Acharya
Sthulabhadra shines as a bright star among the galaxy of Jain saints who has
illumined Jainism by his matchless self-control, and unparalleled intellect. So
highly is he honoured in the Swetambara sect that he is remembers in the mangala-mantra (benedictory chant) along
with the Tirthankara Mahavira, his first disciple Gautama, and the Jain faith.1
He
was born in Patlipurta, the then capital of Magadha in the year 351 BC during
the reign of King Nanda the IXth. He was the eldest son of Shakadala, the
legendary Prime Minister of the Magadha Empire. He had seven sisters who became
Jain nuns, and a younger brother, Shreyaka, who too later became a Prime
Minister.
When
Sthulabhadra was eighteen years old, he was sent by his father to the renowned
state-courtesan Kosha for training in the amorous arts (kamakala). For he was
being trained by Shakadala to be the future Prime Minister and, was therefore
expected to be a master of all the branches of the arts and the sciences. Kosha
was not only a lady exquisite beauty and grace, but she also held a
distinguished position in the different fields of arts. So, one who had not
undergone training under her was not considered learned. Hence Shakadala sent
his promising son to her. But Kosha and Sthulabhadra fell in love with each
other at first sight, and the latter did not return from her house for the next
twelve years!
Shakadala
did not repeat the mistake of sending Shreyaka also to Kosha and, instead,
appointed him the personal bodyguard of the king. We need not go into the
details, however interesting, of the rivalry between Shakadala and one
Vararuchi and the course of events that followed leading to the premature and
unnatural death of Shakadala. After his death Shreyaka was offered the post of
Prime Minister, but he politely declined, stating that his elder brother was
the rightful heir and should be summoned.
Sthulabhadra
was completely oblivious of the world for all these twelve years. He was
startled by the news of his father’s death and by the summons of the king.
Bidding goodbye to his sweetheart, and fearing further trouble, he hurried to
the court. There he came to know in detail the circumstances that led to his
father’s death. He was asked to accept the Prime Minister’s post, but he begged
to be allowed to consider deeply the offer before accepting it. He retired into
solitude.
The
moment of his awakening and conversion had arrived. He discriminated thus:
A state official, however high his post, is after all a servant of the
king. How can there be happiness for one who is subordinate to another? Even
though one may be fully dedicated to the State, there is never any dearth of
backbiters and faultfinders who are ever ready to create problems. My father
died prematurely on account of his ministerial post. By accepting this office I
will have to please the king as well as the public, which is very difficult.
Besides, the burden of administrative work leaves no time for thinking about
the Self.
This
discrimination awakened the true spirit of renunciation in Sthulabhadra. He
forthwith renounced the world, received the monastic vows from Acharya Sambhuta
Vijaya and returned to the court in the garb of a monk. Everyone was amazed. He
was persuaded by all, including the king and his brother, to reconsider his
decision, but to no avail. The king, however, suspected that he was probably
going to Kosha by thus deceiving all! But when he saw Sthulabhadra proceed in
some other direction, he felt sorry for his suspicion.
Sthulabhadra
became a monk at the age of thirty and lived the rigorous monastic life for
sixty nine long years. He was humble, intelligent, hardworking and austere.
Diligentaly cultivating virtues such as patience, forbearance, equanimity and
forgiveness, he soon became the most trusted lieutenant of his guru.
Rainy
season was drawing close. Now, according to the traditional custom, Jain monks
too live at certain specific places during the four rainy months to avoid walking
outside and so hurting crawling creatures which multiply and abound then. They
seek permission from their guru to retire to some secluded place for this
period to practise various types of austerities. One among Sthulabhadra and his
brother disciples asked permission to remain in kayotsarga-dhyana (meditation with perfect control of and
detachment from the body) near the den of a lion; another to live near the hole
of a snake; and another to dwell on the central beam of a well! Sthulabhadra,
however, made a very peculiar request: He begged permission to pass the four
monsoon months in the pleasure-chamber (chitra-shala)
of the courtesan Kosha, where he had lived a different life for twelve years!
All were granted permission.
