It was, then, burnt on a sandal pyre. On the spot where the body of the blessed Lord was cremated, a stupa was erected. On the day, the Lord died, there appeared a great Graha on the sky, which Stevenson supposes to have been the same comet that appeared at the time of the battle of Salamis (840 B.C.). To mark the day of Nirvāṇa of their departed Master, the eighteen confederate Kings of Kasi and Kosala, the nine Mallakis and nine Lichhavis (the latter were tributary to Cetaka, King of Vaisali and maternal uncle of Mahavira) met together and instituted an illumination on the day of the new moon; for they said "since the light of intelligence is gone, let us make an illumination of material matter".
When Indrabhuti Gautama, was returning from his mission, he learnt in the way that the Master was dead. His grief knew no bounds. He, however, checked his passion and became a "perfected saint". He survived his master twelve years and died at Rajagrha at an advanced age of ninety-two, having lived forty-two years as a monk. Out of the