श्रेणी तप विधि SHRENI TAP VIDHI JAIN DHARM

श्रेणी तप विधि

SHRENI TAP VIDHI

JAIN DHARM

There are 6 shrenis/stages of this tapa.

1) 1 upwas -> parna -> 2 upwas - > parna

2) 1 upwas -> parna -> 2 upwas ->parna->3 upwas-> parna

3) 1,2,3,4 -> upwas -> parna

4) 1,2,3,4,5 -> upwas -> parna

5) 1,2,3,4,5,6 -> upwas -> parna

6) 1,2,3,4,5,6,7 -> upwas -> parna

In this way there are 27 parnas and 83 upwas for a total of 110 days.

Below image has details of the tapa.

श्रेणी तप, श्रेणी तप विधि, SHRENI TAP, VIDHI, JAIN DHARM, SHRENI TAP VIDHI, JAIN RELIGION, तप जैन धर्म

श्रेणी तप विधि SHRENI TAP VIDHI

JAINAM JAYATI SHASHNAM

कषाय जय तप KASHAY JAY TAP VIDHI JAIN DHARM RELIGION

कषाय जय तप 

KASHAY JAY TAP VIDHI 

JAIN DHARM RELIGION

कषाय जय तप KASHAY JAY TAP VIDHI JAIN RELIGION

MEGHAKUMAR मेघकुमार कहानी जैन धर्म

||MEGHA KUMAR ||

||मेघकुमार जैन धर्म  JAIN DHARM||

||मेघकुमार कहानी जैन धर्म||

||JAIN RELIGION मेघकुमार ||

King Shrenik of Magadha region in the state of Bihar had a beautiful queen named Dharini. Once, while she was sleeping, she dreamt of a white elephant entering her mouth. She immediately woke up and told the King about her dream. King Shrenik knew that it was an auspicious dream. He called the dream experts who predicted that the queen would give birth to a very handsome and intelligent son who will excel in everything. The King and queen were very pleased to hear this.
During the third month of her pregnancy, queen Dharini had an irresistible urge to ride an elephant in the country with the King with the sky decorated with clouds of colorful hues, lightning flashing, and rain pouring. In most parts of India, it only rains during the monsoon season, which is usually from June to October. Queen Dharini, however, had the urge during the off-season. The fulfillment of her urge was therefore a problem.

Queen Dhärini riding an elephant

 In order to see that her health and well-being were not affected by the unsatisfied urge, the King asked his eldest son, Abhaykumar, who was also the Prime Minister of the state, for a solution to satisfy the queen’s urge. Abhaykumar had a friend who could do miracles. The friend arranged events according to Dharini’s urge. She was therefore able to ride on an elephant with the King and satisfy her urge.
In due course, Queen Dharini gave birth to a very handsome and adorable baby boy. Rain in the Indian language is called Megh, so in commemoration of her urge during pregnancy, the boy was named Meghakumar. At the age of 8, he was sent to school, where he learned all 72 types of arts and crafts and became an accomplished youth. He got married and enjoyed all the pleasures of worldly life.
Once, Lord Mahavir came to Rajgrihi, the capital city of Magadha, and stayed in the Gunashil monastery. Almost every resident of Rajgrihi went to listen to his sermons. Meghakumar went as well. The sermon made a lasting impression on him. He realized the transitory nature of worldly situations and decided to renounce his worldly life. His parents were sad to hear about his plan. They tried everything possible to prevent him from renouncing his worldly life. However, he remained firm. Nevertheless, in order to satisfy his parents’ wishes, he agreed to become the King for one day. He was ceremoniously crowned King with all the royal pomp. Immediately after that, he left everything, renounced worldly life, and became a disciple monk of Lord Mahavir.
At night, as a junior monk, he was given a place to sleep near the entrance. During the night, other monks using the restrooms had to walk past his side. Since no lamps are allowed in the upashray (the monks’ residence), they happened to trample on his bed and sometimes their feet accidentally touched his body in the dark. Poor Meghakumar could not sleep for the whole night. He had grown up in luxuries. Therefore, it was difficult for him to bear the accidental kicking by the monks and his bed and body being smeared in dirt. He felt that he could not bear that sort of a miserable life and decided to give up the life of a monk.
In the morning, he went to Lord Mahavir to seek permission to return home. Mahavir was aware of the discomforts that Meghakumar had faced the previous night and told him, “Meghakumar, you do not remember, but let me describe to you the discomforts that you faced during your previous life.”
“In your previous life you were Meruprabha, the King of elephants. Once there was a terrible forest fire from which you narrowly escaped. You decided to make a shelter that all the animals could use in case of another fire. You cleared up a vast stretch of land by removing all the plants, bushes, and trees. You also weeded out the grass that grew there.”
“Once again there was a wild fire in the forest. All the animals came running and took refuge on that stretch. You were also there. During that time, you raised your foot to scratch your body because of an itch. At that very moment, a rabbit jumped into that space. As you tried to put your foot down, you saw the rabbit jump into that space and decided to hold your foot up in order to save the rabbit. The fire raged for two and a half days during which you continued to hold your foot up out of compassion for the rabbit.”

Meghakumar in a previous life as an elephant saving a rabbit’s life

“At the end of the fire, as the animals retreated, you tried to lower your foot. However, it was so stiff by then that you could not keep your balance and fell down. You felt agonizing pain and could not get up. You spent three days and nights suffering from severe pain. Ultimately, you died, and in your next birth you were born here as the prince of King Shrenik because of your compassion for the rabbit. If you could face that much distress for the sake of a rabbit and attain this priceless human life in return, how can you not face the accidental kicking and the dirt from the feet of your fellow monks? Do you realize that by renouncing this worldly life and becoming a monk you have taken the first step towards the long journey of liberation? Remember that all these sufferings and happiness we experience are only due to our own karmas. They are only temporary by their very nature. The everlasting happiness is achieved only upon liberation.”

