Lord Mahavira

Author(s): Bool Chand
Publisher: Jain Cultural Research Society

Page 48

( 40.) to evil thought, word and deed. He is supposed to have followed the Buddha step by step and watched : for a moment of weakness to over-power his soul and deflecư him from the pursuit of knowledge. As a god of evil he is not associated with that gloomy tragedy with which we are accustomed to fancy the diabolical, dead y. foe of good surrounded ; and as seducer his methods of work are fairly commonplace, Cappearing at one time as a Brahmin, at another as a husbandman, at another as an elephant king, and in many other differrent forms' in order to shake Buddha's life. Instead of the traditional Mara, however, Jain books speak of different gods appearing at different times and the methods of their at ack are not always non-violent as in the case of Mara, but comprehend elaborate bodily pain and torture. The first encounter with the temptergod in Mahavira's life took place on the eve o his first gaaf. While on the way to Asthigrama, he came across a small temple dedicated to the god Shulpani, which used to be left completely untenanted at night but where Mahavira decided to stay and meditate. He suffered frightful tortures at the hands of the god in the course. of his meditation at night. But the real battle with temptations took place in the e eventh year of his sadhak life, when Sangamaka, another tempter-god, set about his task with a view to confuse Mahavira and, if possible, to shake him from his search for Truth, followed him step by step for a period of six months giving him all sorts of torture and creating all conceivable difficulties in his way in order to overpower his soul in a moment of weakness. Adopting the garb of a disciple of Mahavira, he started committing theft in a house, got caught, put the blame upon his guru and had him severely beaten.. He had Mahavira arrested on suspicion of being a spy. Several times he made Mahavira's excursions for alms fruitless by various devices ; he had him ridiculed by people with derisive gestures ; and gave him troubles in a hundred other ways. But Mahavira' remained steadfast, bore all his trials. with fortitude, and therefore the god was ultimately obliged to depart.