Tirthankar Mahavir and His Sarvodaya Tirth

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

Page 58

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TIRTHANKARA MAHAVIRA AND HIS SARVODAYA TIRTHA
Indra too was exhausted Although he was pretty certain that the Tirthanakara would speak out at the right moment, but a time-span of 65 days was pretty long and this made him somewhat anxious So he applied his extra-sensory knowledge at once to resolve the mistery He could see that in the assembly there was not a single person who was fit enough to be his principal disciple, called Gangadhara So he extended the boundary of his knowledge to find such person and his vision fell on Indrabhuti who happened to be a great scholar, and there it became fixed.
Indrabhuti was a great Vedic scholar He had 500 disciples. When Indra realised that Indrabhuti was the right person to receive the divine words and to be his leading disciple, he guised himself as an old Brahmin and reached the hermitage of Indrabhuti.
Indra produced two couplets and appearing before Indrabhuti in the guise of a disciple of Mahavira, he requested him to explain the couplets which were as follows:
traikālyam dravyaaştkam navapada sahitam jīvaṣaṭkāya lesyah, pancānye castikāyā vratasamitigatirjnānacāritrabhedah, ityetanmokşamülam tribhuvanamahitaih proktamarhadbhirisaih, pratyeti sraddadhāti spṛśati ca matimān yah sa vai suddhadṛştıh.
On hearing these couplets, Indrabhuti, who was not conversant with the Arhat (Jina) way was full of thought Three time-periods, six-objects, nine fundamentals, six types of beings, six tinges, five astikayas (things that be), vows, disciplines, existences, knowledge, conduct-what was these ? What were their etimological implications, their differences? Indrabhuti did not know these A literal rendering would not serve the purpose In case the man asked what these were, what were three time-periods, six objects, etc etc what reply would he give? And yet he hesitated to confess total ignorance
Indra could read the ups and downs in his thoughts Touching his weakest chord, he said, "Shall I have to go away in disappointment from the doors of the great scholar Indrabhuti ?"