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Mahāvīra
95
died when Buddha was alive. Thus sixteen years gap between the death of Mahāvīra and that of Gośãla as given in the Bhagawati is rendered doubtful.
After obtaining enlightenment at the age of forty two Mahāvīra remained busy with propagating the cardinal tenets of his creed for the next thirty years. During his career as a teacher he visited a number of places in U. P., Bihar and West Bengal, the details of which are given in the Jain texts. The accounts of different texts do not tally and it is very difficult to determine a chronological order of his visits of different places. The accounts of the late Jain texts are quite undepedable as some of them mention the names of places visited by Mahāvīra which were not in existence at that time.
The Swetambara and Digambara traditions are not unanimous on the point as to when and where Mahavira delivered his first sermon. According to the Swetambara tradition the first samavasaraṇa i.e. religious conference was held on the bank of the river Ujjuvaliã but it could not be successful. After sometime next samavasaraṇa was convened in Majjhima Pāvā which proved to be successful and Mahāvīra converted eleven learned Brahmaņas who not only became his desciple but later on played vital role as gaṇadharas in the organisation and propagation of Jainism. Digambara tradition, on the otherhand, holds that Mahāvīra wandered for sixty three days observing the vow of silence after obtaining kaivalya at Jṛimbhikagrama reached Rajagriha. There, at Vipulachala near Rajagṛiha, a samavasaraṇa was held and he delivered his first sermon. It is here that Mahāvīra succeeded in converting the eleven learned Brahamans who are described as gaṇadharas in the Jain texts. It is also said that king Śrenika with his family and army attended this samavasaraṇa.
It is very difficult to determine as to which of the two accounts is correct. But it can be said with certainty that soon after obtaining.
