Jain Legend Vol 3

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

Page 154

Listening to Namask ra mantra from crya Bappa Bha, King ma R ja in village Magațod on Vikram 890 Bh drapada ukl5th Friday under the influence of Citr breathed his last. c rya Bappa Bha returned to K nyakubja and started living in prior fixed residence.
Bad results of close contact with kings
c rya Bappa Bha stayed all through his life with or near very close contact of King ma R ja. This resulted in many good things also. The first good thing was for Jain congregation to have royal patronage. Being the state religion, dominance of Jainism continued. Through his sermons and advice, c rya Bappa Bha got a number of socially beneficial works done along with propagating and preaching Jainism. Contacts of
c rya Bappa Bha definitely resulted in significant enhancement of Jain dominance. All these are the good results of c rya Bappa Bha's royal contact.
However, if we analyse the entire life of Bappa, we see a very bad effect also. How can a great influential and brilliant rama a monk (who is supposed to stay detached, void of any type of possessions, alone, practitioner of five major vows), stay in close contact and proximity of a king and how far he can observe the right code of conduct of a rama a monk? Analysis of these facts leads us to be highly dissatisfied. How can a rama a monk, no matter how influential or scholarly he is, find it possible to protect himself from transgressions of all acts (i.e. prescribed code of conduct of rama a monk) that are strictly forbidden in Jain scriptures, such as riding a palanquin, taking flawed and impure food, using vehicles for wandering, canopies, being served always by royal attendants for physical comforts and royal seats and beds, use fixed residence etc while staying in royal palaces and practice the code of conduct for rama a monk. From various writings about
c rya Bappa Bha in different texts by scholars and by Prabh candra in ‘Prabh vaka caritra' lead us to infer that like great proponent of Jainism c rya Siddha Sena, crya Bappa Bha also, by continuous close proximity and staying with King ma R ja, could not protect himself from committing flaws in the fundamental limits of the code of conduct of rama a monks as given in the scriptures. As a result of his continued and prolonged intimate proxity of royal family, c rya Bappa
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