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Life-stories of the Buddha and Mahavira
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Compassion prominent in both the stories. This suggests the fully developed compassion in both of them.
(2) Proclamation:
Dipankara, the first Buddha proclaims that Sumedha is to become the Buddha. It is interesting to note that a similar element is present even in the story of Mahavira. Rṣabha, the first Tirthankara proclaims that Mārjci who was Nayasara in his previous birth is to become the last Tirthankara Mahavira. It should be remembered that Gotama the Buddha is also the last Buddha of this age.
(3) Kapila:
Rṣabha and son of And we find in the
The above mentioned Marici was the grandson of Bharata. It is said that he had a pupil named Kapila. Buddha story also a person named Kapila after whose name the City of Kapilavatthu was established. This Kapila represents the previous birth of the Buddha. When we go into the details of the stories we find that both these Kapilas were born in the same age, when it was customary to marry one's own sister. And here we can safely say that the writers of both the stories had in their mind the sage Kapila, the Samkhya leader of the hoary past. Further it should be noted that the Jaina story knowingly or unknowingly suggests that the Buddha in his previous birth as Kapila was the pupil of Marici who was Mahavira himself in his previous birth.
(4) Adoration by Gods:
In both the stories the god's adoration of both these great personalities on all the auspicions occasions is described at length. Some of these occasions are the birth, the bathing, the renunciation, the austerities, the enlightenment, the liberation, etc. Here we should note that those story-tellers consider these two great men to be superior to gods and that is why they describe these great personalities as adored by gods when the occasion arose. By doing so they want the people to note that these persons were really worthy of adoration and that they were not like ordinary gods, who themselves have to worship them two.
Dreams:
In both the stories there are many places where the dreams are described and interpreted. In the life-story of the Buddha, it is narrated that the mother of the Buddha at the time of conception finds in dream an elephant entering into her womb. In the life-history of Mahavira it is narrated that the mother of Mahavira sees an elephant in one of her fourteen dreams at the
time of conception.
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