Aadintah Bhagwaan

Rishabha Dev (ऋषभदेव) or Adinatha was the first of the 24 Tirthankaras of the present age(Avasarpini). Because of this, he had the name of Adinath - the first lord. Rishabh, Rishabhanāth, Rushabh, Rushabhdev, Adinath or Adishwar are the other names used for Rishabha Dev.

Symbol - Bull

Father	Nabhi Raja
Mother	Mata Marudevi
Clan Name	Ikshvaku
Source of Descent	Sarvarthsiddha
Date of Descent (Garbha Kalyanaka)	Ashad krishna paksha 4
Place of Birth	Vinittanagri
Date of Birth (Janma Kalyanaka)	Chaitra Krishna
Nakshatra	Uttrashadha
Age	84 Lac Purva
Height	500 dhanusha (poles)
Body Colour	Golden
Place of Enlightenment	Purimtal
Date of Enlightenment (Kevala Gyana Kalyanaka)	Falgun Krishna Paksha 11
Date of Diksha (Diksha Kalyanaka)	Chaitra Krishna Paksha 8
Diksha Tree or Vat Vriksha	Vata (Banyan)
First person to donate food	Shreyans Kumar
Place of Nirvana	Ashtapad Mount
Date of Nirvana (Moksha Kalyanaka)	Magh Krishna Paksha 13
Period of Practices	1,000 years
Chief Disciple (Ganadhar)	Pundarik
Number of Disciples (Ganadhars)	84
Number of Ascetics	84 Thousand
Head of Female Ascetics	Brahmi
Number of Female Ascetics	3 Lac
Male Laity	3.5 Lac
Female Laity	5.54 Lac
God of Organisation (Yaksh)	Goumukh
Goddess of Organisation (Yakshini)	Chakreshwari Devi

Life of Rishabha Dev

Rishabha dev was born to King Nabhi Raja and Queen Marudevi at Ayodhya in the Ikshvaku clan. According to Jain beliefs, Rishabha dev existed before civilization developed. He taught people agriculture, tending of animals, cooking, and more. He had one hundred and one sons.

His eldest son - Bharat - was a chakravarti king - the conqueror of the known world. In the later part of his life he retired to become a monk and attained moksha. Since he became a siddha, he is occasionally worshipped. According to the Jain beliefs, India was named Bhārata-varsha or Bhārata after him.

His second son was Bahubali, whose statue stands at Shravanabelagola, Karnataka as well as at Karkala. Marudevi mother of adinath was the first person to achieve moksha - even before Rishabha dev himself. Rishabha dev's grandson Marichi's soul later became Mahaveera. He attained 'kevala gyana' or infinite knowledge at Palitana and attained liberation (moksha) at Ashtapada mountain.

