________________ XXvi way for the propagation of the faith and clearing the obstacles to that end??' During those days, Durlabharaja was ruling in Gujarat with his capital at Patan. He had a royal priest named Somesvara. When both Jinesvarasuri and Buddhisagarasuri arrived in Patan, they found that nobody was prepared to arrange for their stay in the city which was under the sway of the Caityavasi mendicants belonging to Jainism. And, the task entrusted to them by their preceptor flashed in their mind. They, therefore, went to the residence of the erudite royal priest, stood at the gateway and started reciting the Vedic passages of all the four Vedas most accurately along with their sarani and rahasya. He listened to the recitation from inside most attentively and with utmost interest, and sent his brother to see them in person. When he saw that the Vedic reciters were Jain mendicants he was surprised, the more so when instead of sitting on the wooden chairs offered to them they sat on their own pure woollen sheets, and uttered a blessing by reciting a verse" which purported to reveal the similarities between the teachings of Vedic scriptures and the Jain ones, and added that having grasped the essence of both, they honoured the Jaina scriptures more in view of the greater emphasis on mercy in the latter. When the priest inquired about their stay in the town, they informed him that there was no place for them to stay since the Caityavasis would not provide any to them. At this the priest offered to play host to them and lodged them in the Candrasala. of his own residence. They lived there on the pure alms bereft of all impurities, and were presented before an assemblage of the Agnihotris initiated in ritual and Smrti lores, in order to test them. Thus, the learned discussions were carried on for some time94 But when the leaders of the Caityavasins arrived on the scene they asked the priest to send the two scholars out of the town, he insisted tha case should be decided in the royal assembly. The dispute thus reached the king's court. Somesvara revealed that he had given them shelter in view of their extraordinary learning and quality worthy of honour. The king wondered why anybody should have any objection against the stay of such persons of high quality in the town. But the Caityavasins reminded the King about the promise given to Devacandrasuri of the Nagendra Gaccha in the past by King Vanaraja, the founder of the Cavda dynasty, to the effect that no other sect but the Caityavasins would be permitted to stay in the town, and that the order of the predecessor was binding on Durlabharaja too. But the king refused to disregard such meritorious learning and quality, although he honoured the order of his predecessor. And, at the request of the king the
