„梂 縈Ｏ３ 蔣潮 J - Jainism, Jain Religion - colleges

The falcon agreed to this proposal and the king put the pigeon in one pan of a balance and in the other started putting pieces
of flesh cut out from his own body. Surprisingly, the weight of the pigeon continued to increase as the king went on putting his
flesh in the pan. Witnessing this pathetic scene, the queens and the members of the assembly were moved to bears. They
requested the king not to sacrifice his precious life for a mere pigeon. The falcon was also requested to relent but he too
declined. (S-1/a)
The king continued to cut flesh from his body and put it in the pan of the balance. At last, when the pieces of flesh were not
enough, the king got up from his seat and sat down in the pan. Everyone present was dumping struck at this lofty compassion
and chivalry displayed by the king. Suddenly there was a flesh of divine light and a divine personage appeared. The pigeon
and the falcon disappeared. The god addressed the king, “Maharaj! The king of gods was praising your compassion and
courage, in his assembly. I could not contain myself and came around to test you myself. All this was my creation. You have
come out with flying colors. You are worthy of the praise bestowed on you by the king of gods. Please forgive me”. The god
filled Meghrath’s wounds instantaneously
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left for his abode.
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Whenever there is a talk about chivalry and compassion king Meghrath’s name is taken with respect.
Unflinching Discipline
Disturbed by the miseries of the mundane life, one-day king Meghrath was doing meditation. He transcended to a very high
level of purity. Knowing about this uncommon purity and determination of Meghrath the king of god bowed to him with
reverence, “My salutations to you O citizen Yogi! There are but a few in this world who could reach this level of detachment
and purity”. Two senior consorts of Indra, Surup and Atirup did not like this gesture of praise of a mere human. They both
came to disturb the meditation of Meghrath. They made several beautiful and voluptuous damsels appear before the king.
These beauties tried to disturb Meghrath by a display of dances and inviting gestures. When these night long seductive
afflictions failed to disturb king Meghrath, the goddesses, before returning to their abode, appeared themselves and asked
the king to forgive them. (S-1/b)
King Meghrath, then, coronated his son and took Diksha from Arhat Dhanrath. Due to his increasing purity in meditation in the
face of many afflictions, he earned the Tirthankar-nam-and-gotra-karma. Completing his age he reincarnated in the
Sarvarthasiddha dimension of gods.
From the dimension of gods, the being that was Meghrath descended into the womb of queen Achira, wife of king Vishvasen
of Ikshvaku clan and ruler of Hastinapur.
Once there was a great storm in the Hastinapur area. There were heavy rains and many other calamities. An epidemic
followed these calamities and hundreds of people started dying every day. The masses appealed to the king to save them,
but the king too was helpless. Gravely disturbed by this series of calamities, the king took a vow that he will not eat or drink
as long as peace and normalcy does not return to his kingdom.
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Moved by this harsh vow of king Vishvasen, the king of gods he appeared before the king and said, “O king! You are disturbed
unnecessarily. Is there any death at the place where the wish-fulfilling trio of Chintamani, Kalpavriksha, and Kamdhenu
(divine gem, tree and cow) exist? Queen Achira Devi in her womb is carrying the embodiment of peace and you still feel
disturbed. It surprises me!” The Indra then sang a panegyric in praise of the Tirthankar and advised the king, “Let the queen
go to the roof top and sing this panegyric. After this, let her throw a glance at the vast expanses of your kingdom all around.
This pacifying glance of the queen will remove all miseries from wherever it reaches”.
On the thirteenth day of the dark half of the month Jyeshtha the queen gave birth to the great and illustrious son. A soothing
glow and a feeling of joy and happiness pervaded the whole universe, including even the hell. Due to the pacifying influence
during the period of pregnancy, the newborn was named Shanti Kumar (Shanti = Peace). When he came of age he was
married to several beautiful princesses. At proper time king Vishvasen gave the kingdom to Shantinath and took Diksha.
After a few years king Shantinath got a son who was named Chakrayudh. Several years later, the divine disc weapon
appeared in the armory. When the traditional worship rituals of this weapon were concluded, it started moving toward east on
its own. Shantinath followed the Chakra with his armed forces. Most of the kings on the way surrendered. After defeating the
remaining few, Shantinath became a Chakravarti. (S-1/c)
When, after a long and peaceful reign, he realized that the moment for his renunciation was approaching, Shantinath went
into the Sahasramra jungle, and, becoming an ascetic commenced his practices (S-1/d)
After wandering as an ascetic for one year he returned to the same jungle and there, on the ninth day of the bright half of the
month of Paush, he attained omniscience under a Nandi tree. His first discourse was on the subject of disciplining the
senses. He came to Sammetshikhar after a long period of ascetics; he observed a month long fast that started his final
meditation. On the thirteenth day of the dark half of the month of Jyeshtha, Bhagavan Shantinath attained Nirvana.
Amar Muni - Tirthankar Charitra - Surana # 19
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