What was the story of Chandanbala and Mahavir swami?

shackles and left. Chandanbala was thinking about how her life had changed. She started wondering how fate can change a person's life from riches to almost helplessness. Chandanbälä decided that she would like to make an offering of food to a monk or nun before eating. She got up, walked to the door, and stood there with one foot outside and one inside. To her surprise, she saw Lord Mahavir walking towards her. She said, "Oh revered Lord, please accept this food." However, Lord Mahävir had taken a vow to fast until a person who met certain conditions offered him food. Some of his conditions were: ⚫ The person offering the food should be a princess She should be bald She should be in shackles . ⚫ She should offer boiled lentils, with one foot inside and the other foot outside the house She should have tears in her eyes Lord Mahavir looked at her and noticed that one of his predefined conditions was still missing. She met all the conditions except the one about having tears in her eyes, and therefore Lord Mahävir walked away. Chandanbälä was very sad that Lord Mahävir did not accept alms from her and started crying. Tears streamed down her face. Crying, she again requested Lord Mahävir to accept the alms. Lord Mahävir saw the tears in her eyes and came back to accept the food knowing that all his conditions were now met. Chandanbälä offered the lentils to Lord Mahävir and was very happy. JAIN STORY BOOK Page #3 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- ________________ CHANDANBALA As Lord Mahavir had fasted for five months and twenty-five days, heavenly beings celebrated the end of Lord Mahavir 's fast. By magical power, Chandanbala's shackles broke, her hair grew back, and she was again dressed as a princess. There was music and celebration that drew the attention of King Shatanik. He came to see Chandanbala with his family, ministers, and many other people. Sampul, a servant from her father's kingdom, recognized Chandanbala. He walked towards her, bowed and broke out in tears. King Shatanik asked, "Why are you crying?" Sampul replied, "My Lord, this is Vasumati, the princess of Champapuri, daughter of King Dadhivahan and Queen Dharini." The king and queen now recognized her and invited her to live with them. Later, when Lord Mahavir attained Kevaljnan (perfect knowledge) he reestablished the fourfold order of the Jain Sangha. At that time, Chandanbala took Diksha and became the first nun (Sadhvi). She became the head nun of the Jain order. Later on, she attained Keval-jnan and liberation from the cycle of life and death. Bhagawan Mahavir accepting alms from Chandanbala We can learn about a number of behaviors that are cited in this story. Moola's heart was blinded by jealously and therefore she did not understand Chandanbala's plight, or the role of a mother and the compassion of a father. This led her to do terrible things resulting in bad karma. This depicts the destructive power of jealously and why we should avoid it. Next, the selfless old servant who told Dhanavah about what had occurred. She did this out of compassion and risked her own demise at the hands of Moola. This good Karma will bind to her soul as Punya and demonstrates the principles of Jainism. Similarly, Dhanavah's compassion and treatment of Chandanbala supports the proper role of a father and the willingness to help an orphan. Lastly, Chandanbala's offering of food to Lord Mahavir, despite her own pitiful situation, is very selfless and comes from the heart. Following the principles of Jainism ultimately led Chandanbala to the path of liberation. 91 JAIN STORY BOOK www.iainelibrary.org

about her past. Please treat her like our daughter." Vasumati was relieved. She thanked the merchant and his wife with respect. The merchant's family was very happy with her. They named her Chandanbälä since she would not tell anyone her real name. While staying at the merchant's house, Chandanbälä's attitude was like that of a daughter. This made the merchant very happy. Moolä, on the other hand, started wondering what her husband would do with Chandanbälä. She thought that he might marry her because of her beauty. With these thoughts, Moolä became more and more uncomfortable with the idea of having Chandanbälä around. One day, when the merchant came home from work, the servant who usually washed his feet was not there. Chandanbälä noticed this and was delighted to have a chance to wash his feet for all the fatherly love he had given her. While she was busy washing the merchant's feet, her hair slipped out of her hairpin. The merchant