VASUPUJYA BHAGAVAN -12

King Padmottar ruled over Mangalavati town of Ardhapushkar Island. He was a person devoted to spiritual pursuits. In later part of his life he took Diksha from Acharya Vajranabh. Reducing the tarnish of Karma by penance and spiritual practices he earned the Tirthankar-nam-and-gotra-karma and incarnated as a god in the Pranat dimension.

Vasupujya was the king of Champa town in the Bharat sub-continent. His queen was Jaya Devi. Besides being a great warrior King Vasupujya was a compassionate and charitable person. The queen too was benevolent and she inspired the king in his charitable activities.

The being that was Padmottar was born to queen Jaya Devi. It is said that when the queen was pregnant, the king of gods came to convey his veneration to the future Tirthankar and his mother. As Indra is also known as Vasu, the newborn was named Vasupujya (venerated by Vasu).

As Vasupujya grew, so grew his inherent detachment and apathy for mundane affairs. He had no attraction for the regal splendor and grandeur. When he became young his parents wanted him to marry but he declined. He even conveyed that he had no intention of ascending the throne. In spite of all persuasions from his family members, he renounced the worldly life and became a Sharman on the fifteenth day of he dark half of the month of Phalgun along with six hundred other persons.

The intensity of his spiritual practices was so deep that he became an omniscient within one month. At that moment he was practicing under a Patal tree in a garden outside Champa town. He established the four pronged religious ford and preached for a long period.

The second Vasudeva, Dwiprishtaha, was his devotee. He and his brother Baldev Shrivijay conquered Prativasudev Tarak and brought his oppressive rule to an end. Shrivijay later joined the ascetic order of Bhagawan Vasupujya.

Bhagawan Vasupujya got Nirvana in Champa town on the fourteenth day of the bright half of the month of Ashadh.