Upon death, the elephant is born as Prince Megha kumar

Meghakumar was spellbound by the Lord’s words and realized his mistake. He requested the Lord to reinitiate him since he had virtually broken his vow of monkhood by strongly desiring worldly life. The Lord did so, and Meghmuni, as he was called thereafter, started leading a rigorous, austere life. Fasting for days at a time, he stayed in meditation a lot in order to eradicate his karmas. When his body became very weak and he could no longer observe the rigors of ascetic life, he decided to observe the fast until death. This vow is called Sanlekhana. He fasted for a month on mount Vaibhargiri near Rajgrihi. Upon death, he was born in heaven. Bhagawan Mahavir had stated to Gautam swami that at the end of the heavenly life, Meghakumar would be reborn as a human being and would attain liberation.

Here is a great example of compassion or Karunä bhavanä. An elephant bears discomfort and pain to save a little animal. As we are more developed and more rational beings, we should learn from these animals to be helpful to each other. In addition, when one takes an oath to lead the life of a monk, one should not revert to a worldly life or even entertain thoughts of doing so. An ascetic life is a very tough and rigorous life which makes one realize and understand the true nature of the soul. In order to achieve this understanding, one must put aside the worldly life permanently because it tends to distort things. Suffering occurs because of one’s past karma, so one should bear it with patience and focus on the soul for self-realization.

CLICK ON THE LINKS BELOW IF YOU ARE INTERESTED.

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JAINAM JAYATI SHASHNAM

MAHAVIR SWAMI EARS PLUGGING काने खिला ठोक्या ज्यारे JAINISM

||MAHAVIR SWAMI||

||महावीर स्वामी जैन धर्म JAIN DHARM||

|| KAANE KHILA THOKYA JYARE 
कहानी महावीर स्वामी ||

||JAINISM काने खिला ठोक्या ज्यारे  ||

Twelve years of meditation and penance passed with great success for Lord Mahavir. His life was exemplary. He put forth unsurpassable examples of truth, non-violence, forgiveness, compassion, fearlessness, yoga and true knowledge.
In the thirteenth year he faced another calamity. Near the village of Shammani, he stood in a meditation posture. Just like at the beginning of his asceticism, he met a cowherd who left his oxen in the care of Lord Mahavir.

A cowherd hammering thorns in Bhagawän Mahävir’s ears

The cowherd went into the village and returned a little later. The oxen had drifted away while grazing. Not finding his oxen, he asked, “Ascetic, where are my oxen?”
Mahavir was in deep meditation and unaware of all this. The cowherd asked again, and once again he did not get a response. He was irritated and shouted, “You hypocrite! Are you deaf? Don’t you hear anything?”
Mahavir still did not respond. The cowherd became very angry, “You pretender, it seems that both your ears are useless. Wait a minute! I will fix your ears.” He picked long nail-like thorns from a nearby shrub and pierced the ears of Mahavir deeply by hammering the thorns in.
Even such excruciating agony did not move Mahavir from his meditation or evoke any feeling of anger or aversion in him.
Completing his meditation, he went to the village for alms. He arrived at the door of a trader named Siddhartha. A doctor was sitting with him. Both of them gave food to Mahavir swami with due respect.
The doctor told Siddhartha, “Friend, the face of this monk has a divine glow, but there is a shade of tiredness too. Some inner pain is visible in his eyes. I feel this great sage suffers from some inner agony.”
Siddhartha replied, “Friend, if such a great sage suffers from some kind of pain, we should immediately go to him and treat him.”
After taking alms, Mahavir swami returned. The doctor and Siddhartha followed him to the place where Mahavir swami rested. During examination the doctor found the thorns stuck in his ears. Seeing this, they arranged for the necessary instruments and medicines. They used some medicated oil and tongs and pulled out the thorns. This caused such unbearable agony to Bhagawan Mahavir that an anguished cry was forced out of him. The doctor dressed the wound with some coagulant. Mahavir continued to sit there calm and quiet in deep meditation.
The reason Mahavir swami had to bear this calamity was because of what he did as Triprushtha Vasudev (birth no. 18). At that time, he liked to sleep while listening to music. He told his servant to stop the music once he fell asleep.

Bhagawan Mahavir calmly bearing the pain as the thorns are removed

However, his servant was enjoying the music and forgot to stop it. When he woke up and still heard the music playing, he was furious. To teach his servant a lesson, he had hot lead poured into his servant’s ears so he would not be able to hear anything anymore. This servant was reborn as the cowherd who then proceeded to put the thorns in Mahavir swami’s ears.

Whenever we do any karma, we have to bear the consequences. In each incident of difficulty, we see the conquest of Mahävir’s soul and mind over his physical pain and suffering. His meditation and penance purified his soul. It helped him to separate himself from perishable and mortal worldly things and concentrate on the liberation of his immortal soul.

CLICK ON THE LINKS BELOW IF YOU ARE INTERESTED.

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2) JAIN SUTRA LIST WITH MEANING

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JAINAM JAYATI SHASHNAM

KURAGADU MUNI कुरगडु मुनि JAINISM RELIGION DHARM

||KURAGADU MUNI||

||कुरगडु मुनि जैन धर्म  JAIN DHARM||

|| कुरगडु मुनि कहानी KURGADU MUNI||

||JAIN RELIGION कुरगडु मुनि||

In ancient times, there lived a businessman named Dhandatta who was highly religious and also raised his son to be like him. Once, Dharmaghosh-suri, the highly enlightened Ächärya of that time, came to the town where Dhandatta lived. Dhandatta took his son to listen to the sermon. The boy was so impressed by the Ächärya’s sermon that he decided to become his disciple. Accordingly, he renounced worldly life and became a monk at a very young age. The Ächärya realized that the boy had tremendous potential to be a great Jain monk. He therefore renamed him Kulaguru. In the native language of that area he came to be known as Kurgadu.

