Mahavir Prince Of Peace

Author(s): Ranchor Prime
Publisher: Mandala Publishing

Page 54

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Acharya Shri Kallassagarsun Gyanmandie
his influence many of them chose the path of nonviolence. So he lived peacefully with his family his mother and father, and his beloved brother, whose name was Nandivardhana.
When he entered manhood his parents wanted to see him married. He had no wish to enter married life, which he saw as a distraction from his only goal, to achieve liberation from the cycle of birth and death But for the sake of pleasing his parents he accepted their wishes for him. Word had spread far and wide of his qualities of wisdom and education, his good looks and gentle behavior, and now these made him a most desirable match. When his eighteenth birthday was celebrated, many royal visitors came to offer their daughters in marriage.
Among all these visitors was the king of Vasantapura, whose beautiful daughter Yashoda was filled with purity and goodness. He offered his daughter's hand, and the prince's parents readily agreed to the proposal. Vardhamana found her an attractive companion, so amid great festivities the young couple were married, and they settled down to a happy married life. Soon a daughter was born to them, named Priyadarshana, who was loved by her parents and grandparents. Vardhamana lived in the midst of the comforts of his loving family, giving and receiving affection, but he was like the lotus flower that grows in the waters of a lake. Although he was surrounded by all the luxuries and pleasures the world had to offer, he was unmoved as a lotusis untouched by the water in which it grows, standing always above it. He was indifferent to the world about him-neither attached nor averse--for his mind was always focused on the path of spiritual wisdom.
Each evening he would gather his family and friends and speak to them from the scriptures, teaching them the nature of material illusion and the importance of self-realization. Then he would sit with them and sing devotional songs to awaken their inner spiritual sentiments. In this way he helped his family members and together they tasted spiritual happiness.