________________
live as a renouncer of all attachment to the body. Hence in this period, I shall bear with equanimity all the calamities, pains that may come through gods, human beings or beings of hell.” After this, the Lord moved from there. Many cryas believe that when the Lord began to wander after initiation, a Brahmin, who was unable to be present at the time of the year-long giving, accosted him on the way. Seeing his pitiable state the Lord tore the divine-cloth (devad ya) on his shoulder into half and gave it to him. The cr mga and Kalpas tra mention the devad ya falling off after 13 months but basically in Kalpas tra or any other text there is no mention of him tearing his cloth and giving it. Of course, in the Cr i and commentary (Tk) etc, there is reference to donation of the half cloth to a Brahmin.
First calamity and fast-breaking (p ra
)
At the time when the Lord was standing in meditation outside Kurmar gr ma, a herdsman came there with his oxen. He left them close to Mah v ra to graze and went to a village nearby to milk the cows. After sometime when the herdsman returned, not finding his oxen, he asked Mah v ra for their whereabouts. When Mah v ra, deep in meditation, did not reply, he went looking for them. Al night he kept searching for them. By coincidence, the oxen returned and sat next to Mah v ra. The sad herdsman was returning empty-handed next morning when, seeing oxen sitting next to Mah v ra, he got very angry, Thinking Mah v ra to be a thief, he went to hit him with a rope. Seeing this, Indra appeared at once and saved Mah v ra from this trouble.
After this incident, Indra requested the Lord to allow him to serve him. The Lord said - "arhantas do not take anybody's help for Siddhi or to attain pure knowledge but attain them on their own strength." Yet for his satisfaction, Indra, to prevent deathly calamities, appointed a vyamtara god, Siddh rtha, to be at the Lord's service, and saluting the Lord, left.
The next day the Lord left from there and reached the vicinity of Koll ga. There he broke his first fast at the home of a Brahmin named Bahula, with rice mixed with clarified butter and sugar. The sky resounded with the echo of “aho d nam, aho d nam”. The gods showered the five auspicious things to express the glory of the giving.
275