Monk Kurgadu attains Enlightenment while eating

Kurgadu studied the holy books and was able to correctly comprehend their essence. He realized the role of karma in the life of every being and thereby learned to maintain a high level of equanimity. In almost all aspects, he rigorously observed the code of conduct for monks. However, he could not overcome one problem. It was difficult for him to stay hungry and so he could not fast. He needed to eat at least once a day. Even during Paryushan Parva, Kurgadu could not fast for a single day. As he ate his food on the days of Paryushan, he felt miserable and regretted that he was not able to fast. He attributed his inability to fast to his previous karmas. When the other monks observed their fasts, he praised them and rendered every type of service to them. He wished in his heart that he could someday observe fasts.

It was during one monsoon season that an event occurred that changed his situation. During the monsoon season, Jain monks forgo traveling and remain in one place for the duration of the monsoons. Paryushan Parva falls during this time. During that year’s Paryushan Parva, Ächärya Dharmaghosh-suri, along with many of his disciples including Muni Kurgadu, remained in the town. Many of the monks undertook long fasts, some extending more than a month. Kurgadu felt disappointed that he could not observe such austerities. Especially on the day of Samvatsari, he wished that he could observe a day-long fast.
He began the day in an earnest effort to avoid eating. However, before noon, he felt very hungry and could not do without food. He was surprised at the kind of karma he had acquired where he could not fast even for a day, but he reluctantly approached the guru and begged for his permission to go for alms. The guru lovingly tried to persuade him to go without food for just one day, feeling that he should be inspired to observe a fast at least for that day, especially when all the other monks were on long fasts. Kurgadu humbly replied that he did wish to observe a fast and very much regretted his inability to fast. Due to his humility, the guru took pity on his fate and compassionately allowed him to go for alms.
Kurgadu went for alms and accepted the food that was offered to him. Returning, he presented the alms to his guru as part of the monk’s code of conduct and modestly begged his permission to eat. Although the guru gave his permission willingly, the other monks made negative remarks. They unsympathetically said that he did not deserve to be a monk for eating on an auspicious day. Kurgadu listened to the remarks quietly. He went to a corner and reluctantly started to eat.

While eating, Kurgadu dwelt deeply on the inability of his body to remain without food for a day. Learned as he was, he could see that it must be the result of his previous karma. He understood that all karmas are shed after extending the appropriate consequence and this karma too would be shed. He made up his mind to passively accept what had been ordained by his karma. Because of his study of the scriptures, he had gained insight about the true nature of his soul. Earlier, despising himself for not observing a fast had prevented him from full realization of that true nature. Now his willingness to accept what was a physical limitation endowed him with the insight of distinguishing the nature of the soul from the varying states of the body and mind. His new-found insight gave rise to the manifestation of the true nature of the soul, and his realization was strong enough to destroy all the defiling karmas on the spot and he gained omniscience (keval-jnän) immediately while he was eating.
When one attains omniscience, the heavenly beings arrive to offer their obeisance. When other monks saw the heavenly beings coming towards them, they thought that the heavenly beings were coming to praise them for their severe austerities. Instead, the heavenly beings turned to Kurgadu and offered their obeisance to him. No one could understand why those observing severe austerity were left out while the one who could not observe it at all had gained full enlightenment.
In amazement, the monks went to Dharmaghosh-suri and asked him the reason for what had happened. The Ächärya said that they were all feeling very proud of their austerities and were unnecessarily disapproving of Kurgadu for not observing a fast. Therefore, they were smeared by perception obscuring karma. He urged them to bear in mind that the primary purpose of observing austerities or any other religious practice was to gain modesty that leads to right perception, which in turn helps to attain equanimity.

The monks had misjudged Kurgadu, who had realized the essence of religion. Earlier, he had acquired obstructing karma that did not allow him to observe the austerity. He sincerely repented for that karma which had become operative in his current life, and by properly comprehending the role of karma, he acquired right perception. By bearing the consequence of those karmas with equanimity, he was able to wipe them out without acquiring new ones. Thereupon, the monks realized that they were indulging in unnecessary vanity that obstructed right perception.
The Ächärya also explained that the soul had nothing to do with the state and activities of the body. The body is obtained as a consequence of the operative karma and should be used simply as an instrument for realizing the true nature of soul. It can be an effective instrument only if it is used purposefully.

Understanding the true nature of the soul is the essence of religion and it is the only thing worth pursuing in this life. We should never look down upon anyone who cannot observe austerities and penance or one who cannot follow the religious principles as much as others. Rather than putting these people down, one must encourage them to do so with compassion and realize that it is due to the karmas of that person that they are unable to do so. One must never be proud of the austerities that one is able to perform. The purpose of observing austerities or other religious practices is to gain modesty that leads to right perception, which in turn helps to attain equanimity.

CLICK ON THE LINKS BELOW IF YOU ARE INTERESTED.

1) HOW TO DO A CHAITYAVANDAN

2) JAIN SUTRA LIST WITH MEANING

3) JAIN PRAVACHAN 

IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN LIST OF ALL THE SONGS TO DOWNLOAD  JUST CLICK THE BELOW HIGHLIGHTED BUTTON TO DOWNLOAD FROM GOOGLE DRIVE

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JAINAM JAYATI SHASHNAM

ILACHIKUMAR इलाचिकुमार जैन धर्म JAIN RELIGION

||ILACHIKUMAR ||

||इलाचिकुमार जैन धर्म  JAIN DHARM||

|| इलाचिकुमार कहानी ILACHIKUMAR ||

||JAIN RELIGION इलाचिकुमार ||

In ancient times, there lived a wealthy businessman named Dhandatta in the town of Ilavardhan. His wife, Ilachi, gave birth to a lovable son. As he was the only son, the parents deliberately kept him nameless as per the custom of the times. Eventually, as the son of Ilachi, he came to be known as Ilachiputra and then Ilachikumar. He was raised with care and attention and never lacked any luxuries, growing up to be a handsome youth. Soon, his parents felt it was time to find a wife for him. Luckily, they did not need to look very far as they were a prosperous family and Ilachikumar was their only son. Many families wanted their daughters to marry him. His parents prepared a list of selected names and asked Ilachikumar to choose the one that he liked the most. However, Ilachikumar could not make a selection.
One day, a party of acrobats came to Ilavardhan. In those days there were no stadiums where acrobats could perform, so they performed their routines for their audience on the open streets. Beating drums to announce their arrival, the acrobats planted poles in an open square off the main street and connected them with ropes while a large crowd gathered. They then began their routine, climbing the poles one after another and demonstrating their skills, walking and jumping over the high rope with ease above the fascinated audience. Attracted by the commotion, Ilachikumar also went to watch the show. While enjoying the performance, his attention was drawn to the chief acrobat’s beautiful young daughter who was dancing gracefully to the drums with bells on her feet. Ilachikumar was so mesmerized by her beauty and charm that he could not take his eyes off her.

