________________
ऋषभ
ifra
सम्भव
अभिनन्दन
सुमति
पद्मप्रभ
सिट
Prabhu sweetly uttered in friendly tone, “Indrabhuti Gautam, your doubt about the soul is based on your knowledge of the Vedas. But the same Vedas contain undeniable proofs of independent existence of the soul. Have you ever thought what is a soul? Who is it? and who is it that has this doubt about soul ? Kowledge and the awareness of knowledge are same—not different. Soul it is, that is filled with knowledge (it is exuberence of knowledge), and this knowledge is the cognizing factor of soul. Soul is an entity that is formless and beyond the sensory realm, it can be perceived not through the sense organs but through direct intuitive experience ..........."
Listening to the Vedic aphorisms and irrefutable logic of Mahavir about the existence of soul, Indrabhuti's doubts were removed. His ego melted. With the rising of humility the divine ray of truth became visible. The darkness within Gautam was dispelled. With overflowing respect and curiosity Gautam fell at the feet of Prabhu Mahavir.
"Prabhu, I came with a desire to be victorious, but now I am only a seeker of knowledge. Please bestow on me the infinite knowledge of truth. I wish to 94
become a disciple and sit at your divine feet.” (M-28/2)
"You are welcome, o beloved of gods !” Mahavir uttered equanimously. Indrabhuti Gautam became the first disciple of Bhagavan Mahavir. His five hundred disciples were also initiated by Mahavir into the order. The sky reverberated with sounds of hailing.
The news of initiation of Gautam brought shadows of gloom over the Yajna site where the scholars were waiting. But the second great scholar, Agnibhuti, summoned courage and said, “I will go and bring back my brother by defeating Mahavir."
Agnibhuti also arrived at the religious assembly with his five hundred पुष्पमाला|| disciples. As soon as he entered the pavilion and approached Mahavir, Mahavir
said, "Agnibhuti, your senior has his cobwebs of doubt cleared, he has now become unambiguous. Now you should also remove your quandry about the fruits of Karma. As the existence of soul is self evident, it is also established that
it is soul that is the doer of the Karma (action) and the sufferer of its चन्द्र
consequences (fruit)."
The moment his doubt was removed the shackles of dogmas shattered. With the vanishing of ego a stream of faith started flowing within Agnibhuti. He also submitted before the omniscience of Shraman Mahavir. Agnibhuti became a disciple of Shraman Bhagavan Mahavir alongwith his 500 disciples.
The youngest brother of Indrabhuti, Vayubhuti, also decided to try his luck with his 500 disciples. As a thirsty person stops at a source of clean
लक्ष्मी
सूर्य
Illustrated Tirthankar Charitra
( 88 )
सचित्र तीर्थंकर चरित्र
विमल
अनन्त
___धर्म
शान्ति
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