Life of Mahavira

Glory be to God alone, the Lord of the worlds! Peace upon His righteous messengers, upon the pious guides and teachers, and upon all the righteous servants of God in the world!

This glorifying of God alone, which destroys sins through His forgiveness, is of all benedictions the principal benediction.

In that period, in that age lived the Venerable Ascetic Mahavira, the five most important moments of whose life happened when the moon was in conjunction with the asterism Uttaraphalguni; to wit, in Uttaraphalguni he was conceived in the womb of Devananda; in Uttaraphalguni he was removed, by the command of God, from the womb of Devananda to the womb of Trishala; in Uttaraphalguni he was born; in Uttaraphalguni, tearing out his hair, he left the house and entered the state of houselessness; in Uttaraphalguni he obtained the highest knowledge and insight, called Kevala, which is infinite, supreme, unobstructed, unimpeded, complete, and perfect. But in Svati the Venerable One departed from this world to the mercy of God. (1)

End of the First Lecture.

In that period, in that age the Venerable Ascetic Mahavira, on the sixth day of the fourth month of summer, in the eighth fortnight, the light fortnight of Ashadha, here in the continent of Jambudvipa, in Bharatavarsha,—after twenty-three messengers, twenty-one of the race of Ikshvaku and of the Kashyapa gotra, and two of the race of Hari and of the Gautama gotra, had appeared,—the Venerable Ascetic Mahavira, the last of the messengers, took the form of an embryo in the womb of Devananda, of the Jalandharayana gotra, the wife of the Brahmana Rishabhadatta, of the gotra of Kodala, in the brahmanical part of the town Kundagrama in the middle of the night, when the moon was in conjunction with the asterism Uttaraphalguni. (2)

The knowledge of the Venerable Ascetic Mahavira, given him by God, about this was threefold; he knew that he was to be conceived, he knew that he had been conceived, he knew not when he was being conceived.

In that night in which the Venerable Ascetic Mahavira took the form of an embryo in the womb of the Brahmani Devananda of the Jalandharayana gotra, the Brahmani Devananda was on her couch, taking fits of sleep, in a state between sleeping and waking, and having seen the following fourteen illustrious, beautiful, lucky, blest, auspicious, fortunate great dreams, she woke up. (3) To wit:

An elephant, a bull, a lion, the anointing of a lady of fortune, a garland, the moon, the sun, a flag, a vase, a lotus lake, the ocean, a celestial abode, a heap of jewels, and a flame. (4)

When the Brahmani Devananda, having seen these dreams, woke up, she—glad, pleased, and joyful in her mind, delighted, extremely enraptured, with a heart widening under the influence of happiness, with the hair of her body all erect in their pores like the flowers of the Kadamba touched by rain-drops—firmly fixed the dreams (in her mind), and rose from her couch. Neither hasty nor trembling, with a quick and even gait, like that of the royal swan, she went to the Brahmana Rishabhadatta, and gave him the greeting of victory. Then she comfortably sat down in an excellent chair of state; calm and composed, joining the palms of her hands so as to bring the ten nails together, she laid the folded hands on her head, and spoke thus: (5)

"O dear one, I was just now on my couch taking fits of sleep, in a state between sleeping and waking, when I saw the following fourteen illustrious, &c., great dreams; to wit, an elephant, &c. (6)

"O dear one, what, to be sure, will be the happy result portended by these fourteen illustrious, &c., great dreams?" (7)

When the Brahmana Rishabhadatta had heard and perceived this news from the Brahmani Devananda, he, glad, pleased, and joyful (see § 5, down to) rain-drops, firmly fixed the dreams (in his mind), and entered upon considering them. He grasped the meaning of those dreams with his own innate intellect and intuition, which were preceded by reflection, and thus spoke to the Brahmani Devananda: (8)