At the end of the show, the acrobats descended the rope and started collecting money from the audience. People were very pleased with the performance and paid handsomely. After collecting a large amount of money, the acrobats left the square to camp for the night and everyone else went home. Though Ilachikumar also returned home, his mind was still on the beautiful girl he had seen that day. At dinner, his parents found him silent and unresponsive; they had never seen him so dazed. His father questioned his absent-mindedness, but he did not answer. When his mother persistently asked for the reason for his silence, he finally replied that his heart was attracted to the acrobat girl and he wanted to marry her.
His mother was taken aback to hear that. She said that she could find him a very beautiful and lovable girl from a high caste and respectable family and asked him to forget the lower caste acrobat girl, but Ilachikumar replied that he had never met any other girl who attracted him and he wanted to marry her. Acknowledging his resolve on the matter, she told her husband about their son’s intentions.
Dhandatta was shocked to hear this. He tried to dissuade his son from his intentions but Ilachikumar remained firm. Since Dhandatta was a sensible man, he could see that Ilachikumar would not be at peace without that girl. He did not want to lose his son for the sake of prestige. Therefore, he called the chief of acrobats and requested him to give his daughter in marriage to Ilachikumar.

However, the acrobat refused, saying that he was bound by a condition of his tribe. Dhandatta thought that he might be looking for money for the girl and offered to give as much wealth as the acrobat wanted in return for agreeing to marry his daughter to Ilachikumar. The acrobat however declined the offer and again replied that he could not break the condition, so Dhandatta then asked him what this condition was. The acrobat said that he could give his daughter only to a person who could win an award from a royal court by pleasing the King with his acrobatic skill and then use the prize money to provide dinner to his community.

Dhandatta was disappointed to hear a condition that was apparently impossible for his son to fulfill. After he explained to his wife what had happened, she told her son and said that the girl would only marry an expert acrobat and asked him to forget her.
Ilachikumar was silent but his mind was racing with thoughts. He felt that he would not be able to live happily without the girl and was willing to make any sacrifice for her. He decided that he was even prepared to learn acrobatic skills for that purpose. His parents misunderstood his silence as disappointment and thought that in time he would recover. For a time, they tried to divert his attention to other matters to help him forget and Ilachikumar allowed them to believe that they were succeeding, but his mind was made up. When the acrobat group decided to leave the town of Ilavardhan, Ilachikumar secretly left his home and joined the them.

He discarded his fancy clothes for the acrobats’ uniform and began learning their skills. Since he was smart and diligently worked to learn acrobatics, the chief’s daughter soon fell in love with him and helped him learn. With her help, he easily mastered the art and soon became an expert acrobat. When the group reached the city of Benatat, he requested the chief to organize a show at the royal court so that he could have a chance to fulfill the condition. The chief went to the young King and requested that he watch the performance of the young acrobat and to award him a suitable prize for his skills.

I

lachikumar walking the rope for the King

When the King agreed, the acrobats erected the poles in the compound of the royal palace and invited the officers of the state and the elite of the city to watch. Just before the show was due to start, the King arrived and took his seat in the balcony of the palace. Bowing to him, Ilachikumar went over to the pole, jumped up and began displaying his acrobatic skills.
Ilachikumar walked on the rope with ease and grace, performing risky jumps and somersaults. It was a superb performance and full of acrobatic feats no one had ever seen before. Everyone was highly impressed with his skill. Ilachikumar felt gratified by the appreciation of the people, thinking that it was enough to please the King as well. He came down and bowed to the King again and the chief went to him to request an appropriate award.
However, during the performance the King’s attention had been diverted by the beautiful girl and he had been fascinated by her. Seeing how lovingly she gazed at Ilachikumar throughout the performance, he thought that he could easily gain her if he somehow got rid of Ilachikumar. Therefore, when the chief acrobat approached the King and asked if he had enjoyed the performance, the King pretended that his mind had been occupied with problems of the state. He said that he had not been able to give his full attention to the performance. He requested Ilachikumar to demonstrate his skills again. Accordingly, Ilachikumar got on the rope again and displayed his skills, again doing a superb job. But at the end of this second show, the King pretended to be drowsy and asked him to repeat the performance again. Ilachikumar could not believe the situation. He suspected that there was something wrong. However, since he was still eager to accomplish his cherished goal of marrying the girl, he decided to try again.

Once again, he began the ropewalk, triumphantly noting the audience’s reaction. While looking around, he noticed a beautiful woman offering sweet food to a young monk. She was in the prime of her youth and was very attractive and highly graceful. However, what surprised Ilachikumar was that the monk was clearly unaffected by her beauty.
He compared this to his own situation. Ilachikumar had changed his entire life for the beauty of one girl, yet the monk was impervious to the lovely woman in front of him. He was amazed by the monk’s self-control and detachment towards the beautiful woman. What power kept the monk aloof in her presence? In addition, while not only remaining aloof, the monk’s face radiated peace!
This attitude of the monk raised a succession of thoughts in the mind of Ilachikumar. “Why do I not feel detachment in the presence of a beautiful young girl?” He also continued to wonder why the King had asked him to repeat his performances, and finally he suspected that the King must be attracted to the girl and must be waiting for him to fall from the rope. “If I fall from the rope, I would be badly hurt and would not be able to perform acrobatic feats. In that case, I will never be able to marry the girl for whom I have abandoned my home and my parents.”

