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Some Aspects of Indian Culture
the main story but not before mentioning that it is the Dharmakathā and that only which brings good to the man and therefore he also has set before him the goal of writing a work based on it. The work proper then starts,
In the island called Jambudvipa and there in the city named Rājagrha, there rules king Śreņika who had a queen named Cillaņā. Once on the mountain, Vipulācala, revered Lord Mahāvıra came with the assemblage of his pupils. King Śreņika, hearing it, started with his retinue to pay his regards to Mahavira. On the way, he saw mook Prasannacandra in meditation but his facial expression betrayed the struggle of thoughts which was going on in his mind with intensity. Reaching his destination, Śreņika out of sheer curiosity put a question to Mahāvira about what he had seen regarding monk, Prasannacandra. Mahavira told the whole account. Just at this time, Prasannacandra got oma iscience to celebrate which the gods descended from the heaven. To the question "who would be next and the last omniscient sage after Prasannacandra ?" put by Śreņika to Mahāvira, the latter replied that Vidyunmali who has come to pay respects to Prasannaccandra with his four goddess wives will be the next and the last omniscicnt sage after Prasannacandra. The revered Mahāvīra narrated the story of Vidyunmāli beginning from his first birth when he was asked questions about that as also about the lustrousness of Vidyunmāli. In the village, Sugrāma, two brothers having the names of Bhavadatta and Bhavadeva lived. Doing inspired by the contact and religious sermon of a monk named Susthita, Bhavadatta became detached and took to renunciation. After sometime, the monk, Bhavadatta, once came back to his own village in the company of his brother-monks, and came to his old home with a view to inspiring his brother to take a monkhood. He drew Bhavadeva to the party of the monks by a trick when he was actually taking circumbulations round the fire during the marriage ceremony. He could not resist Bhavadatta and anyhow became a monk ruminating over the past enjoyments. After Bhavadatta's demise, Bhavadeva monk threw off monkhood and returned in the direction of his home. On his way, outside his home-town, in the temple of Jina, he met Nāgilā who enlightened him through the two parables in the first of which she said how a person who was a victim of sensual pleasures was born as a he-buffalo and in the second she said how a Brahmin's boy who wanted to eat back the vomitted food was prevented from doing so. The Bhavadeva, having practised hard penance, was born as a god in the heaven. Bhavadatta having finished his life as a god becomes Sagaradatta and Bhavadeva is born in the form of prince Sivakumara. By the sight of a contact with Sāgaradatta, Sivakumara had recollections of his previous birth and became dejected. Not being able to disobey his parents, he remained as a householder practising hard austerities (Romantic relationship between Sivakumara and Kanakāvati is, indeed, entertaining and interesting). Monk Sāgardatta in course of time secured salvation and Sivakumāra became Vidyunmāli with four very loving goddess wives. This Vidyunmāli, after seven days, will be conceived in the womb of Dhārini, the wife of Rşabhaddatta and will be born in course of time as a son who will be with the passage of time very popular and famous. At the age of bare sixteen he will be
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