The last thirty years o his life. Mahavira spent in the propagation of his
doctrine. He traveled through many parts of India, preaching and
converting people to his faith, stopping as before for the four months of
the rainy season at one place. It is possible to reconstruct a complete
account of his travels from the names of the places where he passed his
rainy seasons, mentioned in the Jaina texts.
CONVERSATION OF THE GANADHARAS
The Lord attained the Kevala-jnana while sitting in meditation
under a Sala tree in the field of the householder Samaga outside
the town Jrmbhikagrama. Immediately on the attainment of Kevalajnan,
there is a Jaina tradition, the Tirthankara holds a public conference in
Samavsarana and preaches the doctrine, making converts. But
Mahavira made no converts in his first public audience. This in
Svetambara Jaina texts is regarded as having been a very �unusual
occurrence.� Probably the reason was because the public was nor available
at the spot to listen to his preaching. The Digambara tradition
does not admit the holding of the first samavasarana in the field
of Samaga immediately of the attainment of Kevala-jnana.
Knowing that a big Yajna had been organized by a Brahman
Somilacarya at a place at some distance from Jrmbhikagrama, he
moved on to that place and held his second public audience there. He
explained his own doctrine of the, Karma, Asrava, Bandha,
Nirjara and Moksa and then went on to say that �four things
of paramount value are difficult to obtain here by a living being; human
birth, instruction in the Law, belief in it and energy in self-control.
The Universe is peopled by manifold creatures, who are in this samsara
born in different families and castes for having done various actions.
Sometimes they go to the world of gods, sometimes to the bells, sometimes
they become Ksatriyas, or Candalas or Bukkasas, or
worms and moths, or (insects called) Kunthu and ants. Thus living
beings of sinful actions, who are born again and again in ever-recurring
births, are not disgusted with the samsara, but they are like
warriors (never tired of the battle of life). Living beings bewildered
through the influence of their actions, distressed and suffering pains,
undergo misery in non-human births. But by the cessation of Karman,
perchance, living beings will reach in due time a pure state and be born
as men. And though they be born with a human body it will be difficult for
them to hear the Law, having heard which they will do penance's, combat
their passions and abstain from killing living beings. And though, by
chance, they may hear the Law, it will be difficult for them to believe in
it; many who are shown the right way, stray from it. And though they have
heard the Law and believe in it, it is difficult for them to fulfill it
strenuously; many who approve of the religion, do not adopt it. Having
been born as a man, having heard the law, believing in it, and fulfilling
it strenuously, an ascetic should restrain and shake off sinfulness. The
pious obtain purity, and the pure stand firmly in the Law; (the soul
afterwards) reaches the highest Nirvana, being like unto a fire fed
with ghee.� Mahavira�s fame as an omniscient seer began to spread
fast and widely; and among others, eleven of the learned Brahman
teachers, who had come with a band of disciples to participate in the
Yajna, felt persuaded to visit him.
The visit and conversion of these eleven Brahman teachers has been
described in some detail by the Jaina texts, both Svetambara and
Digambara. Digambara accounts mention that Indrabhuti,
who had become a very learned pandit and grown extremely vain of
his learning, was once questioned by an old man and asked to explain the
meaning of a verse. The verse had been repeated to him by Mahavira, who
had immediately afterwards become so lost in meditation that he did not
get an explanation of it from the saint. It contained references to
kala and dravya, pancastikaya dravya and lesya
not one of which terms did Gautama Indrabhuti really understand. Nor,
being a true scholar, could he pretend to have a knowledge which he did
not possess. So he sought our Mahavira for an explanation. In the presence
of the great ascetic all his pride fell from him and he became a pupil of
Mahavira along with his band of disciples and learned brothers. The
Svetambara account ascribes the meeting between Mahavira and Gautama
Indrabhuti and others to a denunciation on the part of Mahavira of the
animal sacrifice at which they were assisting. They were naturally much
enraged at his audacity and came forward to oppose him and expose the
falseness of his teaching; but when they listened to Mahavira�s discourses
and heard the gentle and thoughtful answers he gave to all questioners,
they became convinced of the truth of his way, decided to cast in their
lot with his and became his chief disciples or Ganadharas. Under these
Ganadharas were placed all the monks of the Order.
