Emperor Chandragupta Maurya and Jainism
Acharya Bhadrabahu and Chandragupta Maurya
Chandragupta Maurya was the founder of the Mauryan dynasty. He defeated the mighty Magadhan emperor Dhananand of the Nand Dynasty and became the emperor of Magadh. Almost all of India, including present-day Pakistan and Afghanistan were part of the Magadhan Empire.
Chandragupta ruled for 25 years. After retiring from the throne, he became a naked Jain monk. Acharya Bhadrabahu, the most influential Jain ascetic of that time was Chandragupta’s spiritual teacher.
At that time, the region was suffering from a dreadful famine. Acharya Bhadrabahu, Chandragupta Maurya, and about 12000 Jain monks decided to migrate. First, they migrated to the west, and from there to the southern parts of India. The monks settled in southern parts of Karnataka and Northern parts of Tamil Nadu, with their headquarter at Shravanabelagola.
In Shavanabelagola, Chandragupta Maurya became a Jain Acharya, i.e. the head of a group of monks. His name as a head was Acharya Prabhachandra. Bhadrabahu, Prabhachandra, and other monks promoted Jainism in the southern parts of India.
In the last days of their life, Acharya Badrabahu and Acharya Prabhachandra, both adopted Sallekhana, a Jain way of death by starvation.
There are two hills at Shravanabelagola. One is known as Indragiri and the other one as Chandragiri. The name Chandragiri of the hill was kept in the memory of Chandragupta. There is a famous meditation cave on the hill known as ‘Bhadrabahu Gufa’ i.e. Bhadrabahu Cave, where Acharya Bhadrabahu meditated. On the same hill, there are footprints of Chandragupta carved on a rock.
Chandragiri Hill is full of rock inscriptions written in the ancient and medieval periods. The oldest inscriptions are in the Prakrit language. There are many Jain temples on the hill. The most ancient temple is known as Chandragupt Basdi, i.e. Chandragupt Temple. Inside this temple, there is a carved history of Chandragupta’s migration with Acharya Bhadrabahu to Shravanabelagola.
Bhadrabahu Gupha at Chandragiri Hill, Shravanabelagola
Shravanabelagola: Pilgrimage Center of Jains
Shravanbelagola is one of the most important pilgrimage centers of Jains and now it has become world famous. On Chandragiri hill, you can see many beautiful and historical Jain temples, the meditation cave where Acharya Bhadrabahu meditated, and the footprints of Chandragupta Maurya.
On the Indragiri hill, there is the world's largest monolithic statue. The statue is of Lord Bahubali, the famous son of Rishabh the first Teerthankar of Jains, and brother of Bharat, the first mythical Chakravarti i.e. Emperor of Greater India. A big abhishek ceremony of the statue is celebrated every 12th years. Millions of people from all over India and other countries attend this ceremony.
On the two hills, there are over 600 inscriptions carved in the ancient and medieval periods, which are very important for knowing the history of Karnataka and India. The oldest inscription of the Marathi language is carved near the footstep of the giant statue of Gomateshwara.
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© 2011 Mahaveer Sanglikar