Jainism For Beginners Level 02

Author(s): Sayampurnashreeji
Publisher: Sayampurnashreeji

Page 69

not to disturb & provide any pain to his mother. Not feeling any movement Queen Trishala was very worried that something was wrong with the baby in the womb. Realizing how worried his mother had been on his behalf, he had decided not to take the religious Vow of Renunciation & leave his family while his parents were alive.
One day prince Vardhaman, a young boy of eight, was playing with his friends on the outskirts of the city. At that very moment Indra, the king of heaven, started praising the courage, valor, bravery & fearlessness of prince Vardhaman. Another heavenly god challenged the statement believing that fear is present in all humans. He decided to test Vardhamans courage. In order to frighten the child he assumed the form of a formidable & frightening cobra & slithered near the tree where the children were playing. All the boys were frightened & started screaming but Mahavir stood there calm & completely fearless. He gently caught the cobra with his hands & placed it in the grass on the side.
Soon after his birth Indra (king of heavenly gods) takes the baby Tirthankar to Mount Meru & performs the birth ceremony (Janma Abhisheka) with great rejoicing & celebration. After that he returns the baby to mother
Trishalas bedside.
There is great
rejoicing in the
country. The family is blessed with increasing goodwill, respect, wealth, & mutual affection, & everyone prospers. Gold & gems increased in the treasury of the kingdom. The general health, peace, happiness, & goodwill of the people increased many-fold. Thus, since the moment his soul was conceived there was continued enhancement in glory, wealth, health & fame. This is the reason the baby was named Vardhaman, which means ever-increasing prosperity.
The Heavenly god, who failed to frightened prince Vardhaman in the form of a cobra, decided to test his bravery again. Assuming the form of an ordinary child he joined the group of children & suggested playing Tindushak game. This game was a race to a target tree. The winner was to ride piggyback on one of the losers & return to the base.
LIFE OF BHAGWAN MAHAVIR
The heavenly god lost the game to prince Vardhaman and offered to carry him on his shoulders. However, as soon as he had the prince on his shoulders the god assumed a gigantic form. Without any fear Prince Vardhaman gave a mighty blow on his shoulder with clenched fists. The god could not withstand the blow and assuming his original form bowed to
There are numerous incidences of courage & forgiveness throughout Vardhaman's life as a child & an adult.
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