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Rishibhashit : A Study
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was connected with the tradition of Upanishadic sages and, being influenced by Buddha, had joined the ranks of Buddhist monks at a later date. Being a Buddhist and still living in jungle is certainly an evidence of his diverseness. Also, the fact that first voice of decent within the Buddhist organisation came froin his disciples indicates that roots of his tradition were a little different. The absence of any information other than his name in the tradition of Upanishadic sages also indicates that he shifted to some other tradition in the later part of his life.
3. ASIT DEVAL
The mention of Asit Deval can be found in all the three streams of Indian thought-Vedic, Jain, and Buddhist. The religious canon of Deval was popular during the ancient period and its quotes can be seen even today in works of later periods. On this basis we can definitely infer that Asit Deval was not simply a mythological name but a historic person.
In Jain tradition Asit Deval finds mention in Rishibhashit64 and Sutrakritang65. Rishibhashit addresses him as Arhat Rishi. His preachings compiled in Rishibhashit convey the following postulations :
"Abandoning the four directional world, every individual should strive for the unfathomable, endless and eternal abode that is Moksha. Discussing the means towards this goal, it has been conveyed that by being apathetic toward all desires, passions, attachments, and activities, as well as anger, conceit, illusion and greed, and with the help of detachment, apathy, and discipline one can save himself from all adhesions or binding karmas, to attain liberation. After that, eleven stages explain the activities resulting in bondage of evil Karma. In the end it has been said that ordinary fire can be exitinguished with the help of water but the fire of attachment is difficult to extinguish. He who understands this reality can rid himself of the cycles of life and death and liberate himself."
These details indicate that Asit Deval was a preacher of the path of detachment. The adjective Arhat Rishi also confirms the same fact. Sutrakritang has mentioned that Asit Deval attained liberation inspite of consuming seeds, vegetables, and plain water. This proves that he did not originally belong to the Jain tradition, but still enjoyed a coveted place. This was because the monks belonging to Jain tradition were supporting the trend of seeking conveniences by giving examples of Rishis like Asit Deval, Nami, etc.
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