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Jinamanjari, Volume 24, No.2, October 2001
THE VIKRAMA ERA AND JAINISM
Prof. L.C. Jain and Dr. Prabha Jain, Jabalpur, India.
Recorded history of India in general is known from the sixth B.C.E. in the times of Lord Mahāvira, the last and the twenty-fourth Tirthankara of Jainism and Lord Buddha, who was a junior contemporary of Mahavira. However, the first B.C.E to first C. E. period is dark in chronology.
The Vikrma era has a great relevance to Jaina works. After 413 years of Lord Mahavira's nirvāṇa, which took place on 15th of October 527 B.C.E., King Naravahana ruled for 40 years, Gardabhllla for 13 years and the Śaka king for four years. During this period, the Jaina samgha was led by Revatimitra for 36 years and Aryamangu for 20 years. A great Jain Acārya, Kālakācārya got the Ujjain kingdom of Gardabhilla smashed away in Vira (Mahavira) era, 470 B.C.E. Later, Vikramaditya, son of Gardabhilla, ruled for 60 years. During this period, ācāyas such as Bahula, Śrivrata, Svati, Hari, Śyāmārya, Sandilya, etc were functionaries in the Jaina samgha. The tradition of pratyeka Buddha and svayam Buddha were to end, while Jaina preceptors Bhadrabahu, Śrigupta, Vajrasvāmi were flourishing.
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The above facts have a relevance with a KathanakaVriti', of Devendrasūri (Vikrama era 1146), according to which Kālaka was a prince, and became an ascetic along with his younger sister, Saraswati, initiated by ascetic Gunakara. The king of Ujjain, Gardabhilla captured Saraswati in his queen's palace, as he was charmed. Acarya Kālaka, not being able to persuade the king to get his sister back, went to Śaka land and got Gardabhilla defeated by the Śaka and got his sister back in to the samgha. The Saka dynasty in Ujjain was then exterminated by king Vikramaditya, who established his era at the instant.
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