Previous Births of Rishabha Dev In his previous incarnation, Lord Rishabha Dev was in the mahavideh shetra as Dhannaseth. He was a big business man. He offered alms and services to many ascetics and others. Later he completed 7 births as Dev and humans. He was then born as Vaidya Jivanand in his 9th incarnation. As Vaidya Jivanand he discovered a medicine for pandu rog (a dreaded skin disease). In his 11th incarnation he was born as Chakravarti King Vajranabh. As King Vajranabh he had supported poor and desolate masses. After many years of public service Vajranabh renounced the world and became an ascetic. As a result of unprecedented spiritual practices, including religious studies, penance, tolerance, and meditation, he earned Tirthankar-nam-and-gotra-karma. These pious deeds of earlier births resulted in his taking birth as Rishabha Dev. The Age of the Twins During the first three Aras of the current descending cycle man was completely dependent on nature for all his needs. The wish-fulfilling trees provided all that he needed. Man was simple, peaceful and contented in attitude. The environment was absolutely unpolluted. Water was tasteful, cold, and sweet. Even the sand was sweet as sugar. The air was healthy and exhilarating. The grains and fruits were nutritious and filing. A simple meal of little quantity of fruit and water lasted for days. Filled stomach and satisfied desires acted as antidote to irritation and reduced disputes and other sinful activities. The whole animal kingdom lived in harmony with the nature. With the passage of time gradual changes occurred and around the end of the third Ara the yield from the Kalpa-vrikshas reduced. The alround deterioration in conditions spelled the beginning of quarrels and disputes. To guard against these disputes and to live in peace and harmony, man formed groups and the Kulkar system was evolved. A number of people collected to form a ‘Kula’ (family) and the head of the group was called ‘Kulkar’. It was the duty of the ‘Kulkar’ to remove discord and establish order. Nabhiraja was the seventh and the last in the line of Kulkars. His wife was Marudevi. This epoch of Kulkar system was known as the epoch of twins (Yugalia). A human couple used to give birth to twins - one male and one female. This twin would become husband and wife on reaching adulthood. The twins used to lead a happy and contented life and died a natural death together. To consume what was available was the way of life. As such this period was also known as Bhog-Bhumi-Kaal or the era of free consumption. Up to the time of Kulkar Nabhiraja man lived in this land of abundance. Birth of Lord Rishabha Dev It was during the last part of the third Ara of the current descending cycle of time that the great and pious soul that was to become Rishabhdev descended into the womb of Marudevi on the fourth day of the dark half of the month of Ashadh (according to the Hindu calendar) during the night. When this pious soul was conceived, mother Marudeva dreamt of fourteen (sixteen according to Digambara Jain Sects) auspicious things. Nabhiraja was an experienced and scholarly person. When he heard about these dreams from Maudevi, he said, "Devi! You will give birth to a highly endowed soul who will show the path of peace and happiness to this world" On the eighth day of the dark half of the month of Chaitra, around midnight, healthy Marudevi gave birth to twins. This pious birth influenced the surroundings. The sky became filled with a soothing glow, the wind became fragrant and the whole atmosphere became impregnated with unprecedented joy that was hard to describe. From all around came the fifty six goddesses of directions. They circumambulated the Tirthankar’s mother and bowed before her. They also sang in praise of the child that was to become Tirthankar and then proceeded to perform post-birth cleaning rituals. At that instant the king of gods of the Saudharm dimension, Saudharmendra Shakra, also came to know that the first Tirthankar has taken birth. He arrived with his large retinue of gods and, bowed before the mother. After the salutations the mother was put to sleep. Saudharmendra created five look alike bodies of himself. With one body he carefully lifted the baby in his hands. With the second body he took an umbrella in his hands and stationed the body behind the baby. With the third and fourth bodies he took whisks and stationed these bodies on both sides of the baby. With the fifth body he lifted his divine weapon, Vajra, and stationed himself ahead of the baby as a body guard. In this formation the king of gods airlifted the baby to Meru mountain. There, all gods, including their 64 kings with their consorts, ceremoniously performed the post-birth anointing rituals. This ceremony, popularly known as Janma-kalyanaka, of a Tirthankar, is unparalleled in this world. Naming Ceremony Next morning Nabhiraja organized the birth celebrations. He invited his friends and relatives to a feast and announced, "As there is a sign of a bull on the thigh of the new born, and Marudevi first of all saw a bull in her great dreams, we name this child as ‘Rishabha Kumar’." His twin will be known as "Sumangala". The Beginning of the Ikshvaku Clan When Rishabha Kumar was one year old, Saudharmendra came to Kulkar Nabhi for formalizing the family name. He carried a sugar-cane in his hand Baby Rishabha was sitting in his fathers lap. When he saw the sugar-cane he eagerly extended his tiny hands to grab it. Saudharmendra gave the sugar-cane to the baby and seeing his affinity for sugar-cane (Ikshu) he formally named the family as Ikshvaku. Marriage Rishabha Kumar was married to a girl named Sunanda whose twin died in an accident. This was the beginning of the marriage system. He was also married to his twin Sumangala in a ceremony that was arranged by the gods. Prince Rishabha led a happy married life. In due course Sumangala gave birth to Bharat, Brahmi and ninety eight other sons. Sunanda gave birth to Bahubali and Sundari. Evolution of Crafts and Trades Prince Rishabha was a highly endowed, farsighted and industrious individual. He had a profound insight into the human psychology. Looking at the needs the times and society he evolved numerous arts, crafts and trades and taught them to people with right aptitude and physical and mental capacities. To some he taught farming and to others the trade of agricultural produce. He invented the alphabets, language, and the numbers along with the tools for writing. Brahmi lipi, named after her daughter is still not a forgotten thing. For self defense he evolved martial arts and taught these to individuals with strong physique. He also established systems of social security and penal codes. Pottery, architecture, music, dance, and many other arts and crafts that enriched the human society in the fields of knowledge, arts, entertainment, administration, etc. are said to be his contributions. Rishabha Dev as a king Slowly and steadily king Nabhi started putting major responsibilities of his Kingdom on Rishabha dev. Such was the effect of Rishabha dev's words, that by just saying, "Oh! Man! You should have not done this, the culprit felt ashamed and stopped his bad works immediately. When Nabhi Raja saw that Rishabha dev has taken all the responsibilities of kingdom and performing them very well. Infact he seemed to have become idol of people. He then one day, on the request of the people’s representatives, nominated Rishabha to become the first king of this age. He arranged for an elaborate coronation ceremony and handed over the reigns of the state to Rishabha Kumar. The ceremony was attended by all members of the family, large number of twins, and gods. The gods created a golden throne and anointed Rishabha with the water collected from various pilgrimage centres. They attired him in divine dress and ornaments and formally put the crown on his head. The twins humbly poured water on his feet from the cups made of lotus leaves. Rishabha became the first king of this era. The king of gods ordered Kuber, the god of wealth, to construct a suitable city. This beautiful city was named Vinita; later on it became popularly known as Ayodhya. For many years Rishabha dev continued to rule his people and open new frontiers of knowledge. During the reign of his father the population was organized into random groups only. Rishabhdev reorganized them according to their virtues, activities and professions, and broadly divided the society into three groups. Trading community was known as Vaishya, martial community was known as Kshtriya and all other people indulging in a variety of services were known as Shudra. Till his times the Brahman group was not formed. Path of Renunciation After a long span of time (6.3 million