Jain Legend Vol 3

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

Page 41

historical facts reveal that during the six to seven hundred years of pronounced influence of temple dwelling monks, the true and real tradition of fundamental Jain tradition not only survived but to some extent stayed together and firm also.
The main reasons for the almost eclipse and extinction of the fundamental spiritual rama a tradition and its code of conduct had been the impact of adverse time as well as the temple dwelling congregation.
Over a period of time, the temple dwelling congregation also went through significant disintegration in it. A number of different gacchas appeared in this tradition also, each subscribing to their own and different doctrines. It is very difficult to count the number of small gacchas but even large gacchas rose to high numbers like eighty four.
c rya and follower of each gaccha tried continuously to outsmart and prove themselves more influential than the other gaccha. A gaccha who controlled the largest temples was considered as the biggest and most influential one. As a result, each gaccha started building largest and grandest temples and their consecration festivals, organize most expensive worship rituals and pilgrimages, taking out grand religious processions, organize attractive and large religious discourses by their monks daily and distribute most expensive gifts (prabh van ) to outsmart each other. Keeping the essential daily duties for monks like self-study, contemplation and meditation in the background, these monks (male and female) and their followers belonging to different gacchas of temple dwellers started preaching and practicing false and deceptive rituals as means to attain liberation.
In Vikram 11th century, Pandit Jine warga i requested his holy teacher Vardhm na to tell the true nature and doctrine of Jainism to these believers of temple dwelling householders and followers. Accordingly Vardham na Sri alongwith seventeen monks associated with him proceeded towards Gujarat from Delhi. During this period, he arrived in A ahilapura P a a, where in the royal court of King Durlabhar ja he defeated in scriptural debates c ryas of 84 gacchas associated with temple dwelling congregation. Thus the long ban on the entry for monks of other congregations in the territory was lifted. He thus established the tradition of monks belonging to congregation whose monks stay in vasati (public residences in temple complex). At this moment, with the defeat of its 84 c ryas in scriptural debates with Vardham na Sri in the royal
41