Jain Story Book

Author(s): Manu Doshi
Publisher: Manu Doshi

Page 58

food, Sangam would pollute it to render the same uneatable. The Lord then decided not to go for alms so long as Sangam did not give way. At the end of six months Sangam realized that whatever he might do, it was impossible to bend down the Lord. Falling at His feet, he therefore begged the Lord's pardon and requested Him to go for alms at ease.
The Lord came across the 4th major Upasarga during the last year of His spiritual pursuit. In an earlier life as Triprushta Vasudev, he had poured lead in the ears of an attendant for failing to abide by his instructions. That attendant was now reborn as a cowboy. While the Lord was meditating at a place called Shadgamani, the cowboy was grazing his oxen. As it was his time to milk the cows, he went home entrusting is oxen to the care of Lord. When he came back, the animals had gone far away grazing the grass. He therefore asked the Lord about their whereabouts. The Lord was meditating and did not reply. The cowboy repeatedly asked Him about the animals, but did not get any reply. Thereupon he got mad and asked the Lord whether He had ears or only holes. As he did not get any response, the cowboy decided to teach Him a lesson for not listening. He brought forth two sharp thorns and pierced them deep into the ears of the Lord.
The cowboy also took care that no one could notice the thorns in the ears. He therefore broke off the exterior parts of the thorns. The thorns gave continuing pain to the Lord but He faced it with equanimity. In that condition, He reached Apapapuri and went for alms from a house-holder named Siddhartha. That time, Kharak a physician-friend of Siddhartha was sitting there. Smart as he was, he could make out the Lord's pain. They examined Him at length and located the thorns which were then skillfully extracted by threm.
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MONK KURGADU OR KULGURU
In ancient times there was a businessman named Dhandatta. He was highly religious. He had a son who also got imbibed with religious perspective. Once, Dharmaghoshsuri, the highly enlightened Acharya of that time, came to the town, where Dhandatta lived. Thereupon Dhandatta went to listen to his sermon along with his young son. The boy was much impressed by the talk of the Acharya and decided to become his pupil. Accordingly he renounced the worldly life and became a monk at the very young age. The Acharya could foresee that the boy was destined to be a great entity. He therefore named him as Kulguru. In the native language of that area he came to be known as Kurgadu.
Kurgadu seriously undertook the study of the holy books and correctly grasped their essence. He realized the role of Karma in the life of every being and thereby he learnt to maintain a high level of equanimity. He also rigorously observed the code of conduct for the monks. He had however a problem. He could not stay hungry and as such could not fast. He had to eat at least once a day. Even during Paryusana Parva, he could not fast for a single day. When he had to eat on such days of Parva, he felt bad and regretted that he had acquired incapability to fast on account of his previous Karma. When other monks observed long or short fasts, he praised them and rendered every type of service to them. He wished, in heart of hearts, that he too could observe fasts.
Jain monks do not move from place to place during monsoon that normally sets in June and ends in October. The Paryusana Parva occurs roughly in the middle of that period. While the Acharya was once camping in the monsoon season, Paryusana Parva came. On that occasion, many of the monks undertook long fasts extending to more than a month. The senior monk under whom Kurgadu was working, had undertaken one month's fast. Kurgadu felt sad that he could not undertake such austerities. Seven days passed that way and the day of Samvatsari dawned. He