Purva) he started losing interest in mundane things and activities, and started drifting towards detachment. Once, while he was watching a dance, the dancer suddenly died. . Rushabhdev became very disturbed by this incident. He started pondering over the incident and realized that every phenomenon and every situation in the universe undergoes changes and that no situation stays forever. He developed complete detachment for everything that is impermanent and ephemeral and he decided to devote his life to the search of lasting happiness. He felt that he should transfer all his responsibilities to his sons and proceed towards liberation through spiritual practices. He also desired to reach the state of omniscience and consequently show the path of disciplined life and spiritual practices. His concept was that indulgence in mundane things does not give happiness. It gives only an illusion of happiness. True happiness is derived out of freedom from mundane indulgences. Following the stream of his thoughts Rishabhdev divided the area of his rule between his one hundred sons. Bharat was given the state of Ayodhya and Bahubali that of Takshashila. Getting free of the responsibilities of the state, Rishabhdev decided to take Diksha (the formal initiation into the ascetic way). At that time the gods from the edge of the universe (the Lokantikdev) arrived and requested, "O savior of the human race! Your desire to show the path of renunciation to the mankind is admirable, kindly proceed soon to the task of propagating Dharma." After one year of meritorious charity, Rishabhdev sat in the palanquin named Sudarshana and arrived in the Siddharth-vana garden. It was the eighth day of the dark half of the month of chaitra when, under an Ashok tree, Rishabhdev abandoned all his apparels and ornaments. He started pulling out his long strands of hair. After four fistfuls, when he was pulling out the fifth fistful of hair Indra said, "Sir! This strand of hair on the crown of your head and hanging down over you shoulders looks attractive. Kindly leave it as it is." Rishabhdev agreed. Due to this bunch of hair he got he popular name-Keshariya ji (one with hair). The king of gods collected the hair pulled out by Rishabha dev in a divine cloth and immersed them in the divine ocean of milk. Following the example of Rishabha dev many of his subordinate rulers as well as common people got inspired to embrace the ascetic way of life. It is mentioned in scriptures that with Rishabhdev four thousand others also took Diksha. Beginning of religious charity and alms giving After becoming an ascetic, Rishabhdev took the vow of total silence and started wandering accompanied by other ascetics. When, after his penance, he went out to beg for food, he did not get anything to eat. The common people of that age were ignorant about the practice of giving food as alms. They did not even appreciate the need to do so. Whenever Rishabhdev approached them, they offered him respect and valuable gifts as they would to a king. Rishabha dev would then proceed ahead without accepting anything. As time passed the accompanying ascetics conferred among themselves and decided to eat fruits and vegetables naturally available. They slowly drifted away from Rishabha dev and the true ascetic way of life. After one entire year of wandering from place to place and doing harsh spiritual practices without touching any food or water Rishabha dev decided to beg food once again. He came to Hastinapur town. Bahubali’s son, Somprabh, was the king of Hastinapur. His son Shreyans Kumar saw a dream during night that Suvarnagiri, the golden mountain had turned black and he had brought it back its golden color by washing it with pitchers full of milk. He narrated his dream to his father and friends, but no one could interpret its significance. Shreyans Kumar was sitting in the balcony of his palace and brooding over the dream he saw last night. All of a sudden he heard the noise caused by happy masses who had seen Rishabha dev entering the town. Thousands of citizens of Hastinapur rushed toward Rishabhdev with gifts. Rishabhdev did not even look at these things and continued his graceful walk in the direction of the palace. When Shreyans saw approaching Rishabha dev, he rushed to welcome his great grandfather. After bowing down at the great ascetics feet when Shreyans looked at Rishabha dev’s face he could not shift his gaze. He went into a state of meditative thoughts and suddenly he acquired Jati-smarana Gyana, the knowledge that opens up memories of the past births. In his past birth Shreyans was the charioteer of king Vajranabha (the past incarnation of Rishabha dev). This knowledge also made him aware of the duties of laity toward Shramans. He realized that Bhagavan Rishabha dev had been wandering around without food or water due to the prevailing ignorance of the people regarding ascetic norms. With due reverence he requested Rishabha dev, "Prabhu! I am honored by your presence. I have just received 108 pitchers full of fresh sugar-cane juice that are pure and suitable for you in all respects. Kindly accept the juice and break your fast." Rishabha dev extended his cupped palms and Shreyans poured the sugar-cane juice from a pitcher. Rishabha dev broke his fast and the skies reverberated with the sound of divine drums and divine applaud, "Hail the alms giving!" The gods also showered gems, flowers and perfumes. This was the beginning of the tradition of religious charity and alms giving. In memory of this incident, the third day of the bright half of the month of Vaishakh is celebrated as Akshay Tritiya festival. The Jains specifically celebrate it as the breakfast day after the penance of Varsha Tap (one meal and fast on alternate days for one year). Omniscience and Nirvana For one thousand years Bhagavan Rishabha dev continued his harsh spiritual practices completely ignoring his body and other mundane activities. On the eleventh day of the dark half of the month of Falgun he was meditating under a banyan tree in the Shakatmukh garden outside Purimtal town, close to Ayodhya. Around forenoon he transcended to the purest higher state of meditation. The intensity of his practice caused the shedding of the knowledge and perception obscuring Karmas as well as the illusory Karmas. As a result, he attained omniscience, the purest and enlightened state of soul. Rishabha dev became a Jina. When Rishabha dev attained omniscience the whole world was filled with a soothing glow for a moment. Numerous gods descended from heavens to pay their respects to the Tirthankar. They also created the Samavasharan, the divine pavilion. King Bharat also proceeded toward the divine assembly riding an elephant and taking along his grandmother Marudevi. Apprehensive about the hardships of the ascetic life of her son, Marudevi was relieved when she beheld the scintillating face of Rishabha dev sitting in the divine assembly surrounded by happy and dazzling gods. The vision of her son perched on the spiritual pinnacle triggered the flow of spontaneous joy in the heart of Marudevi. This mundane joy slowly turned into the ultimate bliss and she acquired omniscience. Coincidentally, at the same moment she completed her age and became liberated soul (Siddha). Bhagawan Rishabha dev made the announcement Marudevi had become a Siddha. In his first discourse Rishabha dev detailed the trilogy of right conduct. Knowing about the significance of life as a human being and importance of a dutiful life, thousands of people including Rishabhasen, the eldest son of Emperor Bharat, and five thousand other members of royal family embraced the acetic way of life. Thousand of other persons accepted the Shravak Dharma (the religious way for laity). As he founded the four pronged religious ford at the beginning of the present era, Bhagavan Rishabha dev became popularly known as Adinath, the first Tirthankar. The first disciple of Bhagavan Rishabha dev was Rishabhasen. He became the first chief disciple. He was also known as Pundarik. Liberation For a long time Bhagavan Rishabha dev continued to propagate his religion having the five great vows as its central theme. When he realized that all his remaining Karmas are approaching their end he proceeded to the Ashtapada mountain. On the thirteenth day of the dark half of the month of Magh, a little before noon time, Rishabha dev, along with ten thousand other ascetics, was observing a six day fast without water. He was sitting in the meditation in the Paryanka pose. When the moon entered the Abhijit lunar mansion he got nirvana and got liberated from all sorrows. The king of gods, Saudharmendra, Emperor Bharat, numerous gods and men gathered and celebrated the auspicious event of Bhagavan Rishabha dev’s Nirvana.

