Jain Journal 1997 07

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

Page 21

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JAIN JOURNAL : Vol-XXXII, No. 1. July 1997 Samanta Bhadrācārya is believed to have spread the tenets of Jainism to Kāñci in the 2nd century A.D. The epigraphs of Karnataka also assert that Samanta Bhadra visited Kāñci and Pataliputra was an ancient Jaina centre in Tamil Nadu and this is identified at present with the town of Cuddalore the headquarters of the South Arcot District. It is also believed that ācārya Samanta Bhadra had taken ascetic Dikṣā at Pataliputra. Samanta Bhadra was a great missionary who tried to spread Jainism far and wide.52*
Vajranandi
Among the Jaina ācāryas of South India, Vajranandi is highly extolled and he occupies an unique place for upholding the sanctity and dignity of Jainism in Tamil Nadu. Karnataka Jaina tradition offers obeisance to this eminent ācārya who is believed to have been the pupil of Devanandi, familiarly known as Pujyapāda ācārya. Vajranandi
The author of Aradhanakosa, Prabhācandräcärya makes Samanta Bhadra a victim of Bhasmaka disease (Morbid appetite) who himself was skilful in reducing to ashes the said disease Bhasmaka. He is also stated to have roamed from Kanci to Poudanapura and Banaras where he performed the miracle of bringing out the image of Pärsvanātha from an image of Siva and converted King Sivakoti into Jainism. (Upadhye Papers). But, Karnataka tradition as recorded by Devacandra in his Räjävalikathāsāra has a different version : Unable to get himself cured of the Bhasmaka disease, Samanta Bhadrācārya approached his guru (not given) with a request to permit him to end his life by Sallekhana. But the guru foreseeing that Samanta Bhadra was destined to become a great promoter of the faith, refused to give him permission, but directed him to go to any place where he might appease his hunger and take Diksā again. Then Samanta Bhadra went to Kanci where lived the King Sivakoti, whose devotion consisted among other things of daily distributing twelve khandagas of rice to the temple of Bhimalinga. Samantabhadra assured the King that he would make the Linga to eat the food. One day, when he was alone in the temple, ate up all the twelve khandagas of cooked rice at the temple of Bhimalinga. The King Sivakoti was astonished when he noticed that the entire cooked rice disappeared! The next day Samanta Bhadra left the quarter, and on the following day half of the food, explaining that God had granted it for prasada. The King who became suspicious, ordered his servants to burst open the door of the temple. Samanta Bhadra who became frightened began to pray to the Tirthankara. Whereupon, the image of Tirthankara became visible in full glory in place of Bhimalinga. King Sivakoti who became bewildered, fell on Samanta Bhadra's feet and shortly after he abdicated the throne in favour of his son and became an ascetic. Later he became famous as Sivakoti ācārya. (Rājāvalikathāsāra).