Tirthankar Mahavir and His Sarvodaya Tirth

Author(s): Hukamchand Bharilla, K C Lalwani
Publisher: Kundkund Kahan Digambar Jain Trust

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TRADITION AND BACKGROUND
Bhagavan Mahavira did not start any new religion. Whatever he had said had existed from an eternal time, it is, in fact, permanent, He did not establish a religion; he simply reopened it Not religion, but faith in it which had withered away was restored by him Religion is the naiure of a thing 1 The nature of a thing cannot be a matter of creation How can it be the nature when it can be created It can only be known According to Bhagavan Mahavira, one who can remain apart from the ego of authority and mineness of self, and yet know in full 'self' and 'others' is a Bhagavan A Bhagavan is not the creator-upholder of the universe, he is its knower and seer to the full One who having known the entire universe can remain fully detached to it, or can know it with full non-involvement is a Bhagavan A Tirthankara knows the nature of a thing, unfolds it, but does not create it
Bhagavan Mahavira was a Tirthankara; he started the Tirthareligion which is a means to cross through the worldly ocean One who can start a Tirtha like this by dint of which one may cross through the worldly ocean and help others to do so is a Tirthankara In the land of Bharata, Bhagavan Mahavira was the 24th and last Tirthankara of this age He was preceded by 23 other Tirthankaras starting with Risabhadeva about whom details are available in the Jaina Purānas
While viewing the time-cycle, no part of it is separated from the tradition For, if it is done, then various inconsistencies become visible in it Although the revelation of the past is the task of the historians, a few historians cannot do justice to this work wherein involved are the oldest cultuie, civilisation and then contemporary environment in the aggregate To throw light on the environment the earliest Pauranic tradition has to be accepted as the base But in the case of Tirthankara Bhagavan Mahavira, we have the necessaiy historical material to lend support to the previous tradition and background Even before him, the 23rd Tirthankara Parsvanatha,
1 Kārtikeyānuprek sa, Gatha 476.