�Why has it been said that the venerable Ascetic Mahavira had nine Ganas
but eleven Ganadharas? The oldest monk of the Venerable Ascetic Mahavira
was Indrabhuti of the gotra, who instructed five hundred
sramanas; the middle aged monk was Agnibhuti of the Gautama gotra,
who instructed five hundred sramanas; the youngest was Vayubhuti of
the Gautama gotra, who instructed five hundred sramanas. The
Sthavira Arya-Vyakta of the Bharadwaja gotra instructed five
hundred sramanas; the Sthavira Arya-Sudharman of the Agnivaisyayana
gotra instructed five hundred sramanas; the Sthavira
Mandikaputra of the Vasisthagotra instructed two hundred and fifty
sramanas; the Sthavira Mauryaputra of the Kasyapagotra instructed two
hundred and fifty sramanas; the Sthavira Akampita of the Gautama
gotra and Sthavira Acalabhrata of the Haritayana gotra, both Sthaviras
instructed together three hundred sramanas each; the Sthaviras
Metarya and Prabhasa, both of the Kaundinyagotra, instructed together
three hundred sramanas each. Therefore it has been
said that the venerable Ascetic Mahavira had nine Ganas but eleven
Ganadharas.�
These conversions gave to Mahavira a respectable community of 4,411
Sramanas. It is presumable that at this place not only Sramanas
but also lay disciples joined Mahavira�s order; in Jaina texts there are
references to the Lord having established a community of four orders i.e.,
monks, nuns, laymen and laywomen at the same time. We have already
mentioned that unlike Parsva, who seems to have grouped all the laymen and
similarly laywomen together, Mahavira made a clear distinction between
ordinary laymen who merely expressed their sympathy with the Jaina
doctrine and faith as Jainas and the body of laymen who took a special
type of Diksa and who clearly undertook to observe the twelve lay
vows. As Mrs. Stevenson has said, the genius for organization which
Mahavira possessed is shown in nothing more clearly than in the formation
of this and the order of laywomen Shramanro- pasika. These
two organizations gave the Jaina a root in India that the Buddhists and,
the other systems of Parivrajaka orders, never obtained, and that root
firmly planted amongst the laity enabled Jainism to withstand the storm
that drove Buddhism out of India.
INFLUENCE AT ROYAL
COURTS-
Magadha : From the scene of Somilacarya�s Yajna
Mahavira proceeded to Rajagrha, old capital of Magadha, where
Srenika (Bimbisara) was the ruling monarch. As we have stated
before, Mahavira was a Jnatrka from his father�s side, but his
mother was sister to Cetake, the king of Vaisali, who belonged to
the Licchavi sect of the Ksatriyas. Cetaka had seven
daughters, out of whom one preferred to be a nun and the other six were
married in one or the other royal family of Eastern India. Srenika,
the ruler of Magadha, was the husband of the youngest of these
princesses, Cellana, who became a lay follower of Mahavira, of the
Sramanopasak variety. It is possible that there had been some
connection between Magadha and the Jaina Church of the age previous
to that of Mahavira. The Jaina text Uttaradhyayana mentions
two early kings of Rajgrha named Samudravijaya and his son
Jaya; of these Jaya, the eleventh cakravartin,
�together with thousands of kings, renouncing the world, practiced
self-restraint and reached perfection which has been taught by the
Jinas.� But during the rule of the Saisunagas, right from the
beginning there undoubtedly existed strong personal connections between
Mahavira at Rajgrha, during the period of his preparation and after
his attainment of the Kevala; and it is certain that at least
during the later period he repaired to the city �not merely as an
independent preacher but as one who had the State behind him to directly
patronize and sympathize with him in his great mission.�
Videha : As with the rulers of Magadha, so with the other
ruling houses in Eastern India, Mahavira had personal connections; and
these connections must have inevitably helped him to gain followers for
his order. From Rajgrha, where he gained numerous, both monks and
laymen, including the princes Megha Kumar, Abhaya Kumar and others,
the Lord proceeded towards Videha country. The capital of Videha was
Mithila, which is identified by some scholars with the small town of
Janakapura just within the Nepal border. The Videhans seem to have
been an adventurous people, scattered as far as Vaisali itself.
