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tree near Jrmbhic village situated on the bank of river Rjukula. Since then he became detached, omniscient and full of equanimity. Some historians recognise this Jrmbhic village as modern Jamui (in Monghyer Dist. Bihar) on the bank of Kuil river, whereas some historians compare that with Jamgaon situated on the bank of river Aji (in Giridih dist.). Lord Mahavira gave his first sermon on the first day of Sravana-Krishna at Vipulacala of Rajagrha Hills after sixty six days of the attainment of Kevalajnana.
According to Jaina mythology the organisers of the sermon ceremony prepared a huge Auditorium (or Samavasarana) for the meeting in which twelve tier sitting arrangements were made for gods (Devas) and goddesses (Devis), men and women, monks and nuns, for beasts and birds, etc. On the same day, Indrabhuti Brahmin of Gautama Gotra, a scholar vice-chancellor of the famous Vedic Research Institute, Polasapura (nearby Rajagrhi) became the first disciple of Lord Mahavira. Along with Indrabhuti, his two younger brothers-Vayubhuti, Agnibhuti and others like Sudharma, Mauryaputra, Mandita, Akampita etc. became His disciples. All these disciples were called Ganadharas, Indrabhuti being the chief.
Lord Mahavira delivered his sermons in Ardhamagadhi Prakrita, the Lingua Franca or the Language of the common people at that time. Since he was a man of equanimity, he propagated love for all beings and the need for the consideration of others point of view in order to solve the problems of life. He called his philosophy Anekanta. According to this philosophy it is essential to consider the truth from different points of view. According to it, a question can be answered in different ways containing equal truth from different angles. Along with Anekanta, he preached Ahimsa in thought, word and deed. He prescribed five vows for achieving moral upliftment. They are :-(1) Ahimsa (non-violence), (2) Satya (Truth), (3) Asteya (Non-commitment of theft), (4) Brahmacharya (Celibacy) and (5) Aprigraha (Non-acquisition).
In fact, we find in the preachings of Lord Mahavira peace and prosperity of Mahatma Gandhi, economic equality of Karl Marx, Pancasila of Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru and fraternity of Guru Nanaka Deva. Thus Lord Mahavira is a great saint, preacher and divine guide and is a ray of hope for the suffering world.
University Professor of Prakrit & Head of the Dept. of Sanskrit & Prakrit, H.D. Jain College, Mahajan Toli No. 2, ARRAH (Bihar) 802301.
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