saw this and felt bad that her hair might get dirty, so he lifted her hair and clipped it back. Moolä saw this and was outraged. She felt that her doubts about Chandanbälä were true and therefore, she decided to get rid of Chandanbälä as soon as possible. Soon, Dhanävah went on a three-day business trip. His wife decided to use this opportunity to get rid of Chandanbälä. She called a barber right away to shave off Chandanbälä's beautiful hair. Then, she tied Chandanbälä's legs with heavy shackles and locked her in a room away from the main area of the house. She told the other servants not to tell Dhanävah where Chandanbälä was or she would do the same to them. Then, Moolä left and went to her parent's house. When Dhanävah returned from his trip, he did not see Moolä or Chandanbälä. He asked the servants about them. The servants told him that Moola was at her parent's house, but they did not tell him where Chandanbälä was because they were scared of Moolä. He asked the servants in a worried tone, "Where is my daughter Chandanbälä? Please speak up and tell the truth." Still nobody said a word. The merchant felt very upset and did not know what to do. After a few minutes, an older servant thought, "I am an old woman and will soon die anyway. What is the worst thing Moola can do to me?" So, out of compassion for Chandanbälä and sympathy for the merchant, she told him everything that Moola had done to Chandanbälä. She took the merchant to the room where Chandanbälä was locked up. Dhanävah unlocked the door and saw Chandanbälä. Shocked, he said, "My dear daughter, I will get you out of here. You must be hungry. Let me find some food for you." He went to the kitchen to find food for her, but found no food left except for some boiled lentils in a pan. The merchant took the pan of lentils to Chandanbälä. He told her that he was going to get a blacksmith to cut the heavy shackles and left. Page 346 of 398 Compendium of Jainism - 2015 Page #347 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- ________________ 03 - Chandanbälä F04 Stories during Bhagawan Mahävir's Life Meanwhile, Chandanbälä was thinking about how her life had changed. She started wondering how fate can change a person's life from riches to almost helplessness. Chandanbälä decided that she would like to make an offering of food to a monk or nun before eating. She got up, walked to the door, and stood there with one foot outside and one inside. To her surprise, she saw Lord Mahävir walking towards her. She said, "Oh revered Lord, please accept this food." Lord Mahävir had taken a vow to fast until a person who met certain conditions offered him food. His conditions were: The person offering the food should be a princess She should be bald She should be in shackles She should offer boiled lentils, with one foot inside and the other foot outside the house She should have tears in her eyes She should have been fasting Lord Mahävir looked at her and noticed that all of his conditions, except one, were met. Chandanbala met all of the requirements except the one which required her to have a tear in her eye. Because of this, Mahavir-swami turned around and began to walk away. At the sight of this, Chandanbala felt saddened that Mahavir-swami wouldn't accept her alms and began to cry. Once she started to cry, Mahavir-swami turned around and accepted the alms because the last of his conditions had been met. Chandanbälä felt very happy to be able to offer the lentils to Lord Mahavir. As Lord Mahävir had fasted for five months and twenty-five days, heavenly beings celebrated the end of Lord Mahävir's fast. By magical power, Chandanbälä's shackles broke, her hair grew back, and she was again dressed as a princess. There was music and celebration that drew the attention of King Shatänik. He came to see Chandanbälä with his family, ministers, and many other people. Sampul, a servant from her father's kingdom, recognized Chandanbälä. He walked towards her, bowed, and broke out in tears. King Shatänik asked,