Jambuswami

In Rajgruhi there was a wealthy merchant named Rushabhadatt who was also known as Arhadas. His wife Dharini alias Jinmati gave birth to a very handsome son in 542 BC. The boy was named Jambu. He turned out to be very bright and intelligent. Every one liked him. As he grew up, many families were eager to get him married to their daughters. Since it was the age of polygamy, his parents selected 8 girls of reputed families and Jambu was duly engaged with them. Prior to the marriage Jambu once went to the assembly of Sudharmaswami and was very much impressed by the sermon. He developed a very high sense of detachment and decided to renounce his worldly life. His parents were of course not happy about his renouncing at such a young age. Parents of the girls he was engaged to were also very perturbed. They were worried about their daughters, since no one else would accept them because of their being already engaged to him.

All of them pressed Jambu to give up his intention. They pointed out the rigors of ascetic life that he would not be able to face. They also told him that it is very hard to lead the life of a monk and advised him lead a comfortable family life. However, he remained firm. The parents thought that he would change his mind, if he gets married. They therefore insisted upon his getting married before renouncing. Jambu agreed on the condition that he should be allowed to renounce the day after his marriage. Since the girls to whom he was engaged were very beautiful and attractive, every one thought that he would surely gain attachment for them, once he is married. The elders therefore accepted that condition.

The wedding took place on a grand scale. Jambu’s parents and those of the girls vied with one another in show of their prosperity. No effort was left out to make the wedding a memorable ceremony. Highly distinguished guests graced the occasion. Jewelry and other precious gifts that were adorned upon the newly weds, were the envy of the city. Rajgruhi had rarely witnessed such pomp and splendor. Every one congratulated Jambu for getting such beautiful and glamorous wives and wished him perfect happiness. At night Jambu was in elegantly decorated bedroom along with his wives and the elders heaved a sigh of relief.

Jambu was however not at all affected by the glamour nor was he overcome by the beauty of those lovely girls. He had made up his mind to renounce the next day and wanted to make use of the night for orienting those girls for the purpose. He sat in front of them and started explaining the purely temporary and transitory character of life and everything pertaining to that.

At that time in the vicinity of Rajgruhi, there was a burglar named Prabhav. He had been a prince of Vindhya but had a falling out with his parents on the issue of some property. He therefore left the place and had taken up burglary. He had gathered with him 500 colleagues who were willing to undertake any sort of adventure at his command. He had acquired a device to put any one to sleep and he could break any type of lock. He came to know of the fabulous treasure accumulated on the occasion of Jambu’s wedding and had decided to grab it.

At dead of the night he came to the place along with his followers and saw that every one had gone to sleep because of the exhaustion of the ceremony. He asked his colleagues to pick up the valuables as he proceeded towards Jambu’s bedroom for the jewelry on the bodies of newly weds. From a little distance, he heard Jambu talking to his wives. He could not believe that the newly weds were still awake. He came close to the door and tried to listen expecting exciting love gossip. To his utter astonishment, Jambu was talking about the true nature of life. His words were so forceful that Prabhav could not stop listening.

Jambu’s talk was appealing not only to his wives but also to Prabhav. He started thinking that he had fallen out with his parents and others for the sake of some possessions and was leading the nasty life of a burglar, while here was a young boy planning to give up everything that he had effortlessly gained. Jambu’s talk was still going on. The more Prabhav listened, the more he hated himself. His men came to him with bundles of valuables, pointing out that it was getting dawn and they should leave. But Prabhav was not listening to them. He had developed disdain for his current life and was keen to change it. Ultimately he told his followers to leave him alone, because he had decided to give up burglary. They could therefore go on their own. All of them were exasperated at that. They said that they would not go anywhere without him. If he was giving up the occupation, they were also willing to give it up.

