Mahavir13

Mahavir

Mahavir's eleventh chaturmas in Vaishali

Mahavir reached Vaishali through Alambhika, Shvetambari, Shravasti, Kaushambi, Varanasi, Rajgruh and Mithila. He completed his eleventh chaturmas at the same place.

A devotee named Jivdatt lived in the village. Due to ill fortune, his property had been destroyed. Thus, he was called as Jeerna - Shreshti (ruined rich). He went to Mahavir. He prayed with devotion. He thought of offering food to Mahavir after the latter's penance. Thus, he paid a visit to Mahavir regularly for four months. Mahavir's penance ended. Jivdatt waited for Mahavir to come to his house. But, luck didn't favor him. Mahavir went to the house of a wealthy man named Purnabhadra. He didn't respect Mahavir and asked his mistress to serve something to the mendicant. The mistress gave some boiled food-grains for Mahavir, who happily had the food and left the place.

Mahavir's Intense Vow in Kaushambi

Mahavir traveled through Sumarpur and reached Kaushambi. There, Mahavir observed a very strict vow, which included certain important points :

1. Consuming food from the hands of a royal lady.
2. The royal lady should have been sold.
3. The royal lady's feet should be chained or tied.
4. Her hands too should be tied.
5. She should have either meditated or fasted for three days.
6. Her head should be shaven.
7. She should only offer only boiled black grams.
8. She should be sitting on the threshold of the house with a vessel full of
boiled black grams.
9. One of her leg should be inside the threshold and one should be outside.
10. Tears should be falling from her eyes at that time.

In this way, Mahavir took the vow and set out for seeking alms. But, he couldn't find the sort of alms he was seeking. Ten days passed by in this way. Mahavir would daily set out for seeking alms and return without having food. Thus, over four months passed without any food for Mahavir.

On the other hand, a war erupted between King Dadhivahan of Champavati and King Shatanik of Kaushambi. Dadhivahan was defeated. Shatanik carried away his daughter Vasumati and his wife. Shatanik's chief warrior took home the two ladies. At home, when the warrior's wife saw the two ladies with her husband, she picked up a fight with him. So, he decided to sell the two ladies. The warrior had evil intentions towards Dadhivahan's wife as a result of which, she committed suicide. The warrior sold Dadhivahan's daughter to a harlot for 500 gold coins.

Vasumati was highly distressed. She was hopeful but the thought of spending the rest of her life with a prostitute made her faint. Suddenly, a monkey appeared out of the blue and pounced on the harlot. Considering this to be an inauspicious sign, the harlot gave Vasumati back to the warrior.

The next time, the warrior sold Vasumati to businessman named Dhanavah. Dhanavah took her home considering her as his daughter. At home, he asked his wife to treat Vasumati like their daughter. He reassured the lady against any problems. Dhanavah's behavior boosted Vasumati's hopes of a new possible life.

Dhanavah renamed Vasumati as 'Chandanbala' due to her beauty. As time passed by, he became busy in his business.

He showered affection on Chandanbala. But, before long his wife Moola began to develop a grudge towards the relationship that Dhanavah and Vasumati shared. Chandanbala looked up to Dhanavah as father, whereas he had provided all facilities to Chandanbala to pass her life in prayers and other religious deeds. But, Moola was skeptical about this relationship. She wanted to eliminate Chandanbala in order to prevent future problems.

One day, Dhanavah went somewhere promising to return in the evening. Seizing this opportunity, Moola called a barber and shaved off Chandanbala's head. Then, she tied Chandanbala and imprisoned her in a cellar. Then, Moola went to her parents' house.

After completing his work, Dhanavah returned home and was puzzled by Chandanbala's absence. He enquired about her but didn't get any favorable reply. Three days had passed after Chandanbala's disappearance. As search began in the cellar, she was found in a miserable condition. She was very starved and thirsty. Dhanavah was distressed to see her plight. He took her to the kitchen and asked the maid to serve some food. But, the maid had only cooked boiled black grams for the day. She offered the same to Chandanbala. Before eating, she prayed that a sage may pass from there. Coincidentally, Mahavir reached there for seeking alms at that time. He saw that his resolve was being fulfilled there. He had food at the hands of Chandanbala in Dhanavah's house. Seeing this, Chandanbala's heart was filled with joy.