Kosha,
who was downcast ever since Sthulabhadra had left, was delighted to see him
back. At first she thought that he had returned, not being able to bear the
rigorous of monastic life. The sage, however, made his intentions plain: he was
going to stick to his vows. Still hopeful, Kosha tried to win him with
arguments in favour of a life of enjoyment, and tried all means she knew to
tempt him, but failed. She accepted defeat in face of his absolute
self-control, serene inner pose born of deep meditation on the Self, and
renunciation. Being defeated, she then converted and became a lay Jain devotee.
The conversation between Kosha and Sthulabhadra is the ever-fresh subject
matter of a number of poetic compositions both in Pali and Sanskrit by Jain
scholar-monks, full of discrimination and renunciation; it is highly
instructive and elevating.
It
is said in praise of Sthulabhadra:
The affectionate courtesan was obedient; the food consisted of six
courses of tasty dishes; the dwelling place was beautiful, the body was
handsome and young; the time was the rainy season. I pay homage to Sthulabhadra
Muni, expert in instructing young ladies, who, in spite of all these, conquered
with ease Kama, the god of love.2
There are
thousands of self-controlled people living in high mountain caves and in
the solitude of deep forests. But the son of Shakadala alone maintained perfect
self-control while living in the vicinity of young maidens in exceedingly
beautiful surroundings.3
At
the end of four months the monks returned to the guru. He complimented the
first three monks saying, ‘ Dukkhara’,
meaning that the vow they had fulfilled was indeed difficult. But when
Sthulabhadra came, he went seven steps forward and greeted him saying, ‘Atidukkhara’, meaning ‘most difficult’.
Unfortunately, the three monks became jealous and decided to equalize with Sthulabhadra
by staying at Kosha’s house during the next rainy season! So the remaining
eight months flew by because of their eager expectation.
With
the advent of the next rainy season, the monk who had lived near the den of a
lion went straight to Kosha’s house , against his guru’s prohibition. Kosha
immediately realized that the muni had come out of animosity towards
Sthulabhadra, and decided to teach him a lesson. She entertained him till he
was excited with passion and then she proposed that he should bring a precious ratna-kambala ( a costly shawl
embroidered with jewels) from the king of Nepal
The
infatuated monk, abandoning all sense of shame, went to Nepal and brought the
shawl with great difficulty. Kosha wiped her feet with the costly ratna-kambala
and threw it into the drain. When the monk protested at her throwing away such
a precious shawl, Kosha retorted, ‘Why, after having obtained this rare human
birth, are you not throwing away the priceless charita-ratna ( the jewel of character) for my body which is
nothing but a bundle of filth, faeces, urine and other dirty substances? ‘ The
muni at once realized his fault, shook off his infatuation, thanked Kosha and
returned to his guru. He confessed his guilt, undertook penance for the
transgression and began to practice severe austerities.
Around
that time a terrible famine lasting twelve years ravaged the whole of North
India. It was a period of severe crisis for the whole monastic order (Sri
Sangha) also. Besides the passing away of monks in large numbers for want of
food, there was the additional danger of the extinction of the scriptural
knowledge in the possession of individual monks, mainly in their memory and
transmitted by verbal tradition. There were no written texts even till many
centuries later. So a conference was held and all the scattered sacred lore was
compiled. Thus eleven complete angas could be collected, except the twelfth.
Acharya Bhadrabahu was its only knower, but he was then in Nepal
At
this the Sri Sangha reminded him what penalty was for disobeying the orders of
the Sri Sangha. Acharya Bhadrabahu accepted that any one, even an Acharya, was
liable to be excommunicated if he went against the commands of the Order, and
he was no exception. He therefore agreed, as a compromise, to impart the
knowledge of the twelfth anga, even while practising Maha-prana-dhyana. Capable
monks were sent to him, but because of his being preoccupied with his
practices, the tuition proceeded so slowly that most of the monks left out of
sheer desperation. Nevertheless, Sthulabhadra alone persisted in that
snail-paced learning.