Ilachikumar realizing the futility of attachment while observing a monk’s action

Ilachikumar now realized that the happiness he was looking for was merely an illusion. He began to recall his early religious training, when he had been exposed to religious principles and had learned about the soul within the body and its immense capabilities. He realized that his achievements as an acrobat must have been due to that inner capability. Similarly, the monk could remain unaffected because he remained tuned to his soul and its abilities, remaining vigilant about potential pitfalls. “As an acrobat, I have to remain constantly vigilant because the slightest unawareness on my part could result in a fall from the high rope and possibly die. Why, then, should I not use the same vigilance for the sake of spiritual upliftment?”
In an earlier life, he had trodden a long path of spiritual pursuit. The impact of that achievement was lying subdued within him, waiting for an opportunity to manifest itself. Now, the sight of the monk provided the needed catalyst, and he became fully awakened to the realization that he was a soul and that all the other situations were simply an illusion. While on the rope, Ilachikumar dwelt deep into his self and attained omniscience, or keval-jnan. Then, he quietly climbed down the pole and bid farewell to every one as he left the place

The focus of this story is on the principle of detachment. The monk’s detachment towards the beautiful woman guided Ilächikumär onto the right path. Attachment to materialistic things, people, or feelings often causes misery to others and to us. We should strive to minimize our attachment to the outer world (i.e. detach ourselves) and focus on our inner self. Attachment is an obstacle in the path of self-realization.

CLICK ON THE LINKS BELOW IF YOU ARE INTERESTED.

1) HOW TO DO A CHAITYAVANDAN

2) JAIN SUTRA LIST WITH MEANING

3) JAIN PRAVACHAN 

IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN LIST OF ALL THE SONGS TO DOWNLOAD  JUST CLICK THE BELOW HIGHLIGHTED BUTTON TO DOWNLOAD FROM GOOGLE DRIVE

Note : Click HERE to download from google drive and click on the song or down arrow 

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JAINAM JAYATI SHASHNAM

UDAYAN MANTRI उदयान मंत्री JAIN DHARM RELIGION

||UDAYAN MANTRI ||

||उदयान मंत्री जैन धर्म  JAIN DHARM||

|| उदयान मंत्री  कहानी SAMPRATI ||

||JAIN RELIGION उदयान मंत्री ||

The Solanki dynasty was the golden period for the state of Gujarat and the prosperity of the state reached its peak during the reign of King Kumarpal. The credit for attaining this position mainly goes to his chancellors, who were known as “mantris”. It is interesting to learn that many of the chancellors of the Solanki period were Jains. The contribution of Udayan Mantri and his sons, ambad and Bahad, to the rise and success of King Kumarpal was substantial.
Originally, Udayan was a simple merchant in a village named Vaghara near the town of Jalore, Rajasthan. He could hardly make ends meet and was passing his days in hardship. His wife, Suhadevi, suggested they move to a place with better economic prospects. During this time, King Siddharaj was ruling the state of Gujarat, and its prosperity was increasing by leaps and bounds. Hence, Udayan thought about migrating to Gujarat.

At that time, King Siddharaj of Gujarat had built a new town named Karnavati (Amdavad) in the memory of his father Karnadev. Since Karnavati was a fast growing city, Udayan decided to move there. He did not know anyone there so he first went to the local Jain temple. When Udayan arrived a religious lady named Lachchhi was worshipping in the temple. As she came out, she noticed the new young couple and asked them where they were from. Udayan replied that they were from Rajasthan and he was looking for some business in Karnavati.

Lachchhi was a compassionate lady. As she knew the newcomers were Jains, she took them home and treated them as her guests for a couple of days. Then she gave them an old house for shelter. Udayan settled there and started a small business. Luck favored him and within a short time he earned and saved enough to renovate the old house. While digging the ground, he came across a hidden treasure. Since he was honest, he took the treasure to Lachchhi and offered it to her because it belonged to her. She declined to accept it, stating that since the property had been given to him, the treasure also belonged to him.
Udayan now had enough money to start a large-scale business. He made lots of money, and in due course became the wealthiest man in Karnavati. The state also recognized his status and gave him the position of the first citizen of Karnavati. In that capacity, he rendered valuable service to the people of Karnavati.