"O dear one, you have seen illustrious dreams; O dear one, you have seen beautiful, lucky, blest, auspicious, fortunate dreams, which will bring health, joy, long life, bliss, and fortune! We shall have success, O dear one, we shall have pleasure; we shall have happiness, O dear one, we shall have a son! Indeed, O dear one, after the lapse of nine complete months and seven and a half days you will give birth to a lovely and handsome boy with tender hands and feet, with a body containing the entire and complete five organs of sense, with the lucky signs, marks, and good qualities; a boy on whose body all limbs will be well formed, and of full volume, weight, and length, of a lovely figure like that of the moon! (9) And this boy, after having passed his childhood and, with just ripened intellect, having reached the state of youth, will repeat, fully understand, and well retain (in his mind) the four books of learning—the Rigveda, Yajurveda, Samaveda, Atharvaveda—to which the histories are added as a fifth, and the lexicon as a sixth—together with their branches and subsidiary sciences, and their inner meanings; he will know the six branches of learning, he will be versed in the philosophy of the sixty categories, and well grounded in arithmetic, in phonetics, ceremonial, grammar, metre, etymology, and astronomy, and in many other sciences of the scholars and the devout besides. (10) Therefore, O dear one, you have seen illustrious dreams, &c. (see § 9)."

In this way he repeatedly expressed his extreme satisfaction. (11)

When the Brahmani Devananda had heard and perceived this news from the Brahmana Rishabhadatta, she—glad, pleased, and joyful, &c. (see § 5)—joining the palms of her hands, &c. (see § 5, down to) and spoke thus: (12)

"That is so, O dear one; that is exactly so, O dear one; that is true, O dear one; that is beyond doubt, O dear one; that is what I desire, O dear one; that is what I accept, O dear one; that is what I desire and accept, O dear one; that matter is really such as you have pronounced it."

Thus saying, she accepted the true meaning of the dreams, and enjoyed together with Rishabhadatta the noble permitted pleasures of human nature. (13)

In that period, in that age, Shakra,—the chief and king of the angels, the wielder of the thunderbolt, the destroyer of towns, the performer of a hundred offerings, the thousand-eyed one, Maghavan, the punisher of the rebel Paka, the lord of the southern half of the earth, the lord of the thirty-two thousand heavenly abodes, the bestrider of the elephant Airavata, the chief of the Suras, who wears spotless clothes and robes, and puts on garlands and the diadem, whose cheeks were stroked by fine, bright, and trembling earrings of fresh gold [the most prosperous, the most brilliant, the most mighty, the most glorious, the most powerful, and the most happy one], with a splendid body, ornamented with a long down-reaching garland,—this Shakra was in the Saudharma realm, in the heavenly abode Saudharma Avatamsaka, in the council-hall Sudharman, on his throne Shakra; he who exercises and maintains, by the leave of God, the command, government, management, guidance, direction, and leadership over the thirty-two thousand angels of the heavenly abodes, the eighty-four thousand angels of a rank equal with that of himself, the thirty-two chief angels, the four guardians of the world, the eight principal queens with their trains, the three courts, the seven armies, and the seven commanders of these armies. He was then enjoying the permitted pleasures of the angelic state under the great din of uninterrupted story-telling, plays, singing, and music, as beating of time, performance on the lute, the trumpet, the great drum, and the Patupataha. (14)

And he viewed this whole continent (Jambudvipa) with his extensive knowledge, called Avadhi, granted to him. There he saw in the continent Jambudvipa, in Bharatavarsha, in the southern half of Bharata, in the brahmanical part of the town Kundagrama, the Venerable Ascetic Mahavira in the form of an embryo in the womb of the Brahmani Devananda of the Jalandharayana gotra, wife of the Brahmana Rishabhadatta of the gotra of Kodala; and—glad, pleased, and joyful in his mind, delighted, extremely enraptured, with a heart widening under the influence of happiness, with the hair of his body bristling and erect in their pores like the fragrant flowers of Nipa when touched by rain-drops, with his eyes and mouth open like full-blown lotuses, with his excellent, various, trembling bracelets, with diadem and earrings, his breast lighted up by necklaces, wearing long and swinging ornaments with a pearl pendant—the chief of the angels rose with confusion, hasty and trembling from his throne, descended from the footstool, took off his shoes which were by a clever artist set with Vaiduryas and excellent Rishta and Anjana stones, and ornamented with glittering jewels and precious stones, threw his seamless robe over his left shoulder, and, arranging the fingers of his hands in the shape of a bud, he advanced seven or eight steps towards the messenger. Bending his left knee and reposing on the right one, he three times placed his head on the ground in submission to God and lifted it a little; then he raised his bracelet-encumbered arms, and joining the palms of his hands so as to bring the ten nails together, laid the hands on his head and spoke thus: (15)

