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Appendix XXIII
Jina-Arhat- Kevali-Mahāvira*
In his “sort of thesaurus of Jainism where the choicest and interesting passages from the treasure-house of Jaina Āgama texts are conglomerated” (Prof. Dr. Satyaranjan Banerjee of the Calcutta University) Sahityaratna Dulichand Jain details, lucidly and graphically, the enormous privations, austerities, and hardships undergone and experienced by Lord Mahāvīra during his twelve and half years of sādhanā.
One is awed to learn that during this period of 4,560 days, Mahāvīra took meagre, and coarse food at that for just three hundred and fifty days (not even a year) only! On one occasion, this Tīrthařkara underwent total fast for 180 days at a stretch!
In fact, as the Avaśyaka Niryukti (sūtra-240) points out - Uggaṁ ca tavokammam visesao vaddhamāṇassa- "the austerities practised by Vardhamāna Mahāvīra were far more rigorous than those practised by all other Tīrtharkaras". This is not to belittle the other 23 Tirtharikaras but only to stress that, in the entire history of mankind, it is difficult to find a parallel for such extraordinary sufferings over a very long period to achieve Kevala-jñāna - spiritual omniscience of the highest possible order. The total renunciation, flawless detachment and unbelievable selfcontrol exercised by the ascetic for about 42 years (he attained Mahānirvāṇa, in 527 B.C., at the age of 72 and had taken to asceticism at 30) are most inspiring.
* The New Indian Express, 18 April 2000
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