SHANTINATH
BHAGAVAN - 16
The account of the earlier
incarnations of Bhagavan Shantinath indicates that his being had taken the path of
discipline that lead toward purity of soul many births before. As a result of this
uplifting 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 Meghrat and became an ascetic.
Meghrath was a benevolent and
religious ruler. He was compassionate and protected all living things. Being a Kshatriya
and a warrior he had the chivalry to sacrifice all he had in order to protect those in
trouble.
One day while observing 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.
The pigeon was followed by a
falcon who too uttered in human language, "O king! 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 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."
The falcon agreed to this
proposal and the king put the pigeon in one pan of 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 tears. They
requested the king not to sacrifice his precious life for a mere pigeon. The falcon, was
also requested relent but he too declined.
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
dumb 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 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 and left for his abode.
Whenever there is a talk about
chivalry and compassion king Meghrath’s name is taken with respect.
Disturbed by the miseries of the
mundane life, one day king Meghrath was doing mediation. He transcended to a very high
level of purity. Knowing about this uncommon purity and determination of Meghrath the king
of gods 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.
King Meghrath, then, coronated
his on 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 Sarvarthsiddha 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 tot he king to save them, but the king took a vow that he will not eat or drink
as long as peace and normalcy does not return to his kingdom.
Move by this harsh vow of king
Vishvasen, the king of gods himself appeared before the king 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? The embodiment of
peace is being carried by queen Achira Devi in her womb 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 got to he 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 of Jyeshta the queen gave birth to the great and illustrious son. The
whole universe, including even the hell, was pervaded by a soothing glow and a feeling of
joy and happiness. Due to the pacifying influence during the period of pregnancy, the new
born 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 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 the 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.
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.
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
wandering and propagating true religion. There, along with nine hundred other ascetics, he
observed a month long fast that started his final meditation. On the thirteenth day of the
dark half of the month of Jyeshta, Bhagavan Shantinath attained Nirvana.