Book Title: Jain Legend Vol 1
Author(s): Hastimal Maharaj, Shuganchand Jain, P S Surana
Publisher: Hastimal Maharaj Shugan C Jain P S Surana
View full book text
________________
to plead with him this way. So that your services are not fruitless, I grant you 48,000 vidy s, which are accomplished by mere recitation, among which are the mah vidy s, gaur, gamdh r, rohi , and praj apti. With their help, establish your respective cities and live happily as Vidy daras. Nami and Vinami obeyed the king of gods, Indra and within the south and north boundaries of the Vaitādhya Mountain, settled 50 and 60 cities, respectively, and invited civilized people from various countries to reside there. This way, Nami and Vinami divided classes of 8 each through the effect of their vidy s (skills), moved around with pleasure, enjoying like the gods and thus emerged the tradition of “Vidy daras”.
The first fast-breaking (p ra ) of the Lord
In the Tiloyapa att of the Digambara tradition we find reference to the Lord observed six fasts. According to crya Jinasena, he observed 6 months fast and in the vet mbara tradition, observed two days fast(bel ) is referred to. After becoming a rama a, for a long time V abhan tha visited village after village with a stoic vow of silence, with a feeling of detachment, seeking alms, but he would not get any, as people had no knowledge about this method. The 4000 rama as with him waited that the Lord would make some arrangements for them. When the Lord did not say anything for a long time, pained by hunger and thirst, they became heretics adorning garments made of tree barks. They did not go back to their homes but in the absence of tolerance to hardships and the sense of discrimination, they fell from the path of the right discipline / conduct as renouncers, spent their lives in the forest consuming fruits, roots, etc.
As he was devoid of passion, Lord din tha continued to wander, with equanimity and unaffected by the situation. Emotionally charged devotees would feel delighted to see him, request him to accept their offerings of valuables, clothes and jewellery, chariots, fruits, etc, but none of them would think of offering alms in the right method. As a result, Lord Vabhan tha would return empty-handed, leaving those unacceptable gifts. Thus more than a year passed since he had started to wander for alms, yet there was no sense of despair in his mind. Thus wandering, the Lord once reached the Kur province of Hastin pura. The prince there was the grandson of B hubal and son of king Somaprabha. He dreamt that night - "the Sumeru mountain has lost its sheen, I have
52