Nav Smarana

Author(s): Vinod Kapashi
Publisher: Vinod Kapashi

Page 19

There are twelve attributes of the Arihanta, eight of the Siddha, thirty-six of the Achärya, twenty-five of the Upadhyaya and twenty-seven of the Sädhu. The attributes of all the venerable are one hundred and eight.
4.8
The Belief About the Miraculous Power of the Namaskära Mantra:
There are various accounts in Jain books, both old and new, about how the Namaskara Mantra has helped individuals in times of extreme difficulties. Jains do have immense faith in the Namaskära Mantra and believe that the systematic chanting of the mantra brings about the desired rewards. I have sited two examples in this book. The first example is comparatively quite recent and the other is a very old one from Mahävira's time.
The first example' is of a Jain merchant, Mr Guläbchand Shäh of Bombay who narrates his story in detail and explains how he managed to cure himself by the power of the Namaskära Mantra. Amarendra Muniji, a renowned Jain monk has described Mr Guläbchand's plight and his illness of cancer. Obviously Muniji is interested in glorifying the prowess of the Namaskära Mantra but there can be no doubt about his honesty and sincerity in bringing out this phenomenon.
The second narration is that of Arjuna Mäli, which is quite an old one and appears in a Jain scripture called the Gyäta Dharma Kathä.
The first account of what happened in the life of Guläbchand Shäh was checked by Munishri Amarendravijayji. The author had met Mr Shäh and had also checked his hospital records as well. He writes in his book "It is an established fact that when practised in good faith and without any ignoble motive, Navkåra steers the life of the devotee automatically in the right direction and sets him firmly upon the right path to liberation. This indeed is the best miracle of the Navkära Mantra."
Both the stories have been described in the ‘mantra-section of this book.
5.0 The Uvasaggaharam Stotra
5.1
Introduction
The Uvasaggaharam Stotra is one of the most important devotional prayers in the Jain religion. It forms part of the nine holy recitations collectively known as the NavSmarana ('Nine Recitations'). Jains recite the prayer regularly at homes and in temples in order to remove the negative karmic particles, which they believe, act as obstacles on the path to success, health, longevity and peace. The Uvasaggaharam Stotra is a poem, a stotra and a Smarana.
The Uvasaggaharam Stotra is composed in a special metre called the Gäthä Chhanda, which we will examine later.
Miracles of Navakara by Amarendramuniji.
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