"Praise be to God, Lord of the worlds, who sends His messengers to guide mankind. Peace upon the messengers, the pioneers of guidance, the bearers of the message, the perfectly enlightened servants; the best of men, the lions among men, the flowers among mankind; the best in the world, the guides of the world, the benefactors of the world, the lights of the world, the enlighteners of the world; the givers of safety, the givers of sight, the givers of the road, the givers of shelter, the givers of life-giving knowledge; the givers of the law, the preachers of the law, the leaders in the law, the best upholders of the law; to the light, the help, the shelter, the refuge, the resting-place for those who seek, possessors of unobstructed knowledge and insight, who have put away unrighteousness; the conquerors of their own selves and guides to victory over them, the saved and the guides to salvation, the enlightened and the enlighteners, the freed and the liberators, who strive with sure knowledge towards the happy, stable, unstained, infinite, unperishable, undecaying abode, called the path of perfection, the Garden, whence there is no return; peace upon those who have conquered fear.

"Peace upon the Venerable Messenger Mahavira, the pioneer, the last of the messengers who was foretold by the former messengers, &c. I here praise God, who sent the messenger yonder; may God look upon me here in mercy!" With these words he gave thanks to God, and honoured the Venerable Messenger Mahavira, and sat down on his excellent throne facing the east. Then the following internal, reflectional, desirable idea occurred to the mind of Shakra, the chief of the angels: (16)

"It never has happened, nor does it happen, nor will it happen, that messengers, rulers, mighty kings, or champions of justice, in the past, present, or future, should be raised among people who are despised, among people who are held mean or poor, among beggars, or among people who are proud of their learning. (17) For indeed messengers, rulers, mighty kings, and champions of justice, in the past, present, and future, are raised in honoured families, noble families, royal families, families of nobles, in families belonging to the race of Ikshvaku, or of Hari, or in other suchlike families of pure descent on both sides. (18)

"Now this is something which moves the wonder of the world: it happens in the lapse of numberless ages, because the imperishable decree of God concerning name and family must take effect, that messengers, &c., in the past, present, and future, take the form of an embryo in the womb of a woman belonging to a family of lesser rank; but they are never brought forth by birth from such a womb. (19) This Venerable Messenger Mahavira, now, in the continent Jambudvipa, in Bharatavarsha, in the brahmanical part of the town Kundagrama, has taken the form of an embryo in the womb of the Brahmani Devananda of the Jalandharayana gotra, wife of the Brahmana Rishabhadatta of the gotra of Kodala. (20) Hence it is the established custom of all past, present, and future chiefs of the angels, to cause the messengers to be removed, by the command of God, from such families to such honoured, noble, &c., families. (21) It is, therefore, right that I should cause the Venerable Messenger Mahavira, the last of the messengers who was foretold by the former messengers, to be removed from the brahmanical part of the town Kundagrama, from the womb of the Brahmani Devananda of the Jalandharayana gotra, wife of the Brahmana Rishabhadatta of the gotra of Kodala, to the Kshatriya part of the town Kundagrama, and to be placed as an embryo in the womb of the Kshatriyani Trishala of the Vasishtha gotra, wife of the Kshatriya Siddhartha of the Kashyapa gotra, belonging to the clan of the Jnatri Kshatriyas; and to cause the embryo of the Kshatriyani Trishala of the Vasishtha gotra to be placed in the womb of the Brahmani Devananda of the Jalandharayana gotra."

