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INTRODUCTION.
VII
ANOTHER TRADITIONAL STORY ABOUT-KUNDAKUNDA,Pandit Premit gives, on the authority of a book, Jnāna-prabodha; another story of Kunda. kunda: In Mālawa, in the town of Bārāpura, there lived a king Kumudacandra with his queen Kumudacandrikā. In his : kingdom there lived a merchant Kundas'resthi with his wife Kundalatā; they had a son whom they named Kundakunda. Once the boy, playing in the company of his friends, happened to see in the park, a monk who was attended on by various householders. The boy carefully heard his sermons. The words and the conduct of the monk influenced the boy so much that this boy of barely eleven years was religiously awakened and soon became the pupil of that monk, Jinacandra, and lived with him. The parents were very sorry over this. Within a short time Kundakunda attained so much eminence amongst the pupils of Jinacandra that he became Acārya at the age of 33. He advanced a good deal in those introspective and religious meditations. Once he had certain doubts on some fundamental doctrines of Jainism; not knowing what to do, he closely applied himself to religious practices. One day, in the course of his meditation, he offered obeisance, with mental, verbal and physical purity, to S'rīmandharasvāmi, a contemporary Tīrthankara in the Videha-ksetra; the salutation was so sincere that it immediately evoked response from S'rīmandhara that he uttered in the Samavasarana the words of blessing sad-dharma-vrddhir-astu. The members of the audience could not understand the propriety of this blessing when none from the audience had offered salutation. S'rīmandharasvāmi explained that the blessings were meant for Kundakunda from Bharatakgetra. Two cāraṇa saints, who were the friends of Kundakunda in the previous birth, came to Bārāpura and took Kundakunda to the Samavasaraya. On the way, when they were passing through the sky, the bunch of pecock-feathers fell down and could not be found; so Kundakunda had to take up a bunch of vulture-feathers in lieu and continue his religious practices. Kundakunda stayed there for a week; and, after receiving much by way of religious enlightenment, he had his religious doubts cleared. On his way back he had taken with him a book containing diplomatic and Tantric contents, but it fell, on the way, into the salt-sea. Thus he came back saluting many holy places on the way. He L'úgan his religious preachings here; and seven hundred men and women got themselves initiated into the order at his hands. After some time he had a pored with S'vetāmbaras on the mount Girnar, in which he made the local
mi admit that the Nirgrantha creed of the Digambaras was true. So vacated his pontifical chair in favour of Umāsvāti and died one day
als meditation after having practised severe penances.
SCRUTINY OF THE ABOVE TWO TRADITIONAL STORIES --Both these ories are practically in agreement only in the second half; but with the micile and parentage there is no agreement, nay the points of difference ! and lastly he became a s'ruta-kevalin.
See Kundakunda Acarya yafice caritra, by Pangal in Marathi, Sholapur, 1906; Premi N ama Hitarshi, Vol. X, pp. 369 etc.; all references to Pt, Premi have this sourco in view
*jp stated.