Shravika Lachchhi helping a Jain shravak

At that time, the city of Khambhat (about 80 miles from Amdavad) was the most lucrative seaport on the western coast of India. Politicians competed with one another to get the position of governor of that city. Due to the proven capability of Udayan, he was appointed governor of Khambhat in 1120 A.D. He held that position for a fairly long period. Two major events have been attributed to him during his tenure as governor.
 At the suggestion of the queen mother, Minaldevi, he abolished the pilgrim tax of Bholad
 He helped Devchandra suri to initiate a five-year old boy, Changdev, who had the potential to shine as a great sage. (Later on Changdev became the great Jain acharya Shri Hemchandra)
His loyalty to the King was unquestionable. He hesitated to help Kumarpal, who was roaming from town to town hiding from King Siddharaj. However, when Kumarpal came to Khambhat in search of shelter, Hemchandracharya advised Udayan to help him. Since Udayan highly respected the acharya, he agreed to hide Kumarpal in his basement. Shortly thereafter, King Siddharaj died and Kumarpal became King of Gujarat. King Kumarpal kept Udayan in his position as governor of Khambhat and later brought him to Patan (capital city of Gujarat) to work as his trusted advisor.
Udayan had not forgotten how religion had helped him during his bad times. He therefore used his wealth and position to promote Jainism. As a token of his devotion to the faith, he constructed several Jain temples. Three of them are recorded in Jain history. One was the temple known as Udayanvihar in Karnavati, another was Udavasahi in Dholka (nearby town of Karnavati), and the third one whose name is not recorded was in Khambhat.
During the latter part of Udayan’s life, Kumarpal sent him to subdue Sumvar, a notorious bandit in the Saurashtra region. In that mission, he had to pass through Palitana. He decided to go on a pilgrimage to Shatrunjay hill. To commemorate the pilgrimage, his statue has been erected on a camel’s back in a small temple on the way to the main complex on the hill. That place is now mistakenly known as Pap Punya Ni Bari (window of good and bad karma).
At that time, there was a wooden temple on the hill. While Udayan was worshipping there, he saw a mouse take a lit wick in its mouth and roam about. Udayan recovered the wick from the mouse, but he realized that the temple could have been set on fire by a mouse. He, therefore, vowed to construct a new temple there.
He succeeded in his expedition against Sumvar, but he was badly wounded in combat, and his death was imminent. On his death bed he told his sons about his vow to reconstruct a new temple on Shatrunjay hill. They promised him that they would fulfill his vow. Thereafter, he died peacefully knowing his vow would be fulfilled.
ambad and Bahad
Udayan had four sons, named ambad, Bahad, Chahad, and Sollak. ambad was a poet and a bold warrior. He became the chancellor of King Kumarpal. He constructed the western walkway on Shatrunjay hill, now known as Gheti Ni Pag. He expanded Udavasahi of Dholka and renovated the well-known temple of Shakunikavihar at Bharuch.
ambad had pledged his allegiance to Kumarpal and served him with utmost sincerity and loyalty. When Kumarpal’s successor, King Ajaypal, came to the throne, he began to undo everything Kumarpal had stood for. As a result, ambad decided to resist him with all the means at his command. Ajaypal sent troops to subdue him. ambad, however, refused to be subdued and died fighting Ajaypal’s troops.

The second son, Bahad (also known as Vahad), was a politician and statesman. He first worked for King Siddharaj, and later under King Kumarpal’s regime he became the King’s trusted right hand man. When Kumarpal undertook the renovation of Somnath temple, the project was entrusted to Bahad, who carried out the work very well.
In order to honor the pledge to his father, Bahad undertook the construction of a grand temple on Shatrunjay. The temple was completed in 1155 A.D., but soon after, portions of the temple fell down due to intense wind. Bahad then arranged to reconstruct the fallen parts so it could withstand high winds in the future.
There is an interesting anecdote associated with the construction of that temple. When Bahad undertook the work, many people wanted to contribute to the project. A list of donors was prepared in order to accommodate them. At that time, there was a poor man named Bhim who earned his livelihood going from place to place selling ghee (refined butter). He went to the place where the list was being prepared. He had an intense desire to contribute to the project, but he had only one coin, the one he had earned that day. How could he speak about donating such a small amount when people were contributing thousands of coins? Bahad noticed his eagerness and called him to his side. He gently asked Bhim to contribute whatever he wanted. Naturally Bhim hesitated. However, he said that he wanted to contribute the coin he had earned that day.

Bahad not only accepted the offer, but also wrote Bhim’s name at the top of the donors’ list. When he was asked to explain, Bahad said that the other donors, including him, had contributed a part of their wealth while Bhim had contributed his entire wealth.
It so happened that when Bhim returned home, his wife asked him to fix a wooden post to restrain their cow. As he was digging, he came across a box buried in the ground. As he opened it, he saw that it contained gold coins and other valuables. He thought it was the consequence of his contribution to the temple and took the entire wealth to Bahad as his contribution to the temple.
The construction project was completed in 1157 A.D. at a cost of 29.7 million coins, and the opening ceremony was performed on a grand scale in the presence of Shri Hemchandra acharya.

The life story of Udayan, a religious and hardworking shrävak, is very inspiring to all of us. He was always humble and never forgot his benefactors. He raised brave and virtuous sons, Ämbad and Bähad, two gems of the Jain sangh. Bhim’s generosity is also praiseworthy. Bähad’s act of putting Bhim’s name at the top of the donors’ list demonstrates his unbiased leadership and true understanding of religion.

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JAINAM JAYATI SHASHNAM

SAMPRATI MAHARAJA IN JAINISM संप्रति महाराजा जैन धर्म

||SAMPRATI MAHARAJA||

||संप्रति जैन धर्म  JAIN DHARM||

|| संप्रति महाराजा कहानी SAMPRATI ||

||JAIN RELIGION संप्रति||

King Samprati was a great Jain King who lived during the second half of the third century and the first half of the second century BCE He was the grandson of the great King Ashok and the son of King Kunal.
Jain history provides some details of his life. Buddhist literature also mentions him by the Prakrit name, Sampadi. His name occurs in some of the Hindu Purans, wherein he is variously referred to as Samprati, Sampati, and Saptati, etc. Moreover, coins depicting a crescent and bearing his name have now been found. The sign of the crescent represents the Jain symbol of Siddha-shila and the three dots are symbolic of the Jain trio of right faith, right knowledge, and right conduct. Some of the coins also show a swastika below the three dots. This is conclusive evidence of him being a Jain King.

Samprati was raised and educated in Avanti and became the King of Avanti in 232 BCE While he was prince, he once saw a grand Jain procession led by acharya Suhastigiri, who was the head of the Jain religious order. On seeing the acharya, Samprati felt that he had seen him somewhere. While deeply pondering over it, he faintly remembered that the acharya was his guru in an earlier life. Samprati bowed to the acharya and asked whether he knew him. The acharya thought for a while and remembered that Samprati was his disciple in the previous life.

There was a severe famine when acharya Suhastigiri was in the city of Kaushambi. During the famine it was very difficult for Jain monks to get alms. Jain householders, however, made sure that the monks received alms. At that time, there was a poor man who could hardly get any food and was starving. He noticed that the monks were getting enough food even during the severe famine. Therefore, he requested the acharya to give him some food. Foreseeing that the man had great potential to be a Jain legend in the next birth, the acharya told him that he could get food if he became a monk.

