Tirthankar Mahavira A Biographical in Verse

Author(s): Mukesh Chhajer
Publisher: Mukesh Chhajer

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Mukesh Chhajer
Hurried, the Indra ran after it, barely avoiding a catastrophe Begging for forgiveness, the demon prostrated As Lord did, so did Indra For how could he follow any other course
Incident after incident in his life Of forgiveness to those who had erred For it's not in man's hand Karma has its own way of extracting the price
Following a path of intense austerities, the monk moved Constantly through the forests and the cities Through places that people were afraid of For he was not to be cowed down by fear Observing upvaas for days, weeks and months That could be broken, only if all his conditions were met In the long penance of twelve-and-half years He took food only 349 times
In the twelfth year of his penance, he took a vow most difficult To break the fast, only when an enslaved princess Chained with shaven head, offers alms with tears in her eyes Of course, the vow was known only to him Keeping everyone in great suspense
Searching for a suitable alm's giver, the monk Would wander through the streets of Kaushambi Every day, only to return empty-handed With equanimity and without remorse Days passed and it was weeks and still later months The whole town was eager, to see monk break his fast Wondering if it would ever be possible It was almost three seasons, before he encountered
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