Acharya Hasti Mala
Ācārya Bappa Bhaṭṭī stayed all through his life with or near very close contact of King Āma Rāja. This resulted in many good things also. The first good thing was for Jain congregation to have royal patronage. Being the state religion, dominance of Jainism continued. Through his sermons and advice, Ācārya Bappa Bhaṭṭī got a number of socially beneficial works done along with propagating and preaching Jainism. Contacts of Ācārya Bappa Bhaṭṭī definitely resulted in significant enhancement of Jain dominance. All these are the good results of Ācārya Bappa Bhaṭṭī's royal contact.
However, if we analyse the entire life of Bappa, we see a very bad effect also. How can a great influential and brilliant śramaṇa monk (who is supposed to stay detached, void of any type of possessions, celibate, alone, practitioner of five major vows), stay in close contact and proximity of a king and how far he can observe the right code of conduct of a śramaṇa monk? Analysis of these facts leads us to be highly dissatisfied. How can a śramaṇa monk, no matter how influential or scholarly he is, find it possible to protect himself from transgressions of all acts (i.e. prescribed code of conduct of śramaṇa monk) that are strictly forbidden in Jain scriptures, such as riding a palanquin, taking flawed and impure food, using vehicles for wandering, canopies, being served always by royal attendants for physical comforts and royal seats and beds, use fixed residence etc while staying in royal palaces and practice the code of conduct for śramaṇa monk. From various writings about Ācārya Bappa Bhaṭṭī in different texts by scholars and by Prabhā candra in 'Prabhāvaka caritra' lead us to infer that like great proponent of Jainism Ācārya Siddha Sena, Ācārya Bappa Bhaṭṭī also, by continuous close proximity and staying with King Āma Rāja, could not protect himself from committing flaws in the fundamental limits of the code of conduct of śramaṇa monks as given in the scriptures. As a result of his continued and prolonged intimate probity of royal family, Ācārya Bappa Bhaṭṭī had to suffer deep mental agony and troubled mind in the last stages of his life when he was 90 years old.
King Dunduka (successor and son of King Āma Rāja) turned out to be excrement lazy, cruel and of bad conduct. Due to bad company, he started even to conspire for the death of his charismatic and brilliant son Bhoja.
Somehow Bappa Bhaṭṭī came to know of this conspiracy to kill his prince Bhoja. Hence, apprising and alerting Bhoja of this conspiracy, he advised Bhoja to leave immediately for maternal grand parents' home in Pāṭalīputra even without telling his father King Dunduka. Therefore, as per the farsighted advice of Ācārya Bappa Bhaṭṭī, Bhoja could escape from his inevitable death and landed in his maternal grand parents' home in Pāṭalīputra.
King Dunduka was deeply pained to know that his son had gone to Pāṭaliputra even without telling him. After lot of thinking and contemplation, King Dunduka thought that only Ācārya Bappa Bhaṭṭī can persuade somehow king of Pāṭalīputra and bring back Bhoja. No one else can achieve this tough assignment.
Thinking so, one day he requested Ācārya Bappa Bhaṭṭī, 'O venerable teacher! With all these royal wealth I am not happy here without my son who is dearer than my own life. The entire world seems to me like a void in the absence of my son Bhoja. Only you are capable of bringing him back here from Pāṭalīputra. Please oblige me and go to Pāṭalīputra to bring back my son here. I will be grateful to you all my life.'
Knowing the conspiracy of King Dunduka, Ācāryaśrī kept on avoiding the subject on the pretence that he is very busy in practicing a specific type of meditation for the moment. After its completion, he will look for an auspicious day and go to bring back prince Bhoja. Like this on one pretence or the other he kept on postponing the trip to almost complete the remaining years of his life (after the death of king ĀmaRāja).
In the end, due to the highly persuasive request of King Dunduka, Ācārya Bappa Bhaṭṭī had to unwillingly leave for Pātaliputra. While approaching Pāṭalīputra, he thought, 'If I take Bhoja from Pāṭalīputra to Kānyakubja, then the wicked King Dunduka will surely kill Bhoja. If I do not take Bhoja there, then he will be extremely angry with me and inflict heavy damage to Jaindharma and expel my all disciples out of Kānyakubja rule. Either way he will definitely cause very heavy damage to Jainism. Therefore it is best for me from all angels to observe religious fast unto death here (pious death).
Deciding so, his first performed ritual confessions to purify his soul and then vowed the pious death (pādopagamana saṃthārā) in the garden outside Pāṭalīputraitself. He dedicated himself to the five supreme auspicious beings and immersed in deep contemplation of the self. Restraining his hunger and thirst and other afflictions for 21 days, completing 95 years of his life, he died in self-meditation on Śrāvaṇa Śuklā 8th of V.N.1365 under the influence of constellation Swāti.
Due to the supreme benevolence of Ācārya Bappa Bhaṭṭī on his life; Bhoja could avert the deathly attack on his life. Therefore throughout his life, he remained a dedicated devotee of his great benevolent Ācārya Bappa Bhaṭṭī, his disciples and Jain congregation. After the death of Ācārya Bappa Bhaṭṭī, prince Bhoja went to Kānyakubja along with his maternal uncles and their associates. Bhoja finished all atrocities and wicked activities of King Dunduka by killing him and ceremonially acquired the throne. Out of the two successors of Ācārya Bappa Bhaṭṭī, he kept Ācārya Nanna in Moḍherā and made Ācārya Govinda as his royal religious teacher. As a supreme gratitude to the benevolence of Ācārya Bappa Bhaṭṭī, Bhoja did exemplary service for the cause of Jainism.
All his life Ācārya Bappa Bhaṭṭī, did an exemplary service and contribution to enhance the dominance of Jainism and the true spiritual knowledge by composing 52 holy texts Alongwith many miraculous and great works for all. By converting the great non-Jain outstanding scholars like Vākapati Rāja of Śaiva and Parama Vaiṣṇava of Sāṃkhya to Jainism and initiating them into Śramaṇa monkhood, Ācārya Bappa Bhaṭṭī had proved to the world his divine mettle and uncommon charisma and brilliance.
Ācārya Bappa Bhaṭṭī was a highly influential and charismatic ācārya of Jainism Alongwith being a unique brilliant jewel to have contributed immensely to the ocean like Jainism. His name will remain immortal in the history of Jainism.