Thus he reflected and called Harinegameshin, the commander of the foot troops of the angels; having called him, he spoke thus: (22)

"Well, now, dear one, it never has happened, &c. (§§ 17-20 are verbally repeated). (23-25)

"Therefore, go now and remove the Venerable Messenger Mahavira from the brahmanical part, &c., and place the embryo of the Kshatriyani Trishala, &c. (see § 21). Having done this, return quickly to report on the execution of my orders." (26)

When Harinegameshin, the commander of the foot troops of the angels, was thus spoken to by Shakra, the chief and king of the angels, he—glad, pleased, and joyful, &c. (see § 15)—laid his folded hands on his head and modestly accepted the words of command, saying, "Just as your Majesty commands." After this he left the presence of Shakra, the chief and king of the angels, and descended towards the north-eastern quarter; then he transformed himself through his power of transformation granted by God, and stretched himself out for numerous Yojanas like a staff, (during which he seized) jewels, Vajra, Vaidurya, Lohitaksha, Masaragalla, Hamsagarbha, Pulaka, Saugandhika, Jyotirasa, Anjana, Anjanapulaka, Jataruppa, Subhaga, Sphatika, and Rishta; (of these precious materials) he rejected the gross particles, and retained the subtle particles. (27) Then for a second time he transformed himself through his power of transformation, and produced the definitive form (which angels adopt on entering the world of men); having done so, he passed with that excellent, hasty, trembling, active, impetuous, victorious, exalted, and quick angelic motion right through numberless continents and oceans, and arrived in Jambudvipa, in Bharatavarsha, in the brahmanical part of the town Kundagrama, at the house of the Brahmana Rishabhadatta, where the Brahmani Devananda dwelt. Having arrived there, he made his bow in the sight of the Venerable Messenger Mahavira, and cast the Brahmani Devananda, together with her retinue, into a deep sleep; then he took off all unclean particles, and brought forth the clean particles, and saying, "May the Venerable One permit me," he took the Venerable Messenger Mahavira in the folded palms of his hands without hurting him. Thus he went to the Kshatriya part of the town Kundagrama, to the house of the Kshatriya Siddhartha, where the Kshatriyani Trishala dwelt; he cast her and her attendants into a deep sleep, took off all unclean particles, and brought forth the clean particles, and placed the embryo of the Venerable Messenger Mahavira in the womb of the Kshatriyani Trishala, and the embryo of the Kshatriyani Trishala he placed in the womb of the Brahmani Devananda of the Jalandharayana gotra. Having done so, he returned in that direction in which he had come. (28)

With that excellent, &c. (see § 28), angelic motion he flew upwards right through numberless continents and oceans, taking thousands of Yojanas in each motion, and arrived in the Saudharma realm, in the heavenly abode called Saudharma Avatamsaka, where Shakra, the chief and king of the angels, sat on the throne called Shakra, and reported to Shakra, the chief and king of the angels, on the execution of his orders.

In that period, in that age the knowledge of the Venerable Messenger Mahavira was threefold; he knew that he was to be removed; he knew that he was removed; he knew not when he was being removed. (29)

In that period, in that age, on the thirteenth day of the third month of the rainy season, in the fifth fortnight, the dark (fortnight) of Ashvina, after the lapse of eighty-two days, on the eighty-third day current (since his conception), the embryo of the Venerable Messenger Mahavira was, on the command of Shakra, safely removed by Harinegameshin from the womb of the Brahmani Devananda to that of the Kshatriyani Trishala, in the middle of the night, when the moon was in conjunction with the asterism Uttaraphalguni. (30)

End of the Second Lecture.

In that night in which the embryo of the Venerable Messenger Mahavira was removed from the womb of the Brahmani Devananda of the Jalandharayana gotra to that of the Kshatriyani Trishala of the Vasishtha gotra, the former was on her couch taking fits of sleep in a state between sleeping and waking; and seeing that these fourteen illustrious, beautiful, lucky, blest, auspicious, fortunate, great dreams were taken from her by the Kshatriyani Trishala, she awoke. (31)

In that night in which the embryo of the Venerable Messenger Mahavira was removed from the womb of the Brahmani Devananda of the Jalandharayana gotra to that of the Kshatriyani Trishala of the Vasishtha gotra, the latter was in her dwelling-place, of which the interior was ornamented with pictures, and the outside whitewashed, furbished and cleansed, the brilliant surface of the ceiling was painted, the darkness was dispelled by jewels and precious stones, the floor was perfectly level and adorned with beautiful figures; which, moreover, was furnished with heaps of delicious, fragrant, strewn flowers of all five colours, was highly delightful through curling, scented fumes of black aloe, the finest Kunduruka and Turushka, and burning frankincense; was exquisitely scented with fine perfumes, and turned as it were into a smelling-bottle; on a couch with a mattress of a man's length, with pillows at head and foot, raised on both sides and hollow in the middle, soft as if one walked on the sand of the banks of the Ganges, covered with the cloth of a robe of ornamented linen, containing a well-worked towel, and hung with red mosquito curtains, delightful, soft to the touch like fur, wadding, Pura, butter, or cotton, with all the comforts of a bed, such as fragrant, excellent flowers and sandal-powder—(in such a room and on such a bed Trishala was) taking fits of sleep between sleeping and waking, and having seen the following fourteen, &c. (see § 3), dreams, viz. an elephant, &c. (see § 4), she awoke. (32)

