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ACĂRYA VIJAYAVALLABHASŪRI COMMEMORATION VOLUME
bowed down, saluted the Lord, left the Bahuśāla caitya and began to tour independently along with 500 ascetics.
After wandering from village to village for about a period of three years, he arrived on a certain day at a town Śrāvastī by name, and resorted to Koșthaka sanctuary of that place. It is here that an event, which proved to be a turning-point in his life took place. During his stay one day he took very tasteless, inferior, rough, stale and musty food which was brought after the time of taking meal was over, and was taken regardless of the quantity thereof. This resulted in his falling ill seriously. The disease took an acute form in no time and he felt that his whole body was burning due to bilious fever. He called his fellow monks and asked them to spread a bedding for him. They faithfully obeyed the order and engaged themselves with the work so that he might have a complete rest. But it could not be carried on expeditiously as he had wished and the severity of pain was increasing every moment. He called them again and said, "Has the bed been spread or is it being spread ?”1 They replied,2 "O beloved of gods, it is not spread yet, but is being spread." Now doubt crept in Jamäli's mind. He said to himself, "Lord Mahāvīra has said and explained thus : what is moving is called 'moved', what is rising or maturing is known ‘risen' or 'matured', what is partially destroyed is said to be 'partially destroyed', etc. This statement is false. It is obviously seen that so long as the bedding is being spread, it is not spoken of as spread. Hence how can the above doctrine of Lord Mahāvīra be said to be held true ?" Then he gathered together other monks and proclaimed the falsity of Mahāvīra's preaching. Some of them expressed their faith in his conclusions, while others disliked it, and left his company and joined Lord Mahāvīra, who was at Purnabhadra sanctuary of Campā City.
After some time, when Jamāli was completely cured of the disease, he also left Śrāvasti and wandering from village to village reached Campā. He kept himself standing neither near nor far from the Lord and spoke 1. SHI HAITE O F 295? 2. weg aargfato SSHYT PAS, !
According to śāntyācārya (p. 153B) reply was negative one as it is found in the Bhagavati. But Ācārya Malayagiri (commentary on Avaśyaka, p. 402B). Abhayadeva (Sthānangavrtti, p. 390) and Maladhāri Hemacandra (Višeşāvaśyaka Vrtti, p. 936) hold that the monks replied that the bed was stretched although
it was as yet being stretched or was only half-stretched. 4. Bhagavati 1.1.
3.
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