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CHITTARANJAN PAL: BAPPABHATTISURIANDJAINISM IN BENGAL
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Lakşaņāvatī, the Capital of Gauda, where king Dharma was on the throne at that time. Vākpatirāja, the courtier of king Dharma, brought Bappabhațți to the royal presence.
Spiritual attainments and theological knowledge of Bappabhatti made a deep impression upon King Dharma who did not hesitate to pay homage and extend lavish hospitality to the Acārya. It is said that Bappabhațți convinced king Dharma of the soundness of Jaina faith and the Gauda King adhered to the new religion.?
At that time there was a very learned Buddhist scholar and dialectitian named Vardhana - Kunjara in Laksaņāvatī. King Dharma invited Bappabhațți to enter into a debate with the Buddhist scholar. The Buddhist scholar was so adept in religious disputations that it was almost impossible to defeat him in any debate. So Bappabhațți took the recourse of a clever trick and defeated him in the debate and gained for himself the grand title of Vädikunjara-keśarī “.e. the lion who defeated the elephant in argument.”8
The long absence of Bappabhatti from the royal court proved painful to king Ama who sent emissaries to Lakṣaṇāvati to bring him back to Kanauj. But the Ācārya declined to leave Lakṣaṇāvatī. So king Ama in disguise went to Lakşaņāvatī where he had to spend a night at the residence of a lady of ill-repute and was ultimately sucessful in bringing the Acārya back to Kanauj.
After his arrival to Gopagiri or Kanauj, Bappabhatti went to see his preceptor, Siddhasena, who was waiting for death at that time. The old preceptor handed over the charge of guiding the Gaccha to Bappabhatti and breathed his last like a true Jaina monk by Sallekhana. 10
Bappabhațţi delegated the charge of guiding the Gaccha to two senior monks Nanna Sūri and Govinda Sūri”ll and departed to the royal court of Kanauj where he found that King Ama had been
7. Ibid. 8. Prabandhakoşa (Bappabhațți Prabandha). 9. Ibid. 10. Sādhvi Samghamitra, Sramana, vol. XIV, no. 4 11. Ibid.
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