By that time Jambu had finished. His wives were convinced of the futility of the worldly life and had decided to renounce with him. Then Prabhav came inside and said that he had come up for the burglary but had decided to renounce after listening his talk to his wives. He and his 500 followers made up their mind to be Jambu’s pupils. In the morning, news spread everywhere that Jambu was going to renounce that day along with his wives. His parents were disappointed that their intention did not materialize. They did not have any incentive to continue the household life and decided to renounce. And so was the decision of the girls’ parents. A spectacular procession was organized leading all those 500+ people to the assembly of Sudharmaswami. Jambu became his pupil and Prabhav and his colleagues became Jambu’s pupils.

Jambuswami as he became known henceforth studied the entire teaching of Lord Mahaveera. Most of Jain scriptures are composed in the form of dialogue from Sudharmaswami to Jambuswami. He became the head of the religious order when Sudharmaswami attained omniscience. He himself attained it at the age of 36. He was the last omniscient of the current time cycle. He attained Nirvana at the age of 80.

Key Message:

Jambuswami firmly believed in renouncing the worldly life from the start. In fact, his words/sermons were so powerful that it ultimately led hundreds of others to follow him in the pursuit of omniscience through the disciplined life of an ascetic. He realized that marital happiness, and enjoyment of physical beauty (of his 8 wives) is all superficial and temporary. The key is to focus on purifying the soul and helping others do the same.

Shalibhadra

Once upon a time, there lived a poor woman and her son in a small village. One day, there was a festival in the village and all the kids, including the poor boy, came together to play. After playing, everyone started to eat kheer (sweet rice pudding and milk), that they brought with them. This poor boy did not have anything with him. He felt bad and ran back to his mother. He asked her if she would make him some khir since all the other children were eating it. His mother said that she could not make khir and told him to eat whatever she had cooked. He started crying and insisted on having khir. His mother could not bear to see him cry. So she went to the neighbor's house and borrowed some milk, sugar, and rice to make the khir for her son. She poured the khir into a dish and left to fetch water from the well. As the boy was about to start eating, he heard the words, "Dharma Labha," (meaning, may you be blessed of spirituality, usually spoken by Jain Sadhus). He saw a monk at the door for the alms (food). Without any hesitation, the hungry boy invited the monk in and offered him the khir. While pouring the khir, all of it slipped into the monk's pot. He was happy that he could offer this to the monk even though nothing was left for him to eat. His good intention brought him good karmas, and in his next life, he was born as Shalibhadra.

Shalibhadra’s mother was Bhadra Shethani and his father was Gobhadra Sheth. His father had renounced the world to become a monk when Shalibhadra was a young boy. Shalibhadra was born a multi-millionaire. His life was like being in heaven. It was said that even the heavenly angels were jealous of his lavish lifestyle. He had 32 beautiful wives. His mother never let him out of his palace out of fear that he might become a monk like his father.

One day, some merchants from Nepal came to sell some very expensive saris. They went to king Shrenik's court where the king told them that he could not afford to use his citizens' money for such expensive saris. They were going back with disappointment because they had high hopes of selling saris in this city. When Bhadra Shethani came to know about this, she sent for those merchants. The merchants were reluctant to go because if the king could not buy, how could any of the residents buy such expensive items. But they went there anyway. Bhadra Shethani asked, "What do you have?” They said they had sixteen saris. She said, "Only sixteen? I need thirty-two saris because I have thirty-two daughters-in-law.” The merchants thought she was joking and would not even buy one. She said, "What are you waiting for. Take out those saris.” They took out those sixteen saris. The merchants were surprised that without any second thought she bought all sixteen saris. They were further dazed to see her tearing such precious saris into two pieces in front of them and giving a piece to each of her daughters-in-laws to wipe their feet. The merchants were stunned but left with joy. The daughters-in-laws used these pieces once and threw them away.

One of the servants at Shalibhadra’s place liked the queen, so she took one piece for the queen. The queen was baffled but happy that such rich people lived in her kingdom. She told this to king Shrenik. He also felt very proud of such rich people who uphold the good name of his kingdom. He invited Shalibhadra to his court to honor him. When Bhadra Shethani found out, she went to the king and told him her son was very shy and invited the king to come to their palace to honor Shalibhadra. King Shrenik accepted the invitation and went to Shalibhadra’s palace. When King Shrenik reached there, he realized that his own palace was nothing compared to Shalibhadra’s palace. Bhadra Shethani offered him a place to sit and asked Shalibhadra to come down to see the king. Shalibhadra did not know anything about king or kingdom and thought that there was some sort of merchandise that his mother wanted to show him. So he said, "I do not want to see that but go ahead and buy it.” His mother said, "This is not the merchandise. He is our king, our master, and you need to come down to greet and honor him.” The word "master" started ringing in his ears. He wondered, "Why should I have a master over me. I should be the master of myself.” While thinking like this, he came down, and paid respects to the king, but he could not stay there very long and went back.

He kept on thinking that he was not free because there was someone over him. He started to think about his father (who had became a monk) and the real meaning of life. He decided at that moment to become a monk and told his family about the decision. His mother and wives tried to convince him to spend some more time with them. But he was determined to renounce the world. But, he agreed that instead of renouncing all thirty-two wives at once, he will renounce one wife at a time and then he would definitely become a monk. He started to do that the very same day.

