Trishasti Shalaka Purusa Caritra Part 1

Author(s): Hemchandracharya, Helen M Johnson
Publisher: Oriental Research Institute Vadodra

Page 378

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of the eastern mountain. Then Ganabhṛt Pundarika had a very strong desire for emancipation because of the Lord's pleasant speech and said to the ascetics : "This mountain, by the power of the place, is the cause of emancipation for those desiring to gain it, like a fortress advantageous to a border-country. Samlekhanā must be made, an efficient surety, indeed, for the accomplishment of salvation. It is two-fold: dravya and bhava. The complete drying-up of all the elements-the causes of all madness and disease is called dravyasamlekhanā. The complete destruction of love, hate, and delusion, and of the passions-the inherent enemies-is bhavasaṁlekhanā." After this speech, Pundarika with crores of ascetics confessed all sins, great and small, and again professed the great vows for the sake of extreme puriy. Washing a linen garment two or three times makes it extremely clean.
"May all creatures forgive me; I have forgiven them. I have friendship towards all, hostility toward none." Saying this, he and all the ascetics undertook fasting till death, without any exception to the rules, very hard to do. When he, powerful, was mounted on the kṣapakaśreņi, his destructive karmas broke like an old rope. At once the destructive karmas of a crore of sådhus snapped. Penance was common to all. At the end of a month, on the night of the full moon of Caitra, omniscience came first to Pundarika and later to the mahātmas. Engaged in the fourth pure meditation, which is free from activity, all their karmas destroyed, the Yogis went the road to nirvana. The gods came from heaven at once, as they had done for Marudevi, and with devotion made the festival of their attainment of nirvana. Just as the Master, the Blessed Rṣabha, was the first Tirthakṛt, so Mt. Satruñjaya became the first tirtha. Wherever even one yati becomes emancipated, that is a purifying tirtha. How much more where so many great rishis became emancipated. Then the Lord of Bharata