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STORIES PRECEDING BHAGWAN MAHAVIR ►
112
I
lived a
n ancient
times, there
businessman
named Dhandatta, who was highly religious. He also raised his son to be very religious. Once, DharmaghoshSuri, the highly enlightened Acharya ofthat time, came to the town where Dhandatta lived. Dhandatta took his son to listen to his sermon. The boy was impressed by the Acharya's sermon that he decided to become his disciple. Accordingly, he renounced worldly life and became a monk
at a very young
age.
The Acharya
realized
that
the
Monk KURGADU
boy
had tremendous potential to be a great Jain monk. He therefore renamed him Kulaguru.
Kulguru studied the holy books and correctly comprehended their essence. He realized the role of Karma in the life of every being and thereby learned to maintain a high level of equanimity. He rigorously observed the code of conduct for monks. However, he could not overcome one problem. It was difficult for him to stay hungry and so he could not fast. He needed to eat at least once a day, that too a pot of rice, so he was called as Kurgadu.
