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( 94 ) and Sudharmā, and as Gautama attained Kevala-jnana just as Mahavira breathed his last and obtained Nirvāna, Sudharmā become the head of the order. From Sudharmā it is possible to trace a whole list of succession of the leaders of the order right upto the present time.
Mahavira's third order consisted of laymen. They were householders who did not actually renounce the world but who could and did keep his rule in a modified form, while their alms supported the professed monks. As Mrs. Stevenson says, the genius for organisation which Mahavira possessed is shown in nothing more clearly than in the formation of this and the order of laywomen. The laymen are said to have numbered during Mahavira's lifetime one hundred and fifty-nine thousand men; according to the Digambara version the number given is one hundred thousand ; the laywomen numbered three hundred and fifty-eight thousands.
In one of the well-known Jain Āgamas, Uvāsagadasão, the names of ten of the more important lay followers of Mahavira are given. Vānijyagrāma, Campa, Baranasi, Alabhia (or Alavi), Kampilyapura, Polāsapura, Rājagpha and Sravasti are mentioned as the important ones among the places that were visited by the Venerable Ascetic Mahavira. The town of Campa had near it the shrine of Purnabhadra, Vānijyagrāma, the shrine called Dutipalāsa ; Baranasi the Koșthaka shrine ; Alabhia, the Garden called Sankhavana ; Kampilyapura, the garden called Sahasramravana ; Polasapura, a garden known by the name of Sahasramravana; Rajgsha, a shrine called Gunasila ; and Sravasti, the Koshthaka shrine. In Vānijyagrāma the great lay disciples of Mahavira and the lay supporters of his order were Ananda and his wife Sivananda; in Campa Kamadeva and his wife Bhadra ; in Baranasi, Culanipriya and his wife Shyama, and Suradeva and his wife Dhanya; in Alabhia, Cullasataka and his wife Bahula ; in Kampilyapura, Kundakolita and his wife Pusya; in Polasapura,
| SR No. | 011079 |
| Book Title | Lord Mahavira |
| Original Sutra Author | N/A |
| Author | Bool Chand |
| Publisher | Jain Cultural Research Society |
| Publication Year | |
| Total Pages | 123 |
| Language | English |
| Classification | Book_English |
| File Size | 6 MB |