Some Jaina Canonical Sutras c8.6

c8.6

As regards Mahāvīra, the founder of Jainism, he is represented as the great teacher who possessed infinite knowledge and infinite faith and who put the law in a true light like a lamp. He saw everything. He had no impurity. He was virtuous, of a fixed mind, the highest and the wisest in the whole world. He had broken all ties and he was above danger He shone forth, endowed with many virtues. After having taught the highest law, he practised the highest contemplation (*śukladhyāna*).¹ After having annihilated all his karma, he reached the unsurpassable highest perfection. He was omniscient and the best of those who have taught nirvāna As chastity is the highest of austerity, so Mahāvīra is the highest of men As nirvāna is the chief object of the law, so there is no one wiser than Mahāvīra. He understood the doctrines of the kriyāvādins, the akriyāvādins, the vinayavādins² and the ajñānavādins.³ He mastered all philosophical systems and practised control as long as he lived He abstained from the company of women and from eating at night. He practised austerity for the removal of pain He led a religious life without using cold water for more than a couple of years He realized singleness, guarded his body, got intuition and was calm. He did not use what had expressly been prepared for him. He well saw bondage coming through action. He did not use another’s robe, nor did he eat out of another’s vessel. He could walk attentively looking on his path He did not seek sleep for the sake of pleasure. He sustained fearful and manifold calamities. Always well controlled he bore the different sorts of feeling. Always well guarded he bore pains caused by grass, cold, fire, flies, etc. He travelled in the pathless country of the Rādhas in Vajjabhūmi and Subbhabhūmi; he used there miserable beds and seats He patiently endured the abusive languages of the peasants, being perfectly enlightened. He was struck with a stick, his flesh was cut off and his hair was torn. But he sat there motionless He was able to abstain from indulgence of the flesh, realizing that uncleanliness of the body, anointing of the body, shampooing, and bathing were considered useless He did not drink for half a month or even for a month He did not drink even for six months. Sometimes he ate stale food He committed no sin, nor did he induce others to do so. He meditated, being free from sin and desire and not attached to sounds or colour.⁴