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भ० महावीर स्मृति-प्रध।
actually reached the city of Benares (Käsi) where Lord Pārsbyanātha was bom. The story goes that while Prince Pärshvanath was taking a stroll outside the towd of Benares an ascetic pamed Kamatha rras observed by Him ready with preparation to perform a Nága sacnfice The ascetic was called upon to open the bundle of wooden logs which he had brought for the sacrifice, where-upon it was found that the bundle contained to young Nāgas spha yere released by the Prince. The Jaina tradition asks us to believe that the two young Nagas were two young serpents but it appears raost probable that those two Nāgas must have been two children of Nāga tribe for later on when Lord Pärshvanath entered upon a life of penance, these very Nágas are said to have come to His rescue when He was being troubled by the ascetic named above. This cult of violence was called a religion of Māra in Jaipa and Buddhistic scriptures and as Lord Pārskva secured a victory over the religion of violence He was called Mārajit' conqueror of Māra (HTEISTE STENT: Mārajillokajjit sinah='Jina 18 a conqueror of Māra and a conqueror of the peopic,) Bome years after Lord Parshvanāth this religion of Māra agajo raised its head and began to gain ground on the Indian soil. A re-action against this violence cult bad already set in and about the time of Lord Mahavira there had afisen seferal teachers, who were doing their level best to combat the eyil. The Buddhistic records give us to understand that cowheads and shepherds were compelled to give their animals in hundreds to be slaughtered-by the kings and chieftains in their sacrifices in the name of religion. The country was full of small petty states which were always on quarrelling terras ysth one another. Life had grown most unsecure and fraught with great difficulties and sense of despair Tas prevailing all over the country, At this chaotic juncture of time Lord Mabzvira was born He made a survey of His times ; renounced his worldly life with a resolute purpose of modelling the whole society, went through a long period of twelve years penance, during which He performs great austerities which resulted in making Him & possessor of complete knowledge, power and bliss and then set out preaching His Gospel to the world so great were his austerities that he had conquered His passions and moved about without any garment on his person What was the nature of His austerities and what were the parti culars of His meditation or thinking, no religious book is able to say anything. Though His tenderness and compassion embraced all forms of life He was so grim and naapproachable that His word was taken as final, nobody questioning its correctness. It appears that even His closest disciples the Ganadkaris-who were considered the next in greatness to Hun have not understood Him in all the details of His being. Many times circumstances speak more eloquently than the books themselves. We have, therefore, to study the circumstances of His times and of the times after Him and form in idea for ourselves as to what must have been the full and true significance of His entire teaching. '