A few days passed by. One day, his sister Subhadra was giving her husband Dhanna a bath and suddenly tears rolled down from her eyes and fell on him. He looked up and saw his wife crying. He asked her why she was crying. She told him that her brother had decided to be a monk and he had been renouncing one wife every day. Dhanna laughed and told Subhadra, "Her brother was a coward. If he wanted to leave his wives, why wait?” Subhadra was upset to hear that, and told her husband, "It is easier said than done.” This sparked awareness in Dhanna's mind, and he told her, "I am leaving all eight of you right now, and I am leaving right now to be a monk.” Subhadra was taken by a surprise. She told him that he must have been joking. But Dhanna said, "It is too late now. I am determined to be a monk. If you all want to join me you are welcome.” Seeing Dhanna determined, Subhadra and the rest of his seven wives also decided to become nuns.

Now, Dhanna came to his brother-in-law Shalibhadra’s place and challenged him, "Hey Shalibhadra! If you really want to leave the family and become a monk, then what are you waiting for? Join me."

Shalibhadra heard and accepted the challenge. He told his wives, "Sorry, but I am leaving you all today.” He went down to join his brother-in-law. His wives joined him too. All of them went to Lord Mahaveera and accepted Diksha.

After observing the penance as monk, he was born as an angel in heaven. From there, he would be born in Maha-Videha Kshetra and ultimately attain liberation, Moksha.

Key Message:

Selfless service always pays off. Neighbors helping neighbors reflects a caring society. The virtue of a charitable act in the life of a little boy has multiplied in the life of Shalibhadra. As a result he was able to leave everything easily. Good deeds always leave an imprint on the soul. Good deeds and practicing penance as a monk ultimately leads to liberation of the soul.

Nandisen Muni

Sage Nandisen was a great ascetic and well versed in the scriptures. He took a vow to serve monks with utmost devotion. His devotion of serving the monks was popular even in the heavenly abode.

One day his services were very much commended by Indra in an assembly of angels. One of the angels could not believe this and decided to check out the worthiness of sage Nandisen.

The angel gods, due to their miraculous power, can assume any form they desire and can reach any where in a split second. This god arrived at the outskirts of the village where sage Nandisen was, to test his "Vow of Service" and assumed a form of two monks. One became a very old and debilitated monk, while the other became a young and healthy monk.

It was a day when the sage Nandisen was to break his fast. After he came from gathering gochari (alms) and was about to break the fast, the young monk came to him and said, "Oh blessed one! There is a very old monk suffering from diarrhea, extreme thirst, and hunger. He is weak and needs your help."

Hearing these words, sage Nandisen immediately got up, took pure water with him and went to the place where the old monk was. Seeing Nandisen, the old monk at once raged, "Oh you wretch, I am lying here suffering and you did not even care to find if anyone needs help."

Sage Nandisen was not offended by these words. He had developed virtues of tolerance, forgiveness and, compassion. He calmly replied, "Oh, the best of the monks, kindly excuse my oversight. I have brought pure water for you to drink."

He helped the old monk drink the water. He cleaned his clothes, his body and helped him sit up. The old monk again became irritated. He frowned, "Oh you fool, don't you see that I am too weak to sit. What are you doing to me?"

Sage Nandisen said, "I will help you.” After helping the old monk to sit up, he said, "Oh revered monk, if you desire, I shall carry you to Upashray (place where monks stay temporarily) where you will be more comfortable."

The monk replied, "Why are you asking me? You may do so if you wish."

Sage Nandisen seated the monk on his shoulders and slowly proceeded towards Upashray. He walked slowly, watching every step carefully. The old monk (angel god) was determined to test him, so he increased his own weight gradually. With the increase in weight on his shoulder, sage Nandisen began to tremble and he almost fell down. The old monk said, "Oh you wretch, what is wrong with you? Don't you know how to walk? You are shaking my entire body. Is this the way to serve the sick?"

His words were very rude and harsh but sage Nandisen was not disturbed at all. He said, "Pardon me. I shall be more careful."

He ignored this and continued walking and took care not to offend the monk with any of his actions. On the way he thought about how to cure the monk.

He arrived at the Upashray with the monk. During all this the old monk was watching sage Nandisen and did not see any change in the helping nature of sage Nandisen even after all the aggravation. So the old monk turned back into an angel and bowed down at once to sage Nandisen, saying, "Blessed are you. Oh sage, you are the illustration of a real monk. You deserve all the praise by Lord Indra. I am very pleased with you and grant you whatever you choose."

"Oh heavenly angel, this human life is very precious. Nothing is more valuable than human existence. I am content. I crave for nothing", said sage Nandisen. The heavenly angel bowed his head at the feet of the sage and returned to his abode, applauding the merits of the sage.

Key Message:

This story teaches us the importance of tolerance, discipline, and contentment, which are all fundamental principles of Jainism. First and foremost, Nandisen had chosen to devote his human birth to serving monks, which is very admirable and requires utmost levels of dedication and discipline. The important point to realize is that Nandisen demonstrated his tolerance (i.e. abstinence from getting angry) and willingness to serve others before serving (food and water) one’s self without even knowing that he was being tested by the angel gods. This means that he was truly dedicated to the monks and believed in what he was doing. He also indicated his contentment with the human life when asked for a wish. This contentment is symbolic of the principle of non-possessiveness.

