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show me the way,” Guru Mahārāja advised him for dikşă.
Avanti-sukumāla went to his mother Bhadra Śéthāni and informed her of his intention of renouncing worldly pleasures and taking Bhāgavati Dikşă (Initiation into an Order of Jaina Monks ). Immediately on hearing the talk, Bhadrā Śéthāņi became very sorry. Avanti-sukumāla was her only son and he was brought up in affluence from his very birth. He was married and was then eujoying worldly pleasures with his thirty -two wives. There was immense wealth, corn etc. Besides, Ayanti-sukumāla had never walked out of his palatial building and he had never suffered from the evil effects of exposure to heat or cold. Bhadrā Mātā told him:-" It is easy to talk about dikşā but it is extremely difficult to duly observe the strict rules of ascetic life. It really resembles the chewing of iron beads with the help of a set of teeth made of soft wax.” All the efforts of Bhadrā Mātā proved futile, as the mind of Avanti-sukumāla was firmly determined.
Avanti-sukumāla had his diksā at the pious hands of Ārya Su-hasti Sūri, but he, being unable to do severe penance of ascetic life, for a long time requested the Guru Mahārāja to give him permission to observe anasana ( remaining without food and water till death). Knowing him to be a fit person, the permission was readily granted, and with a blessing from the Guru Mahārāja, the newly initiated Avanti-sukumāla Muni started from the upāśraya. He went into a Kantheri Vana-forest of Kanthera Trees-with the object of finding a secluded place for renouncing his body. When Avanti-sukumāla Muni was walking in the forest, he had a deep thorn -prick in his foot and severe hæmorrhage from it. However, without giving any attention to it, Avanti-sukumāla Muni stood steady in kāyotsarga ( renunciation of body ). Attracted by the smell of blood, a hungry female jackal who had a recent delivery, came to the spot with her offsprings, and she began to eat away the flesh of the legs of Avanti sukumāla. Gradually, being very hungry she ate up the whole body of Avanti-sukumăla Muni. Patiently enduring terrible pains, the soul of the Holy Saint went on
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