Jain Legend Vol 1

Author(s): Hastimal Maharaj, Shuganchand Jain, P S Surana
Publisher: Hastimal Maharaj Shugan C Jain P S Surana

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time. The child extended his hands for the sugarcane which Indra gave him. The Lord sucked this sugarcane juice. Perhaps this is why his lineage got the name “Ik v ku" and the gotra (clan) came to be known as “K yapa”. The birthplace of the Lord came to be hailed as "Ik v kubh mi”.
When Lord V abhan tha entered his mother's womb, Kubera had showered gold and hence he was also named Hira yagarbha. Lord V abhan tha was the first one who propounded the religion and its conduct; hence he was hailed as “ din tha" by Jain c ryas and historians. As a consequence, since centuries Lord V abhan tha is more popular as din tha.
The young boy Vabhan tha's food
From the commentary literature of the gamas such as Niryukti, Bh ya, Cri, etc, and texts such as Kah vali, we get to know that the baby - t rthamkara was not breast-fed. Right from birth the devas-devendras had placed nutritious and delicious nectar in his thumb. Whenever the baby V abhan tha was hungry he would place his thumb in his mouth and drink various kinds of nutritious juices. As Lord V abhan tha grew up the celestial beings / gods produced for him adequate quantities of desirable fruits and so on. According to the Kah vali, before becoming a mendicant, as a householder, Lord V abhan tha only consumed the fruits of devakuru and uttarakuru (regions) and waters from the k ras gara(milky ocean).
Unprecedented event
The childhood sports of Lord V abhan tha used to be unique, and would fill people with joy, overwhelm and stupefy them. People would throng to have a glimpse of his beauty which was a delight to the eyes. At every sweet smile of the Lord and every childhood sport of his, his mother Marudev and father N bhir ja would become overwhelmed and glide along like waves in an ocean of happiness.
Even as people were enjoying the childhood-sports of the Lord, an unprecedented and unheard of event for that time, took place. A pair of twins (male-female) was playing in the forest. Suddenly a fruit from the
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