Mahavira�s mother, who was a princess of Vaisali, is spoken of in the
Jaina texts as Videhadatta; and there is ample evidence to prove
that Mahavira was closely connected with the Videhans. The Videhans has a
living interest in the Jaina Church. Form Kalpa-sutra we
know that Mahavira spent six rainy seasons at Mithila, the
Metropolis of Videha,.
Vatsa : The capital of Vatsa, Kausambi, was also
visited by Mahavira several times both during the period of preparation
and after the attainment of the Kevala. The ruler of Kausambi was
King Satanika, Mrgavati the third daughter of Cetaka was married to
him. Both the King and the queen were devotees of Mahavira and followers
of the Jaina order. The Jaina tradition also affirms that the king�s
amatya (minister) and his wife were Jaina by faith. Satanika�s
son and successor, Udayana, was a great king who made some
conquests and contracted matrimonial alliance with the royal houses of
Avanti, Anga and Magadha. The Jaina literature claims
him as a follower of the Jaina order.
Avanti. Canda Pradyota the ruler of Avanti
(Capital, Ujjain) had married the fourth daughter of Cetaka, by
name Shiva. Pradyota was called �Canda� or fierce, for he
was temperamentally very excitable and was also the possessor of a large
army. There is a story which says that he was fond of Mrgavati, the
elder sister of wife, who had been already married to King Satanika of
Vatsa, that he asked for Queen Mrgavati from Satanika, and that on the
refusal of the latter he declared a war against him. Satanika appears to
have died before actual hostilities could start; and when Mahavira visited
Kausambi a little later, he induced Canada Pradyota to give up his feeling
of revenge and to allow Mrgavati to become a nun. Thereupon Satanika�s
son, Udayana, became the king of Kausambi. Between this Udayana and
Pradyota�s daughter, the peerless Vasavadatta, there developed a long
romance, round which a large cycle of Sanskrit stories has been
written. Udayana, as we mentioned above, is claimed by Jaina tradition as
having had respect and sympathy for the Jaina church; but Pradyota also
had undeniable sympathy for the Jaina faith. There is a mention that along
with Mrgavati of Kausambi , eight of his own queens, Angaravati and
others, with his permission, joined the order.
Campa, capital of Anga. The ruler of Campa, which was always
recognized to be a great center of Jainism, was Dadhivahana, who married
Padmavati, the second daughter of Cetaka. Dadhivahana�s daughter, Candana
or Candanabala, was the first woman who embraced Jainism shortly after
Mahavira had attained the Kevala. Jaina literature described in
great detail the story of Candana. During the invasion of Campa by King
Satanika of Kausambi, Candana was caught hold of by one of the enemy�s
army and was sold in Kausambi to a banker named Dhanavaha. After a short
time the banker�s wife Mula, felt jealous of her and having cut her hair,
put her into custody. In this condition she served a part of her food to
Mahavira, and finally joined his ranks as a nun. She headed the order of
nuns in Mahavira�s sangha. Campa seems to have been situated at a distance
of a few miles in the neighborhood of modern Bhagalpur. Its
importance as a center of Jaina influence is evident from the fact that
Mahavira spent three of his rainy seasons in Campa. After Mahavira�s death
Campa was visited by Sudharman, the head of the Jaina Sangha, at the time
of Kunika or Ajatasatru. Ajatasatru seems to have transferred his capital
from Rajgrha to Campa of the death of his father; and Jaina tradition
mentions that the King �came bare-footed to see the Ganadhara
outside the city where he had taken his adobe,� Sudharman�s successor,
Jambu, and Jambu�s successor, Svayambhava, lived at the city where he
composed the Dasavaikalikasutra, containing in ten lectures all the
essence of the sacred doctrines of Jainism.
