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20. The Navakara Mantra Saved Us
M. S. Patadia Extract taken with thanks from the monthly
"Paramartha" of Rajkot, July Issue 1986
In the Shankhalpur village at the south, at a distance of 5 kilometres, there are age-old caves. So many engravers had carved from stone the cave which was a wonder. In the cave there were numerous chariots of stone, Suryaratha, Nataraj, Shiva in his Tandava-dance posture, all the sages, 24 Tirthankaras and other pieces of art. All the idols were engraved in the mountain itself. At one side there was the Assembly Hall with 32 pillars. One could count the 32 pillars from any spot and the uniqueness was that not one pillar obstructed the view of another. The cave had only one entrance, as also exit. Normally the travellers did not gather courage to enter the cave because, just at its entrance, one vast stone weighing thousands of maunds was hanging without any support! Thousands of travellers paid a visit to this spot, but local village people did not have much of an interest in the cave because of distance. It was a common and ordinary thing for them.
In the village Sarodi, there lived Hemachandbhai, a Vanik and his family. It was a very happy family with five daughters and a son Piyush by name. He was in the tenth class. He was full of all religious inclinations, going to Derasar right from his young days. He would never miss his Darshan even for a day; if sick he would go with his father in a gadi. In the morning and evening both he would chant the Mantra -“Namo Arihantanam, Namo Siddhanam”. He would habitually go to sleep after fifty
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