Puniya Shravak

Punia Shravak and his wife were poor villagers by their own choice. They lived in a small shack made of mud and grass. Punia had a vow not to earn more than 12 dokadas (1/12 rupee) every day. He did that by spinning cotton yarn in the house and selling it. They also had another vow to offer food to a Sadharmik. As they could not afford this , he would fast one day and his wife would fast on the next day. Even during such difficult situations, they always offered their hospitality to fellow beings. In this way, the couple did Sadharmik Bhakti (helping deserving people) every day.

Punia Shravak was known for his practice of Samayika. Once during Samayika, he could not concentrate on meditation. He started thinking to himself that what had he done that was disturbing his meditation. He could not think of anything that would disturb his meditation. Therefore, he asked his wife, "What have we done differently that I can't concentrate today.” At first, his wife could not think of anything either. But as she kept on thinking, she remembered that today while coming back from market, she had picked up dry cow-manure and used that as fuel to cook. She told Punia about this. He told her that she should not have done that even though it did not belong to anyone. We should only use things, which are bought from our daily earnings. Punia could do true Samayika because he lived a life of such high morals.

Even Lord Mahaveera praised his Samayika. Once when king Shrenik asked Lord Mahaveera how he can destroy his bad karmas to avoid being born in hell in his next life, Lord Mahaveera said, "If you can buy Punia Shravak’s Samayika then it may be possible.” King Shrenik went to Punia Shravak and asked him, if he could buy his Samayika. He said, "I do Samayika not to sell, but to uplift my own soul. Religious rituals can't be purchased. One has to do for himself.” King Shrenik left in disappointment but with admiration for Punia's real faith in religion.

Key Message:

This shows that one can live a content life even with limited earnings. We should not take anything, which is not given to us. We should not accumulate more money than necessary because it will create more problems. Vows or rituals are done for spiritual uplift and not for monetary gain. In order to gain benefit from Samayika and other forms of meditation and penance, it should be motivated by one’s inner self and not by any motives that conflict with Jain principles.

Rohineya and Abhayakumar

In times of Lord Mahaveera, there was a burglar named Lohkhur. He lived in a remote cave of Vaibhargiri near Rajgruhi. He was very smart in his activity and never left any trace of his burglary. His wife’s name was Rohini and they had a son named Rohineya. As Rohineya grew up, he picked up the art of burglary from his father and eventually became an expert burglar. In smartness, he even surpassed his father. It was almost impossible to recognize him, when he was in disguise. If some one pursued him, he could outrun anyone. He could even jump over walls when necessary. He committed burglary mostly from houses of noblemen and rich people and hid the treasure of his burglaries in the most unexpected and inaccessible places. To the poor, he extended help from the wealth that he had so accumulated. Many of them therefore felt grateful and were pleased with him. Therefore, they were not willing to help the Government officials in tracking him down.

Lohkhur was now very old and could see that his life was soon to end. When he was on his deathbed, he called Rohineya by his side and said that he was very happy with the expertise that he had shown in committing burglary, which had been their ancestral profession. In order to stay successful, he however advised his son never to listen to the sermon of Lord Mahaveera, because his teachings were not conducive to their profession. Rohineya promised his father to abide by his advice. So, Lohkhur could breathe his last breath with the sense of satisfaction.

After he died, Rohineya expanded his burglary to a large scale. So much, that it became almost impossible for the well to do families to experience safety of their property, if they needed to go out. They were constantly afraid that Rohineya would reach their home during their absence and take away jewelry and other valuables from the house. Such people once came to king Shrenik and requested him to take some effective action to protect them from Rohineya’s burglaries, since police officers had failed to do anything about the matter. The king therefore asked Abhayakumar to undertake suitable action for getting hold of Rohineya.

Once, while Rohineya was secretly on his way to Rajgruhi, he had to pass by the side of Lord’s assembly. He remembered his father’s advice. He therefore put his hands on his ears in order to prevent the voice of the Lord from reaching him. Unfortunately however, a sharp thorn pricked deep into his foot that very instance. He had therefore to take his hands off from the ears in order to take out the thorn. During this time, words of the Lord reached his ears. He heard the following words: ‘Human life is the best of all lives. It is possible to attain liberation only during human life. Every human being can attain salvation irrespective of caste, creed, or color. By virtuous deeds, one would gain life in heaven where there are all sorts of material pleasures and happiness. The heavenly beings move above the ground and their feet do not touch it. Their bodies are shadowless; their eyes remain steady and their garlands do not wither. That life however does not lead to ultimate liberation which provides eternal bliss. Therefore, heavenly beings too crave for obtaining human life.’ By that time Rohineya removed the thorn from his foot and covering his ears with his hands again, he proceeded towards the city.

Since being entrusted with the task of trapping Rohineya, Abhayakumar had secretly posted trained soldiers in disguise at the gates and all important corners of the city. He himself also remained watchful. Next time Rohineya came to the city, a watchman saw him. Rohineya was in the guise of a farmer. The watchman sent a message to Abhayakumar that some unidentified person had entered the city. Abhayakumar became very alert. As Rohineya passed by, Abhayakumar glanced at him from a secret place. He did not fail to recognize the burglar even in disguise and instructed his men to surround him. Smart as Rohineya was, he quickly recognized the danger. He ran towards the city wall. Unfortunately for him, there were soldiers near the wall to capture him. He was thus easily apprehended and was put in jail.