Various incidences in King Samprati’s life

The man gladly agreed. Accordingly, he was initiated and therefore received enough food to eat. Since he had been starving for many days, he ate too much. Consequently, he had severe stomach pains, which he endured patiently while cursing himself for eating too much. Other monks served him in all possible ways, but the pain did not subside. On the contrary, it continued to become worse and the newly initiated monk died of the pain that very night. Due to his adopting the restraints of monkhood and bearing the pain quietly, he was reborn as the grandson of the great King Ashok.

The acharya narrated the entire episode to him. Samprati was glad to hear that. He realized the benefits of adopting Jainism even for a short while. He adopted it as his faith and formally accepted the acharya as his guru. After he became a King, he offered his kingdom to the guru because it was obtained on account of his benevolence. The acharya, however, refused to accept it and said that as a Jain monk he did not want to possess anything. He pointed out that Samprati should try his best to promote and encourage Jainism in his kingdom and beyond.

Samprati accepted the advice. He became a devout Jain and followed Jain principles. He was a brave King and expanded his kingdom considerably in the south up to the Vindhya Mountains, and in the west to the Arabian Sea. He not only constructed many Jain temples in his dominion, but he also encouraged the rulers of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, and Maharashtra to do so. Jain tradition indicates that during his lifetime he arranged for the installation of more than 100,000 Tirthankar idols and for the construction or renovation of 36,000 temples. He also sent his missionaries abroad to Afghanistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Burma, and even China to spread the message of Jainism. It is hardly surprising that in the “Early History of India”, Vincent Smith calls Samprati the Jain Ashok, as King Ashok is known for spreading Buddhism.

He treated other followers of Jainism very affectionately and helped them in every way. Since he vividly remembered his starvation in his previous life, he was sympathetic to all poor people and took care to see that they did not starve. He set up 700 charitable dharamshalas where anyone could eat free of charge.

Samprati had no children. He took this as the consequence of his earlier karma and observed the religious customs scrupulously. After ruling over his large kingdom for 53 years, he died in 179 BCE. Jain tradition believes that he was reborn as a heavenly being.

Service to others is one of the many ways one can follow Jainism, and Samprati certainly demonstrated this quality. He not only helped promote Jainism by renovating and building temples and installing Tirthankar idols in existing temples, but he also helped reduce the pain and suffering of the poor. We should also strive to serve others. His life story demonstrates that a religious deed performed even for a short time gives manifold results. In addition, it creates a chain of good deeds leading to beneficial results.

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JAINAM JAYATI SHASHNAM

VAJRAKUMAR IN JAINISM वज्रकुमार जैन धर्म

||VAJRAKUMAR ||

||वज्रकुमार जैन धर्म  JAIN DHARM||

|| वज्रकुमार कहानी VAJRAKUMAR||

||JAIN RELIGION वज्रकुमार  वज्रस्वामी ||

In the city of Tumbivan, there lived a rich Brahmin named Dhangiri. He had a beautiful wife named Sunanda. Their life was full of joy. When Sunanda was pregnant, she had a beautiful dream. She told her husband, who was a scholar, about the dream. He told her that she would give birth to a bright and charming child. She felt very happy.

One day a Jain acharya named Sinhgiri came to the city. Both Dhangiri and Sunanda went to listen to his sermons regularly. Dhangiri’s soul was awakened by these sermons, and he lost interest in his wealth, family, and worldly affairs. He decided to give up his worldly life and become a monk. He told his wife about his decision. She was shocked. She tried to convince him to stay and enjoy their life together. She also said that since they were going to have a child, so it would be better to stay together to raise the child. Dhangiri did not change his mind. Nonetheless, he made the necessary financial arrangement for his family. Sunanda, who was the daughter of a religious merchant, Dhanpal, had a deep understanding of religion. Therefore, she accepted his decision. Sunanda was consoled that at least she was the wife of a virtuous man.

A few months later, Sunanda gave birth to a very handsome boy. He was lovable because he always had a smile on his face. Everybody who saw him liked him from their very first glance. Sunanda celebrated his birth. She felt happy that she had a son to raise, but her happiness did not last long. One day some ladies from the neighborhood were visiting her and started talking about her husband. One of them said, “If Dhangiri had not taken diksha, then he would have celebrated the birth with more extravagance than Sunanda.” The child, although a baby, heard the word “diksha” and started thinking. He felt as if he had heard the word diksha before. While thinking about it, he suddenly remembered his past life. He realized that he was on the right spiritual path. He decided that he should take advantage of being born as a human again and utilize this life to further uplift his soul. He should become a monk like his father. He also realized that his mother would not let him go because he was her only hope and joy. He started thinking about what could be done to get her permission.

The baby kept crying and could not be comforted

At last, he came to the decision that since his mother would not let him go willingly, he should create a situation in which she would get tired of him and give him up. He was still a little boy in the crib when he thought, “If I keep crying all the time, she will get tired of me and maybe she will try to get rid of me.” He put his thoughts to work right away. He started crying. His mother came running to comfort him, but he just kept crying. She tried everything but nothing helped to quiet him down. She took him to the doctors and took advice from others, but nothing worked. The child’s trick worked. Even their neighbors, who had liked this child very much, got tired of him. Finally, his mother was fed up with him, but she did not know what to do with him. The child was now six months old, and monk Dhangiri (the child’s father) and acharya Sinhgiri visited the city again. Sunanda came to know about this and thought of giving the child to his father.

At the usual time for alms, Dhangiri Muni asked permission from the acharya to go for alms. acharya Sinhgiri told him, “Dhangiri, today you may accept even a living thing if it is offered.” The acharya possessed a special power, and he knew what alms monk Dhangiri was going to get, so he gave his permission ahead of time. Although Muni Dhangiri did not understand what his guru meant, he left for alms. On his route to various houses, he arrived at Sunanda’s house. He said, “Dharma Labha” (May you follow the proper religion). Sunanda recognized the voice. She welcomed Muni Dhangiri and expressed happiness in seeing him again. She invited him to enter the house for food.

