Tirthankar Mahavir and His Sarvodaya Tirth

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

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TIRTHANKARA MAHAVIRA AND HIS SARVODAYA TIRTHA
of Bharata and brought them under his control and taught the feudatory kings how to govern their kingdom Emperor Bharata was a very careful and competent ruler when he was on the throne, and later he proved himself to be the best of the Yogis and acquired full detachment and omniscience within two hours of his initiation
His brother Bahubali too was a great warrior, unconquered even by Emperor Bharata, a Kamadeva in physical grace, a great Yogi and penancer, who in the age was the first (even before Risabhadeva) to enter into liberation On being initiated into monkhood, he never went out in search of food, and did not budge from his posture of meditation till he mastered complete detachment and omniscience Thus passed a whole year when he stood in the posture of meditation (dhyānn-mudrā) During The rainfall months, creepers grew with the support of his body which they wrapped and his feet were covered by ant-hills His hard penance is a notable event noticed in the Purānas A gigantic 57 feet stone image of Bahubali covered with creepers stand at Sravanabelgola in the State of Karnataka and it attracts every year thousands of visitors from neai and far
As already said, Bharata acquired the cakraratna with which at the fore he set out for the conquest of the world. His mission was successful but the cakraratna suddenly stopped at the entrance of Ayodhya On enquiry it was discovered that till the wheel had completed the complete subordination of all the six segments, it would not enter into the capital city So the search went on as to which segment had been left out. It was soon found that nothing had been left out except the kingdoms of his own brothers So messengers were despatched post-haste to all of them, and almost all of them approved of the monarch's proposal except Bahubali
Being sorry at the meanness of the elder brother, other brothers developed a detachment and joined the order of monks under their parent. But the messenger who had gone to Bahubalı came back with the following message: "The younger brother Bahubali may submit to the elder brother Bharata, but not surely king Bahubali to another and more powerful king Bharata. If he has decided for a trial of strength, I shall suitably res