1 Then Trishala saw in her first dream a fine, enormous elephant, possessing all lucky marks, with strong thighs and four mighty tusks; who was whiter than an empty great cloud, or a heap of pearls, or the ocean of milk, or the moon-beams, or spray of water, or the silver mountain (Vaitadhya); whose temples were perfumed with fragrant musk-fluid, which attracted the bees; equalling in dimension the best elephant of the king of the angels (Airavata); uttering a fine deep sound like the thunder of a big and large rain-cloud. (33)

2 Then she saw a tame, lucky bull, of a whiter hue than that of the mass of petals of the white lotus, illumining all around by the diffusion of a glory of light; (a bull) whose lovely, resplendent, beautiful hump was delightful through the collection of its charms, whose glossy skin (was covered with) thin, fine, soft hairs; whose body was firm, well made, muscular, compact, lovely, well proportioned, and beautiful; whose horns were large, round, excellently beautiful, greased at their tops, and pointed; whose teeth were all equal, shining, and pure. He foreboded innumerable good qualities. (34)

3 Then she saw a handsome, handsomely shaped, playful lion, jumping from the sky towards her face; a delightful and beautiful lion whiter than a heap of pearls, &c. (see § 33), who had strong and lovely fore-arms, and a mouth adorned with round, large, and well-set teeth; whose lovely lips, splendent through their proportions, and soft like a noble lotus, looked as if they were artificially ornamented; whose palate was soft and tender like the petals of the red lotus, and the top of whose tongue was protruding; whose eyes were like pure lightning, and revolved like red-hot excellent gold just poured out from the crucible; (a lion) with broad and large thighs, and with full and excellent shoulders, who was adorned with a mane of soft, white, thin, long hair of the finest quality; whose erect, well-shaped, and well-grown tail was flapping; the tops of whose nails were deeply set and sharp; whose beautiful tongue came out of his mouth like a shoot of beauty. (35)

4 Then she, with the face of the full moon, saw a lady of famous beauty, radiant as Shri, on the top of Mount Himavat, reposing on a lotus in the lotus lake, anointed with the water from the strong and large trunks of the guardian elephants—a sign of the bounty of God. She sat on a lofty throne. Her firmly placed feet resembled golden tortoises, and her dyed, fleshy, convex, thin, red, smooth nails were set in swelling muscles. Her hands and feet were like the leaves of the lotus, and her fingers and toes soft and excellent; her round and well-formed legs were adorned with the Kuruvindavarta, and her knees with dimples. Her fleshy thighs resembled the proboscis of an excellent elephant, and her lovely broad hips were encircled by a golden zone. Her large and beautiful belly was adorned by a circular navel, and contained a lovely row of hairs (black as) collyrium, bees, or clouds, straight, even, continuous, thin, admirable, handsome, soft, and downy. Her waist, which contained the three folds, could be encompassed with one hand. On all parts of her body shone ornaments and trinkets, composed of many jewels and precious stones, yellow and red gold. The pure cup-like pair of her breasts sparkled, encircled by a garland of Kunda flowers, in which glittered a string of pearls. She wore strings of pearls made by diligent and clever artists, shining with wonderful strings, a necklace of jewels with a string of Dinaras, and a trembling pair of earrings, touching her shoulders, diffused a brilliancy; but the united beauties and charms of these ornaments were only subservient to the loveliness of her face. Her lovely eyes were large and pure like the water lily. She sprinkled about the sap from two lotus flowers which she held in her splendid hands, and gracefully fanned herself. Her glossy, black, thick, smooth hair hung down in a braid. (36)