to Punia Shravaks one Samayik Stories Stories 33 Stories Stories Stories Stories Stories Stories Stories 776 Shrimads preaching's were mainly off this Mahavir Swami Bhagwan? 777 Unscramble the following letters: aiirnhd. Clue: Dharni Name of Meghakumar's mother. 778 | What animal was Meghakumar when he saved a | An Elephant rabbit? Stories Stories Page #81 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- ________________ Stories Stories Stories 779 What day was Shrimad Rajchandra born? On full moon day or Dev Diwali 780 What did Punia say when his wife told him about He told her that they should not take anything from the dry cow manure? anywhere unless it is bought from their own daily earnings What did Vimalsha and his wife want but Not to get a Child, He did not want any of his deicded not to get and why did they not want this descendants to collect toll on the temple he built thing? 782 What dream did Queen Dharini have, which A white elephant entering her mouth indicated that her Meghakumar son would become very intelligent and would be very handsome? 783 | What is the temple bulit by Vastupal and Tejpal Delwada called? 784 What Kashaya was holding Bahubali back from Ego attaining Keval-Jnan? 785 What vow did Punia take? Not to earn money more that needed to survive Stories Stories Stories Stories 12 Dokadas or 1/12 of a rupee Stories Chakraratna Stories i Mount Vaibhagiri Stories First - Vimalsha, Second - Vastupal & Tejpal Stories 786 What was the minimum needed to survive for one day in Punia Shravaks day? 787 What was the name of the miraculous wheel that Bharat possessed? 788 Where did Meghakumar fast for a month than die? 789 Who built the first and second temple in Delwada? 790 Who did Shrimad Rajchandra marry? 791 Who praises Punia Shravaks Samayika in his sermons? 792 Who was the daughter of King Chetak, ruler of Vaishali? 793 | Who went to Lord Mahavir and asked him how Zabakben Mahavir Swami Stories Stories Chelna Stories King Shrenik Stories Page #82 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- ________________ to destroy his bad karma? 794 Why could Punia Shravak not concentrate on his Because his wife had picked up cow dung that was not Stories samayik? theirs. 795 Why couldn't King Shrenik purchase good Because you have to earn by yourself. Stories karma? 796 Why did Meghakumar want to go back home? Because of all of the discomfort. Stories 797 In the story of Chandanbala, Bhagawan Mahaviri Material (dravya), Area (kshetra), Time (kal), and Mode Stories undertook 4 categories of conditions or (bhav) abhigrahas and vowed only to break his fast when they were met. What are the 4 different categories of conditions? 798 Name the patron king of Lord Mahavira Shrenik Stories 799 Finish this stuti that starts like this "arhanto "siddhashcha siddhisthita, acharya Stutis bhagavanta indramahitah ..." jinashasanonnatikarah pujya upadhyayaka, shri siddhantasupathaka munivara, ratnatrayaradhakah, panche te paramesthinam pratidinam kurvantu vo mangalam" Stutis 800 Finish the stuti that begins like this "virah sarvasurasurendra-mahito" "viram budhah samshritah, virenabhihatah svakarma nichayo, viraya nityam namah, virat tirthamidam pravruttamatulam, virasya ghoram tapo, vire shri dhuti kirti kanti nichayah shri vira bhadram disha" Stutis 801 Say this verse in Ardha-Maghdi. 1) I forgive all 1) Khamemi savva jive, savve jiva khamantu me 2) souls, let all souls forgive me. 2) I am in friendly Mittime savva bhuvesu, veram majjha na kenai terms with all, and I have no animosity towards anyone. Page #83 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- ________________ 802 What is the first line of this stuti... "ADIMAM TIRTHNATHAM CHA RSABHASVAMINAM STUMAH" 803 Recite all four lines, meaning: Lord,bow to you ,the eradicator of the three world; bow to you the adorable ornament on the face of the earth; bow to you, the Lord of the three worlds; omniscient Lord; bow to you, the destroyer of the sea of the life cycle. 804 Name 4 auspicious entities given in Chattari Mangalam. 805 Name the persons that one bows to in the Navakaar or Namokar mantra 806 Complete. 'Chattäri sharnam pavajjämi... 807 Complete the prayer: Upasargah Kshayam Yanti 808 Name three tattvas in Namaskar Mantra. 809 Recite Stuti Darshanam Dev Devasya.... 810 Recite the entire sutra for Panchang Pranipath. Adimam Pruthivinaatha-maadimam nishparigraham | Adimam Tirthnatham cha rushabhasvaminamStumah Tubhayam namstribhuvanartiharayanatha | Tubhayamnamahksititalamalabhusanaya | Tubhayamnamastrijagatahparameshvaraya | Tubhayamnamojinabhavodadhishosanaya ||" Arihant, Siddha, Sadhu, Religion taught by Kevali Arihant, Sidha, Acharya, Upadhaya & Sadhu or Panch Parmeshti Arihante sharanam pavajjämi Siddhe sharanam pavajjämi Sahu sharanam pavajjämi Kevali pannatam dhammam sharanam pavajjämi Dev, Guru, Dharma Darshanam Päp Näshanam, Darshanam Svarga Sopänäm, Darshanam