The young boy also heard Muni Dhangiri’s words: “Dharma Labha”. He thought that this was the best opportunity for his trick, so he started crying. This irritated his mother and she told the monk, “You are lucky to be able to uplift your soul, but I am tired with the burden of your child. He does nothing but cry. He does not let me rest and I am very unhappy. Please accept him so there will be peace in the house.” The child heard these words and became very happy in his mind. He hoped that his father would accept her proposal. Muni Dhangiri remembered the words of his guru spoken right before he left for alms. Now he understood what his guru meant. He said, “Sunanda, if you really want to give this child away, I will accept him, but please think twice. Once you give him away, you will not be able to get him back. You will have no right to this child after that. On hearing this, the child started crying even louder. She said, “I do not want to hear this crying anymore. I am so sick and tired of him that I do not want him around at all. You can take him forever.”

The mother placed her cryin

g child in the muni’s cloth

She picked up the child and put him in the muni’s cloth bag. As soon as the boy was handed over to the muni, he stopped crying and started smiling. Sunanda was surprised by this and kept looking at the boy. However, she was determined to give him away. Muni left with the child to go to the upashray. acharya Sinhgiri saw that Muni Dhangiri was carrying something heavy, so he asked him, “Why is your bag so heavy?” When the muni opened his bag, his guru saw the handsome, smiling boy. Since he was so heavy, the acharya named him “Vajrakumar”.

A Jain Shravika taking care of Vajrakumar

Acharya Sinhgiri requested a prominent Jain shravak to take care of Vajrakumar and to make sure that he was taught Jain religious teachings since he had the potential of being a great acharya in the future. The shravak brought Vajrakumar home and told his wife what acharya Sinhgiri wanted them to do. She was a very religious woman and happily agreed to the wishes of the acharya. She loved the boy so much that she would not let him go anywhere without her. She always took him to the upashray to see the sadhvis. Even though he was little, he listened to and memorized all the scriptures the nuns were reciting. By the time, he was three years old, he had learned up to eleven Anga agams. He was respectful to everybody and spoke very intelligently.

One day, one of Sunanda’s friends came to her house and said, “Do you know that your child, who kept crying, spends a lot of his time at our upashray? I have never heard him cry. He is a very charming and lovable child.” Sunanda tried to ignore what her friends told her, but after all she was Vajrakumar’s mother. She longed to see her son again. She started thinking, “How could I have done such a terrible thing? How could I have given up my precious child to a muni? After all, he is my child. I should get him back.”

A few days later, acharya Sinhgiri and Muni Dhangiri came to Tumbivan again. She went to the upashray. She approached Muni Dhangiri and asked him “Please, give my son back. I cannot live without him anymore.” Muni Dhangiri said, “I told you at that time that once you gave him away, you would not get him back. Remember, you said you did not want him at all. We cannot give back what we take.”

Sunanda said, “I do not know why I did that. I cannot live without my son. Please find a way to give me back my son.”

acharya Sinhgiri and Muni Dhangiri tried to convince her to forget him, but she was determined to get him back.

At last, she went to the King and requested, “Please help me get my son back. My husband has become a monk and I am lonely. He is the only child I have. Please ask them to return my son.”

The King heard the whole story from Sunanda. He said, “Let me find out what happened, and I will let you know shortly.” He inquired about the situation and found that because Sunanda was tired of her son’s incessant crying, she had voluntarily given away her child.

The King called Sunanda and told her, “Sunanda, when Muni Dhangiri came to your house for alms you gave your child away voluntarily because you were fed up with his crying. Once you give something you cannot have it back.”

Sunanda said, “Oh King, this is not a thing. This is my own flesh and blood, and he is the only hope I have. Please do something to get him back. I cannot live without him.”

The King could feel the motherly affection and sincerity in her voice. He was also puzzled. Ultimately he told Sunanda, “I will call you and Muni Dhangiri to the courthouse and let Vajrakumar decide whom he wants to go with. Is that okay with you?”

Sunanda said, “Yes, Your Majesty.”

The next day, the King’s courthouse was full of people curious to see what would happen to the child. Sunanda came with toys, sweets, clothes, and other novelty items to attract Vajrakumar. The King and all his ministers came. Muni Dhangiri came with other monks. Everybody in the courthouse, including the King, paid homage to the monks. Vajrakumar also came.

Vajrakumar picked up the ogho and started dancing with it

The King told Vajrakumar, “Vajrakumar, although you are very little, you are a very intelligent boy.” Pointing towards his mother, he said, “She is your mother. She is very affectionate and loving. She has lots of toys, sweets, and good clothes for you. She wants you back. On the other side,” pointing towards Monk Dhangiri, he continued, “there is a monk who has given up his worldly life. He is full of restraint and lives the life of renunciation. He is very virtuous and a revered person. He wants to keep you with him to teach you about spiritual life. Now you must decide which way you want to go. Do you want to go with your mother or with the monk?”

There was pin-drop silence. Everybody was eagerly waiting to see what Vajrakumar would decide. Vajrakumar was very serious today. He got up, and as he walked, he glanced at his mother and Muni Dhangiri. Sunanda started screaming, “Son, come here. See, I have brought you toys, sweets, and new clothes. Please, please, come to me.”

On the other side, Muni Dhangiri did not have anything with him except an ogho (a broom to clean the way before walking). He showed that to Vajrakumar.

Vajrakumar picked up the ogho and started dancing with it. He started smiling again. Then he decided to sit down with Muni Dhangiri and looked at everybody with a joyful face.

Everybody in the courthouse, including the King and Sunanda, were amazed that the young boy chose monkhood instead of a luxurious worldly life. Sunanda accepted Vajrakumar’s decision and wished him success. She celebrated Vajrakumar’s diksha with joy and delight. Later, Vajrakumar became a great acharya.

A human soul is capable of having high religious values and faith at any age. The story of Vajrakumär clearly shows us that it is never too early to learn religious values and to practice religion.

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JAINAM JAYATI SHASHNAM