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LIFE OF MAHÁVÍRA.
37
is conceived in the womb of Devanandi, the wife of Rishabha Datta ; wherefore he is now about doing a thing that never happened, nor does, nor will happen, during the presidency of any Indra, prince and king of the gods, that an Arhat should be born in a low caste, or Brahman family, and not on the contrary in a noble family. The best thing then that can be done is to withdraw the venerable ascetic Mahávíra, last of the Tirthankars, and pointed out by his predecessors, from the womb of Devanandi, and place him in that of Trisalá, the Kshatrayin, of the family of Vasishta, wife of Siddhártha, the Kshatriya, of the family of Kasyapa, both of pure Kshatriya descent". After these thoughts had passed through his mind, he called Harinegamesi, the chief of his messengers, and thus addressed him: “O beloved of the gods, a thing now threatens to take place, which never happened before, nor now happens, nor ever will happen, that the birth of an Arhat should
* It is difficult to say what could have induced the author to invent this ridiculous story (unless it were to vent his spite against the Brahmans), so like the Puranic legend of Balarama's transference. In this fable Harinegamesi acts the part that the Brahmans assign to Yoganidra. The commentator anticipates objections to the story, and brings forward the Brahmanical legend to support the credit of the author. The two stories are no doubt connected, but it may be doubted which is the original.