The next day, he was appeared in court. As Rohineya was in disguise, it was hard to identify him as the burglar. Abhayakumar was of course sure, but how could the accused be punished without proof of his identity? When the king asked him about his identity, Rohineya replied that he was a farmer named Durgachandra and belonged to Shaligram village; he had come to Rajgruhi for seeing the capital and was returning home when watchmen tried to apprehend him. Rohineya had made arrangements for that assumed identity with the residents of that village. When the inquiries were therefore made in that village, the people corroborated what Rohineya had stated in the court.

Abhayakumar had to devise a plan for getting a confession of Rohineya regarding the burglaries. He came to know that Rohineya was fond of drinks. He therefore arranged for serving excessive wine to the accused to the extent of making him unconscious. In that state, Rohineya was neatly cleaned, dressed in extravagantly perfumed royal garments and was adorned with valuable jewelry. He was then placed on a luxurious velvet bed on a sandalwood cot on the top floor of a palatial building. As Rohineya regained his senses, he saw himself in heavenly surroundings. There was breath taking view all around; walls, ceiling and floor were crystalline; beautiful maidens were waving scented air with diamond studded fans; slow sweet music was flowing from the background; fairylike damsels were dancing in tune with that music and apparently divine musicians were getting ready for a musical concert.

Rohineya could not make out where he was. He asked one of the girls where he was and why all of them were serving him so well. The girl replied that he was their Lord in the heaven that he had attained all the divine comforts, which now belonged to him. He could live like Indra, the king of heaven and enjoy with the heavenly damsels the way he wanted. ‘Could this be true for a burglar like him?’ he asked himself. But he then remembered that he was helpful to the poor and needy and he was sure that God must have been just. ‘Or could this be the plan of Abhayakumar?’ he thought again. It was real hard for him to decide what was truth. He therefore thought it was best to wait and see.

After a while, a luxuriously clad person entered with a golden staff and book in his hand. ‘Is your new Lord awake?’ he asked one of the damsels. The girl replied that their new lord had just woken up and they had been getting ready to celebrate his arrival in the heaven by presenting the divine concert. ‘Let me make sure that all preparations pertaining to his arrival have been completed before you start your concert; and let me also get from him some information that the heavenly realm needs to know.’ As he was saying this, he came to Rohineya. Opening his book, he asked Rohineya to narrate his deeds from his previous life, before prior to enjoying the amenities of heaven.

Meanwhile, Rohineya was watching all around. He remembered what he had heard from Lord Mahaveera about heavenly beings, at when the thorn had pricked his foot. He observed the movements of the so called heavenly beings in front of him. He noticed that their feet were touching the ground, their bodies had shadows, and their eyes were blinking like human beings. He immediately made out that the heaven was a fake and it was only a trick of Abhayakumar to gain evidence of his burglaries. He therefore replied that in the previous life he had given donations for all worthy causes, he had constructed temples, and he had been for pilgrimage to holy places and had rendered service to the deserving entities. That person took note of his statement and asked him to narrate any wrong deeds that he might have indulged in. Rohineya said that he had scrupulously avoided misdeeds and therefore he was born in heaven. Abhayakumar’s plan back fired and Rohineya was set free as being the innocent farmer that he pretended to be.

Rohineya was released, however, he constantly thought about what had happened. He realized that what he had accidentally heard from Lord Mahaveera, had saved his life. Then how could his father be right in the advice that he had given? That Lord must have been a real grateful entity. ‘If those accidentally heard words were so helpful, imaging how helpful his entire teachings could be?’ he asked himself. Did he waste his years avoiding sermons of the Lord? After pondering at length, he decided to go to the Lord and to serve at his feet. He went to the assembly and humbly requested the Lord to accept him as his pupil. He also offered to become a monk, if the Lord considered him fit for renouncement. As the Lord thought him worthy to become his pupil, he sought his permission to make confession to the king before he renounced. He then disclosed his real identity to the king who was present in the assembly and offered to accept any punishment. He also requested Abhayakumar to order some of his officials to take back all the valuables that he had stored. That way the stolen materials were recovered and handed over to their respective owners.

Since Rohineya had voluntarily confessed and had willingly returned everything that he had taken during burglaries, the king decided to pardon him and permitted him to be the Lord’s monk. Rohineya highly repented for what he had done in his life. He started observing severe austerities in order to erase the Karmas acquired by his misdeeds. When his body was unable to bear more, he adopted Anashan (Avoiding food and staying in meditation) with the permission of the Lord and attained entry into heaven at the end of his life.

Key Message:

Theme here focuses on honesty and principle of non-stealing. One should not steal from others even if one takes the stolen items and donates them to poor people. Wrong doing is still wrong doing regardless of how much good you are doing in other areas. One must repent for it in order to destroy the bad karma that accumulate as a result of it. Second thing we learn from this story is that we can only attain liberation from human form. Even heavenly beings can’t attain liberation without taking a birth as a human being first. So we should all realize how fortunate we all are to have this human birth and make the most of it and wash away as much bad karma as we possibly can.