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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appointed for the task of people's security, them he denomination of K atriya. Those who proved to be experts in farming, livestock rearing, buying and selling and trading, were given the denomination of vai ya.Those who showed interest in service of people by taking up work that other people expressed distaste for, were given the nomenclature of
dra. Thus in V abhan tha's time, only three castes were createdK atriya, vai ya and dra.
The kingdom of our first king V abhan tha was steeped in the feelings of people's well-being. There was not even a trace of covetousness for position in king V abhan tha. People had made him king, and he had single-handedly taken the responsibility for people's well-being and welfare to create an obedient, self-sufficient and civilized society. When those children of nature lost the benevolent shade of kalpavřk a V abhan tha placed his right hand (of protection) over them and taught them 100 crafts and asi, masi and k i on his own and also with the help of his sons and as a result with growing experience man consistently moved ahead in great speed. The happy consequence of all this was that our country's land brimmed with verdant fields, expansive gardens, proper pathways for transport, mansions kissing the skies, palaces, etc. Gradually, not a trace of deficiency-accusations remained on this earth.
Resolve to Renunciation, meritorious charity, withdrawal from
mundane Life, Initiation into monkhood
In this manner V abhan tha ruled the kingdom and looked after the subjects lovingly and judiciously as the first king for 63 lakh p rvas. Thereafter, in order to obtain permanent peace and live a pious life, he decided to embrace the path of yoga. He believed that man can never obtain permanent peace unless he took to spiritual practice. With this in mind, making his eldest son Bharata the successor to his kingdom and giving the remaining 99 sons the charge of several smaller kingdoms he withdrew from a householder's life and resolved to walk the path of selfdiscipline.
Sensing this decision the lok ntika gods did their duty by requesting the Lord to manifest the dharma-t rtha (holy path) for the well-being of the entire world. Hearing the gods' request, the Lord started the process of meritorious charity and every day at the auspicious hour of the morning, donated a crore (ten million) and 8 lakh (one hundred thousand) gold
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