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152
Lord Mahavira
accompanied by the crowd, his pupils.
When Kesi, the young monk, saw Gautama approach, he received him with all becoming attention. He at once offered Gautama the four pure kinds of straw and hay to sit upon.
Kesi, the young Sramana, and the famous Gautama, sitting together, shone forth with a luster like that of sun and moon.
There assembled many heretics out of curiosity, and many thousands of laymen; gods,... Gandharvas, Yakshas,... [assembled there], and there came together invisible ghosts too.
[Here follows an extended conversation between Kesi and Gautama on the points at issue between the two groups, including not only the questions concerning vows and clothes but also various problems in the philosophy of religion. On each matter Gautama made such a convincing presentation that Kesi was fully persuaded, and the passage closes with these words describing the accord to which they came:]
Kesi, of enormous sanctity, bowed his head to the famous Gautama. And in the pleasant [Tinduka park] he sincerely adopted the law of the five vows, which was proclaimed by the first Tîrthankara, according to the' teaching of the last Tîrthankara.
In that meeting of Kesi and Gautama, knowledge and virtuour conduct were for ever brought to eminence, and subjects of the greatest importance were settled.
The whole assembly was greatly pleased and fixed their thoughts on the right way. They praised Kesi and Gautama; "May the venerable ones show us favor!"
Parsva, then, was indubitably prior to Mahâvîra, and sufficient time had elapsed since his day that a decay in the morals of the monastic order had occurred which led to the reformation carried out by Mahâvîra. This situation is in satisfactory agreement with the more exact indication given in Jaina tradition that a period of two hundred and fifty years had separated the, two Tirthankaras. This tradition is represented in the Kalpasutra 58 where it is stated that from the death of Parsva to the time of the writing of the Kalpasutra 1,230 years had elapsed, and from the death of Mahâvîra 980 years. Reckoning two hundred and fifty years before the death of Mahâvîra in 527 B.C. we reach 777 B.C. as the date of Parsva's death, and if the latter lived for one hundred years his inclusive dates were 877-777 B.C. Such an early date for the foundation of Jainism is consonant with the animistic character of its basic philosophy which will appear in the succeeding section.
