Tirthankar Mahavir and His Sarvodaya Tirth

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

Page 25

15
TRADITION AND BACKGROUND
“Rama! Thy life itself is a poem, Any one who desires may become its poet "15
According to the Jaina tradition, Rama and Laksmana take their place in the galaxy of 63 illustrious personages. Rama was Balabhadra and Laksmana was Narayana Ravana has been considered to be a Prati-Narayana and Hanumana was a Kamadeva Both Rama and Hanumana became, later in life nude monks and attained complete detachment and supreme knowledge Though not themselves Tırthankaras, they are as much worthy of reference as the Tirthankaras, and there is hardly any difference between the two.
Neminatha
Bhagavan Neminatha, the 22nd Tirthankara, was a cousin of Krisna Andhakavrisni, the king of Sauripur had ten sons, of which the eldest was Samudravijaya and the youngest was Vasudeva. Samudravijaya became the father of Neminatha, as Vasudeva became the father of Krisna The name of Neminatha's mother was Sivadevi The entire race, the Yadavas, had fled Sauripur because of the fear of Jarasandha, who was a half-Cakravartı Emperor and Pratı-Narayana and they had taken shelter in Dvaraka Krisna is one of the 63 illustrious perconages, he was a Narayana and his brother Baladeva was a Balabhadra This was the Age of the Mahābhārata, when flourished the Pandavas and the Kauravas, who have been noticed in the Jaina Purānas.
The story of Neminatha's attaining a state of detachment is exceedingly heart-rending on which poems, songs and paintings exist in a large number There exist many poems and songs in the form of Nemi-vivāha and Rārul-bārahamāsā. The incident goes as follows:
Rajamatı (Rajul), the princess at the famous City of Junagadh near the Girnar mountain was betrothed to Nemi Kumara From both the sides, elaborate preparations were made for the celebration. It was at its pitch and the marriage procession
15 Saket, Title Page.