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Jainism Upto the Last Victor
181 Omniscience (Kevala jnana).
An important event of Mahâvîra's life was his meeting with Gosala Mankhaliputta, the head of the Ajivika sect. According to the one-sided account of the Bhagavatisutra Gosâla became a pupil of Mahâvîra in the second year of his monkhood and remained with him for six years. Then came a breach between the two on the point of rejuvenation (supra) and may be, also on other points. Gosala proclaimed himself a Jina and lived in Sravâsti. The two met again sixteen years later and again quarrelled. Gosala died soon after, some 16 years before Mahâvîra. 16
Whether Mahâvîra had been a pupil of Gosâla or vice versa is a debatable question, but there are parallelisms between the Ajivika and the Jaina doctrines. According to Jacobi it is quite probable that some rigid Jaina rules for monks came from the code of the Ajivikas. 17 Some significance may also be attached to the coincidence of Mahâvîra giving up his garment in the year of his meeting with Gosala. It would explain to some extent as to why does the Jaina Canon make frequent attempts at refuting the Ajivika doctrines in strong language while it takes hardly any note of the Buddhist religion. On the other hand, the Pali canon quite often refutes the teachings of Mahâvîra along with those of Gosala and other teachers (Titthiyas).
With the acquisition of omniscience, Mahâvîra entered on his career as a religious teacher. The last 30 years of his life were spent in teaching his religion and organising the Jaina sangha. He used to wander for eight months of the year and spend the four months, of the rainy season in some famous town. The Jaina tradition gives the names of the places where he spent one or more rainy seasons.
He stayed for the first rainy season in Astikâgrâma, three rainy seasons in Champâ and Prshticampa, twelve in Vaisâli and Vaniyagrâma, fourteen in Râjagaha and the suburb of Nâlandâ, six in Mithilâ, two in Bhadrikâ, one in Albhika, one in Pâlitabhûmi, one in Sravasti, and one in the town of Pâvâ. This record shows how did Mahâvîra wander over wide areas for preaching Jainism. It also gives us a fair idea of the country over which he wandered propagating his faith, though we must remember that the list is neither exhaustive and nor chronological.
