Book Title: Jain Legend Vol 2
Author(s): Hastimal Maharaj, Shuganchand Jain, P S Surana
Publisher: Hastimal Maharaj Shugan C Jain P S Surana
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Mah v ra attained omniscience, whereas Digambaras opined that it was on r va a K Pratipad - 66 days after Mah v ra attained omniscience. However, according to 'Gautama Caritra' written by Ma dal c rya Dharmacandra, Lord Mah v ra attained omniscience on the evening of Vai akha Suda 10, and after three hours Indrabh ti was initiated as a Monk ( rama a).
Indrabh ti Gautama was designated as the Ga adhara. This was his last birth. To receive the designation of T rthamkara, it is clearly mentioned in the canonical literature ( gama) that the practitioner should have practiced vigorously one or more causes / reflections, out of the 16 or 20, to become a T rthamkara. But what virtuous activities and practices are to be performed by the practitioner to achieve the rank of a Ga adhara were not described in gama literature.
However gama and other literatures of Jainism consider a Ga adhara next to the universally acclaimed T rthamkara. To obtain this honorable post, a spiritual-practitioner should undergo only a relatively less hard Spiritual-exertion and should come out best, proving his worth.
A group of monks who belong to similar discourses is known as Ga a and the monk who administers this group is known as Ga adhara.
The eleven chief disciples of Lord Mah v ra, after listening to Tripad from Lord, compiled it in three ‘ni adh yas' (to ask after humble salutations), the fourteen P rvas and they were known as Ga adharas.
The meaning and interpretation given by Lord Mah v ra was compiled in the form of S tras (scriptures) by Indrabh ti and other Ga adharas which came to be known as Dw da mg.
Then the obvious question arises that if Lord Mah v ra had eleven Ga adharas under him, how is it that there exist only nine groups of monks (Ga as).
The fact is that the scriptural discourse (stra V can ) of eleven Ga adharas was only of nine types. The first seven Ga adharas including Indrabh ti had different sermons (V can s), and each was counted as one separate Ga a. But the eighth and ninth Ga adharas (Akampita and
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