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Bhagavan Vimalnath got Nirvana at Sammetshikhar on the seventh day of the dark half of the month of Ashadh.
14. BHAGAVAN ANANTNATH
Queen Suyasha Devi, wife of king Simhasen of Ayodhya, gave birth to an illustrious son on the thirteenth day of the dark half
of the month of Vaishakh. During her pregnancy the queen dreamt of a very long strand of beeds whose ends were not
visible. The power and the glory of the king also increased manifold during this period. Accordingly the newborn was named
Anant (endless) Kumar.
After leading a normal life, first as a prince and then as the king he became an ascetic alongwith one thousand other persons.
He became an omniscient on the fourteenth day of the dark half of the month of Vaishakh under an Ashok tree. In his first
discourse he elaborated the subject of the fundamentals-matter and lie. He had fifty chief disciples including the senior most
named Yash. Purushottam
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Vasudev and Suprabh
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Baldev reigned during
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Bhagavan Anantnath got Nirvana at Sammetshikhar on the fifth day of the bright half of the month of Chaitra.
15. BHAGAVAN DHARMNATH
The being that was to become Bhagavan Dharmnath was king Dridhrath of Bhaddilpur in Mahavideh area, in its earlier
incarnation. Although he had enormous wealth and a large kingdom, he had a detached and pious life like a lotus in a pond.
Even great saints praised him as the embodiment of religion. During the later part of his life kind Dridhrath became an ascetic
and as a result Tirthankar-nam-and-gotra-karma. Completing his age he reincarnated as a god in the Vaijayant dimension.
This being then descended into the womb of queen Suvrata, wife of kings Bhanuraja of Ratnapur. During the pregnancy the
queen devoted all her time in religious activities. Even the king and all other members of the family were inclined to devote
maximum time to various religious activities like charity, righteousness, penances, studies etc. On the third day of the bright
half of the month of Magh a son was born to the queen. Due to the religious influence during the pregnancy period, the king
gave him the name Dharmnath. In due course he became young, was married and then ascended the throne. He ruled
successfully for a long period.
One day he terminated all worldly attachments and became an ascetic. After two years of spiritual practices he became
omniscient. The fifth Vasudev Purush Simha and Sudarshan Baldev attended his first religious discourse.
In this first discourse he mainly dealt with the subject of form and ill effects of passions. A large audience was benefited by this
eloquent discourse. At last he went to Sammetshikhar and got Nirvana.
16. BHAGAVAN SHANTINATH
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The account of the earlier incarnations of Bhagavan Shantinath indicates that this being had taken the path of discipline that
lead toward purity of soul many births before. As a result of this upliftment during his incarnations as Shrisen and Vajrayudh
it was born as Meghrath, the son of king Dhanrath of Pundarikini town in Purva Mahavideh area. At the proper time, king
Dhanrath gave the kingdom to Meghrath and became an ascetic.
Protection to a Refugee
Meghrath was a benevolent and religious ruler. He was compassionate and protected all living thins. Being a Kshatriya and
warrior he had the chivalry to sacrifice all he had in order to protect those in trouble.
One day while obscuring the partial renunciation vow (Paushadh) he was about to start a discourse on the religion propagated
by the Tirthankars. All of a sudden a pigeon, trembling with fear, fell in his lap and uttered in choking human voice, “Save me,
O King! Give me Refuge, take me under your protection”! The compassionate king comforted the bird and took it under his
protection.
A falcon that too uttered in human language, “O king, followed the pigeon! This pigeon is my food, leave it alone”. The king
tried to explain, “It has taken refuge with me, as such I am duty bound to protect it. I will give you any type of food you want;
why kill a living thing just to fill your stomach”?
The falcon insisted, “If you will not leave it I may die of hunger. I am a carnivore; who will provide me food. If i die, you will be
responsible and bear the sin”.
When the falcon did not yield, Meghrath said at last, “O falcon! As long as I exist, I will not an allow you to die. I will cut out
flesh from my body equivalent to the weight of this little pigeon and give it to you. You may satisfy your urge to eat. But under
no circumstance I shall allow you to kill the bird that has taken refuge with me”.
Amar Muni - Tirthankar Charitra - Surana # 18
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