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156
SHRAMAN MAHAVIR
Vijayaghosh was converted to this ideology He subscribed to the principle of deed-oriented caste
Hankesha was an untouchable He embraced monastic life He'was staying at Varanasi for a short while during his wanderings One Rudradeo Purohit arranged for a sacrificial rite Harikesha visited the place Rudradeo insulted the monk However, the latter was not perturbed at this cool reception The two debated the issue at length. During it Rudradeo observed, 'Monk! A Brahmin combining his high-caste with his learning alone is the repository of the gamut of moral Virtues '1
The monk contended it saying, 'The Brahmins suffering from the evils of wrath, vanity, violence, falsehood, kleptomania and acquisition have fallen from their station indicative of their caste and learning. They are no more repositories of virtues 2
'You are a beast of bookish burden You have crammed Vedas without comprehending these The aspirants who practise equanimity even in adverse circumstances are Brahmins and repositories of virtue in the true sense!"
Rudradeo found the plea unpalatable He attempted to cow down the monk But the austerities had given to the monk such a glorified aura that the disciples of Rudradeo were flabbergasted They all realized
Austerities will asert themselves Castes are myths of no virtue
Whose halo dumbfounded Rudradeo's students That Harikesa was a mere untouchable by birth
Evidently, the era when Lord Mahavira lived was dominated by casteism and vanity It was a Herculean task to fight these evils One had to put one's life on stake to go against the grain of the milieu. Lord Mahavira onentated numerous 1 Ibid 12/13 2 Ibid 12/14 3 Ibid 12/15 4 Ibid 12/37