Mahavir with their beaks and talons through the gaps in the cages. Blood oozed from these new wounds. Then came a storm, torrential rain, and hail-storm. Nothing could disturb the rock hard resolve of Mahavir. समुद्र विमानभवन निधूम अग्नि Tan erat : T40T-ita ( 88 ) Bhagavan Mahavir: The Life as an Ascetic J S . Internation linelibang Page #206 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- ________________ = ऋषभ अजित a* - सम्भव अभिनन्दन *-O - O सुमति पद्मप्रभ R:6 Now came a giant whirlwind; lifting and swirling everything that came in its path. Mahavir's body swirled but his mind remained stable. At last Sangam nimself lifted a large mace and hit Mahavir. It was a heavy blow that buried Mahavir in the ground upto his knees but he did not even blink. After all these physical blows, Sangam resorted to a psychological attack. He arrived in his divine form riding a Viman (space vehicle) and said to Mahavir, "Why are you suffering so much and still standing on the earth. Come, I will take you to heaven with this mortal body of yours." Mahavir did not respond. Lastly Sangam produced sparsely clad fairies who approached Mahavir and undulated their voluptious bodies invitingly. He also created an atmosphere conducive to lust. Mahavir never even shifted his icy gaze and his body remained reactionless. All these twenty afflictions drained Sangam's energy and he was tired. On the other hand even after tolerating these painful tortures Mahavir remained poised in his elevated state of meditation. (M-22) गज वृषभ लक्ष्मी पुष्पमाला Refuge to the Demon King In the Vindhya range there lived a hermit named Puran. As a result of his rigorous penances he was reincarnated as the king of demons, Chamarendra. He had a bloated ego due to his natural powers and miraculous capacities. When, through his demonic perception, he came to know that the king of gods, Shakrendra, had more glory and luxuries, his ego was hurt. He decided to subjugate the king of gods. He prepared to attack the abode of Shakrendra, the Saudharm Viman, with his demonic arsenal. But in case he faced defeat he wanted support from someone more powerful than him. On searching he found that Shraman Mahavir was the most suitable person. He immediately rushed to Sumsumarpur, where Mahavir was standing in meditation. After bowing to Mahavir he said, "Bhante ! I, demon king Chamarendra, am going to fight with Saudharmendra Shakra, please protect me.” Saying thus and without waiting for a reply, he rushed to the assembly of gods and challanged the king of gods. For a moment Shakrendra was taken aback but when he saw that it was demon king Chamarendra, he calmly lifted his most potent weapon, the Vajra, and launched it at the demon king. (M-23/1) As the Vajra sped in the direction of Chamarendra it emitted bright sparks and thunderous sound. Afraid of this fierce weapon Chamarendra fled in the direction of the tree under which Mahavir stood in meditation. When Shakrendra realized where Chamarendra was heading, he became worried about any possible damage the Vajra could cause to Mahavir. He at once rushed after fleeing Chamarendra to defuse the Vajra. It was a strange seen in the sky; first Illustrated Tirthankar Charitra (840) सचित्र तीर्थंकर चरित्र चन्द्र सूर्य विमल अनन्त धर्म (20) शान्ति कन्थ अर mentioned Porrivate Personaroserom Page #207 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- ________________ the demon king crying with fear, then the sparkling Vajra followed by the king of gods. ध्वजा The demon king transformed himself into a tiny being and took refuge behind Mahavir's feet. He uttered, “Prabhu ! I am under your protection, kindly save me." As the Vajra was about to hit him and explode, Indra caught it and disabled it. Chamarendra was trembling with fear and Shakrendra was boiling with anger. Mahavir lifted his open palm and blessed them both. Indra said to Chamarendra, "Demon king ! What you have done is unpardonable ? But by taking refuge with Bhagavan Mahavir you have tied my hands. As he has forgiven you I am leaving you unharmed. You may go." The demon king, free of the fear and the king of gods, free of anger, bowed before Bhagavan Mahavir and left for their respective abodes. (M-23/2) The Deliverance of Chandana From the capital town Kaushambi, king Shatanik ruled over the state of Vats. His chief queen Mrigavati was the daughter of Maharaj Chetak of Vaishali republic. Anga was a neighbouring state and its capital was Champa. The king of पद्म this state was Maharaj Dadhivahan. His queen Dharini was the younger | सरोवर daughter of Chetak. Dharini had a daughter named Vasumati who was very beautiful as well as graceful. Once, when king Dadhivahan had gone with his army to assist a neighbouring king, Shatanik attacked Champa. The cruel soldiers of Kaushambi समुद्र plundered Champa. The general and a great Charioter of Kaushambi, Kakmukh was attracted more by beauty rather than riches. He entered the