Tirthankar Mahavir

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

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blankets. Yet they were shivering under their blankets. During such a freezing cold night, Mahavira stood under a tree in deep meditation. He was quite oblivious of the outside world. But the light of knowledge was spreading throughout his inner world. He was so firm and established in the practice of meditation that neither the blasts of winds nor the biting cold could agitate or perturb him. He remained unagitated, unmoved and free from
attachnment.
At that time a goddess named Kataputana, belonging to the vyantara class of gods, saw Mahavira standing in deep meditation. And her past enmity towards Mahavira flared up. In his previous birth Mahavira had been born as Triprushtha Vasudeva. Triprushtha had an unfavourite queen called Vijayavati. After much transmigratory wandering she was born as Kataputana. When she saw Mahavira, the holy feeling of devotion did not rise in her heart but instead a devastating conflagration of hatred burst out. On seeing the lotus-like face of Mahavira, her heart experienced the heat of the fire of enmity and revenge instead of the feeling of love and affection. Due to the enmity she felt towards Mahavira, she decided to destroy Mahavira's meditation. And she began to think about the ways of harassing Mahavira.
She thought: "The winter cold is so severe that nobody can withstand it. Even the mightiest man's limbs will freeze. It is true that Mahavira is still standing firm against the shivering cold and biting winds, but as soon as I pour ice-cold water on him, he will begin to shiver with cold, his teeth will rattle and his limbs will be numbed. When this happens, my heart burning with revenge will cool down a little."
Kataputana assumed the form of a female ascetic of the tapasa order. She showered ice-cold water from her matted hair on Mahavira. Tirthankara Mahavira's delicate and tender body did not flinch when the cold water touched it and was as steadfast as a rock. Blasts of strong cold winds as cutting as swords also blew against Mahavira's body.
Kataputana burst out laughing loudly. She expected the yogi to start shivering, break his meditation and to run away to save his life. He would be unable to bear the blasts of winds and he would start screaming and crying.
The calamity of cold inflicted by Kataputana on Mahavira was such that an ordinary man might become numbed, stiff and die.