Tirthankar Mahavir

Author(s): Kumarpal Desai
Publisher: Jaybhikkhu Sahitya Trust

Page 57

Acharya Shri Kailassagarsun Gyanmandir
that he being the beloved nephew (sister's son) of Chetaka, king of Vaishali he would easily get the throne.
How could all those worldly manipulations and manoverings influence Vardhamana ? He had already expressed his wish to renounce the world before his elder brother. He had also displayed his non-attachment towards his family members. Though he lived in the palace, Fe slept on the ground and remained engrossed in the deep reflection on solitude. He reflected "I am born alone, 1 die alone, and alone I will reap the fruits vielded hu the karmic seeds sown by myself in the form of pleasure, pain, etc." Seeing all this, princes who were in his service and company felt that as he had no desire for the kingdom, the question did not arise at all of his expanding or extending his kingdom by conquering and adding other kingdoms to it and thus his becoming a universal ruler was out of the question. Hc desired quite a unique and novel kingdom. In it one being was not an enemy of another being, nor was one man an enemy of another man. In it there prevailed the rule of love, love was supreme. In it there were only six enemies, viz. anger, price, deceitfulness, greed, attachment and hatred. They dwelled in the mind of man. Man can conquer them all by love alone.
Vardhamana's spiritual kingdom was firmly established on three fundamental things, viz. spiritually wholesome inclination, spiritually waolescme knowledge and spiritually wholesome conduct. Spiritually wholesome inclination keeps a man on the right track. Knowledge coupled with spiritually wholesome inclination was the spiritually wholesome knowledge. With its instrumentality he knew all that was necessary to know for achieving complete release from misery. And the spiritually wholesome knowledge enabled man to conduct his life in such a way as would make him absolutely free from misery. It enabled him to cortrol his senses, speech and mind. Thus it led to spiritually wholesome conduct.
Princes of the great kings realised that Vardhamana was completely free from attachment towards kingdom and had not the slightest interest in acquiri the position of universal ruler. So they left him and returned to their kingdoms
Of two years, which Vardhamana promised his elder brother to remain in the state of householder, one year passed away. Vardhamana knew, with his supernatural knowledge, that the time had come to renounce the word and take to asceticism. On hearing the news of his forthcoming renunciation his beloved ones held back, with great effort, the rushing tears in their ex