During
this period, Sthulabhadra’s seven sisters, who too had become nuns, came to
meet their elder brother. Bhadrabahu directed them to a nearby cave. Seeing
them come, Sthulabahdra, simply to show off his occult powers, assumed the form
of a lion. The sisters, frightened out of their wits and thinking that their
brother had been killed by the beast, hurried back. However, when they reported
the whole matter to Bhadrabahu, he, sensing the truth, sent them again to the
cave. This time, of course, they saw their brother.
The
practical joke might have amused and impressed the nuns, but it proved
disastrous for Sthulabhadra. Acharya Bhadrabahu refused to teach him any
further since he had misused the powers acquired by the study. Sthulabhadra
immediately realized his mistake, repented and repeatedly begged to be
pardoned, pledging never again to misuse the occult powers. But Bhadrabahu was
adamant. The Sri Sangha intervened and requested him to teach the remaining
portion. At this, he taught only the text, but not the meaning of the remaining
four sections.
Justifying
his stand Acharya Bhadrabahu said that he was unwilling to impart the previous
knowledge not merely because Sthulabhadra had misused it, but also for a deeper
reason. There wasn’t a more competent student than Sthulabhadra, a conqueror of
lust and the desire for power and position; he was extremely intelligent,
possessed of exceptionally sharp memory and infinite patience- he, indeed, was
a veritable ocean of virtues. When such a high-born, steady, determined,
dispassionate crestjewel of monasticism could be so careless and fall a prey to
the pride of learning, what should one expect of less competent aspirants of
the future? To impart knowledge to incompetent pupils is to insult knowledge
itself. In any case, no purpose would be served even if the remaining knowledge
was imparted. For, he foresaw that, with the passing away of Sthulabhadra, the
generation of competent aspirants as well as acharyas would come to an end, and
that the sacred knowledge also would be lost.
This
interesting and instructive episode, among other things, highlights the
relation between the Acharya and the monastic Order. Initially the Order
threatened to ex-communicate the Head, the Acharya himself, on his own verdict.
He was thus forced to impart knowledge to Sthulabhadra for the welfare of the
Sangha. However, on the later occasion he did not yield to the Sangha. This
shows that the Sangha appoints Acharya for its own welfare, and in him the
strength of the Sangha is centralized. Both the Sangha and Acharya act in
unison.
Sthulabhadra
was the head, the Yuga Pradhana of the Jain community, for forty five years and
died at the age of ninety nine years in the year 252 BC. He was the last of the
shruta-kevalin, i.e the knower of all
the scriptures. It was during this period that Bhadrabahu with his followers
migrated to South India , to escape the perils
of the devastating twelve year long famine. The Jain community thus got divided
into two branches, the Digambara sect in the south, headed by Bhadrabahu, and
the Swetambara sect in the north with Sthulabahdra as the leader.
Conclusion:
Every
religious Order is invigorated and advanced by a succession of saints and
sages. Jainism is no exception. However, the lives of its ancient saints are
shrouded in mystery and very little factual details are available. Although a
number of books have been written on Acharya Sthulabhadra, biographical
material is scarce. Interestingly, the little information available, faithfully
portrays the triumphs and failures of this extraordinary saint. Here was a
young man, who had fallen into the abysmal depths of sensuality and
infatuation, but who raised himself to the dizzy heights of absolute
self-control and conquest of lust. And yet such a patient and valiant warrior
against the inner foes was vanquished by pride in an unguarded moment. Does
this life not convey a profound message for all spiritual aspirants?
Bibliography
1. Parishistha
Parva, by Hemchandracharya, published by Sri Jain Dharma Prasaraka Sabha, Bhavnagar
2. Upadeshmala,
Doghatti Vritti, by Ratnaprabha, published by Bhanjibhai Devchandra Jauhari, Bombay
References:
1
********** Quoted by Sadhvi Sanghmitra in Jain Dharma ke prabhavak acharya, (
Jain Vishwa Bharati Prakashan, Ladanu, Rajasthan, 1979), p.78.
2
************* Quoted by Muni Ratnaprabha Vijaya, in Sramana Bhagavan Mahavir
(Sr Siddhanta Society, Ahmedabad, 1948), vol. 5, part I, p.227
3 **************
lbid.
