YJA Convention 1994 07 Chicago IL First

Author(s): Young Jains of America (YJA)
Publisher: Young Jains of America YJA USA

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category. The tirthankar's tirth or sangha consisted of only the first two categories.
According to the tradition of the Shvetambar, preceptor Bhadrabahu had been to Nepal and remained there engaged in some specific course of meditation. Stulabhadra and some other monks went to Nepal to learn the Drstivada from Bhadrabahu.
Sudharman, Jambu, Bhadrabahu and Stulabhadra:
Of the eleven principle disciples (ganadharas) of Lord Mahavira, only two, viz., Indrabhuti and Sudharman survived him. After twenty years of liberation of Mahavira Sudharman also attained emancipation. He was the last of the eleven gandharas to die. Jambu, the last omniscient, was his pupil. He attained salvation afetr sixty-four years of the liberation of Mahavira. Bhadrabahu, belonging to the sixth generation since Sudharman, lived in the third century B. C. He died 170 years after Mahavira. He was the last srutakevalin (possessor of knowledge of all the scriptures). Stulabhadra possessed knowledge of all the scriptures except four purvas (a portion of the Drstivada). He could learn the first ten Purvas with meaning and the last four without meaning from Bhadrabahu in Nepal. Thus, knowledge of the canonical texts started diminishing gradually. There are still a good many authentic original scriptures preserved in the Shvetambar tradition. Of course, some of the canons have, partly or wholy, under gone modifications. The Digambars believe that all the original canonical texts have vanished.
The Digambar tradition believes in a migration of Bhadrabahu and other monks to South India. It holds that the Head of the Jain Church in the name of Candragupta's reign (322-298 B.C.) was Bhadrabahu. He was the last srutakevalin. He prophesied a twelve-year famine and led a migration of a large number of Jain monks to South India. They settled in the vicinity of sravana Belgola in Mysore. Bhadrabahu himself died there. King Candragupta, an adherent of the Jain faith, left his throne and went to Sravana Belgola. He lived there for a number of years in a cave as an ascetic and finally embraced death.
Kumarpala and Hemacandra:
Up to Jambu there is no difference as regards to the names of pontiffs in the Digambar and Shvetambar traditions. They are common in both the branches. The name of Bhadrabahu is also common, though there is a lot of difference regarding the events relating to his life. There is no unanimity with regard to the name of his own successor, too. The names of intermediary pontiffs are, of course, quite different. Judging from the total picture it seems that in fact there had been two different preceptors bearing the name of Bhadrabahu in the two traditions. Probably they were contemporary. The Shvetambar account mentions that the death of srytakevali Bhadrabahu occurred 170 years after the liberation of Mahavira, where as the Digambar tradition maintains that Bhadrabahu died 162 years after Mahavira's emancipation.
Coming to the medieval period, king Siddharaja-Jayasimha (A.D. 1094-1143) of Gujarat, although himself a worshipper of Siva, had Hemcandra, a distinguished Jain preceptor and writer, as a scholar member of his court. King Kumarpala (A.D. 1143-1173), the successor to Jaisimha, was actually converted to Jainism by hemcandra. Kumarpala tried to make Gujarat in some manner a Jain model state. On the other hand, Hemcandra, taking full advantage of the opportunity, established the basis for a typical Jain culture by his versatile scientific work. He became famous as the Kalikalsarvajna, i.e., the omniscient of the Kali age. In South India the gangas, the Rastrakutas and the Hoysalas were Jains. They fully supported the faith.
Digambars and Shvetambars:
There were both types of monks, viz., sacelaka (with clothes) and acelaka (without clothes), in the Order of Mahavira. The terms sacelaka and Shvetambar signify the same sense and acelaka and Digambar express the same meaning. The monks belonging to the Shvetambar
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