Acharya Hasti Mala
The name of Sūrācārya occupies a very important place amongst the great scholars, poets and influential ācāryas of Jainism in Vikram 11th century.
This great poet of Gujarat went to Mālawā town and defeated in debates the court of Bhoja Rāja who had been decorated with the title of 'Saraswatīvara Labdhaprasāda'. Not only this, even after defeating the most influential debater of the court, he faced and overcame many difficulties on the way and returned to Gujarat happily.
At that time a practice was prevalent amongst the scholars and poets that whosoever defeated a scholar put by Bhoja Rāja in scriptural debates, the winning scholar would be somehow in a dubious manner got killed. Brief life sketch of Sūrācārya is given below.
A very powerful king by the name Bhīma used to rule Anhillapura Pāṭaṇa or Pāṭaṇa nagara of Gurjara Pradeśa. King Bhīma was very firm supporter and believer of Jainism. He used to protect, promote and administer his subjects with justice and in legal manner. He was a very popular king. Jain Droṇa was the religious teacher of the king and he used to teach king and his ministers scriptural texts. This Droṇa guru, born with a Kṣatriya lineage, was the maternal uncle of King Bhīma. Droṇa had a younger brother also named Saṃgrāma Siṃha who in turn had a son named Mahipāla. Mahipāla had distinguished wisdom and was glorious.
Due to the sudden death of Saṃgrāma Siṃha, his wife took her son Mahipāla to Anhillapura Pāṭaṇa. Standing in front of Droṇācārya and keeping her son at his feet she said, 'Ācārya Deva! Please keep this son of your brother with you in your service and impart proper education to him.'
Seeing the auspicious and beautiful signs on the body of Mahipāla, Droṇa realized on the basis of his knowledge that this child would become a great influential ācārya of Jainism.
Droṇācārya started the sequential teaching of words and vocabulary, valid knowledge. View - points, literature, scriptures, conduct and many other different subjects. All these lessons kept on landing in Mahipāla's mind and speech well.
Mahipāla started developing a feeling of faith and deep affection towards Dronācārya. He started feeling pain even when Dronācārya was away from him for a moment. Hence he got himself initiated into Śramaṇa monkhood. After Mahipāla attained high level of scholarship in all subjects, Droṇācārya thought him most suitable to be anointed as ācārya and anointed him as a ācārya. In this way monk Mahipāla on being anointed as a ācārya, became popular as Sūrācārya.
One day the principal persons of King Bhoja went to the royal court of King Bhīma and they recited averse there. This verse meant 'who with his very loud thunder in one jump and with one paw cut the hind part of a wild elephant and spread his immortal light everywhere, that lion can neither have friendship nor separation from a deer.
King Bhīma heard that verse with extreme disdain and exercise utmost restraint. He did not allow slightest lines on his forehead nor redness in his eyes.
King Bhīma did traditional welcome of the principal persons of King Bhoja, ordered adequate arrangements for their stay and food and requested them to take rest in the rest house.
After King Bhoja's principals left, King Bhīma asked his prime minister and chiefs etc to locate a distinguished scholar who is fit to translate this verse properly.
Scholars sitting in King Bhīma's court tried to provide proper answers by composing many verses. But the king did not find any one adequately miraculous. To find a scholar, all elders, chiefs etc started searching in monasteries and temples of different religions, maths on cross roads, three way roads and the windows of the temples.
One day the principal men of King Bhīma arrived in the temple of Govinda Sūri. By chance on that day as a celebration of some festival, performances by expert dancers and musicians were going on there. Sūrācārya was also present there. Completely tired by her performance, a dancer embraced a pillar of marble located in the direction of wind and stood still to dry her sweat.
Seeing Sūrācārya, Govindācārya requested him to describe this unique sight. Sūrācārya using his extraordinary poetic skill composed and recited a verse which astonished everyone.
Principals of King Bhīma were also present there. Those principals became very happy. They immediately went to King Bhoja and told him that Govindācārya had such a unique glorious and great poet who is fully capable to answer the verse of King Bhoja.
The king said. 'Oh! Govindācārya maintains very cordial relations with us. Please go and pay respects to the poet and have him with his guru come here.'
The king became very happy when he saw Sūrācārya with Govindācārya and said, 'Oh! He is the son of my maternal uncle. Hence he is my younger brother. He is fully competent to make impossible possible.'
The scholars of the court then recited to Sūrācārya the verse sent by King Bhoja with his principals. Hearing that verse; Sūrācārya in deeper and serious tone recited the verse which means 'God had created Bhīma like death for the hundred sons of blind Dhṛtarāṣṭra; who had insulting and disobeying them killed Dhṛtarāṣṭra's hundred sons. You alone do not count in front of him.'
Everyone became very happy on hearing this extremely beautiful verse to destroy the pride of King Bhoja. King Bhīma immediately asked his principals to invite and escort the principals sent by Mālawā Rāja Bhoja to his royal court. On their arrival, he placed the verse prepared by Sūrācārya in their hands and said, 'Please present this to the worshipper of Goddess Saraswatī King Bhoja from my side.' After saying this, King Bhīma bid respectful farewell to them.
On reaching Dhārā, the distinguished persons of King Bhoja presented that verse to their king. On reading the verse, King Bhoja was stunned and speechless.
On the other side, King Bhīma in grateful words bid farewell to Sūrācārya and said, 'With a distinguished and endowed with special poetic powers you present here, King Bhoja surrounded with a giant group of scholars cannot harm me in any manner.'
Later on, Guru Droṇācārya one day said to Sūrācārya, 'After getting endowed with so many skills and knowledge, have you come after conquering the royal court of King Bhoja?'
Sūrācārya said, 'O Lord! Your order is worthy of being kept uppermost on my mind. Till I fulfil your orders, I shall not accept or consume any kind of flawed (milk, butter etc) food with causes ill effects on mind and body.'
From next day onwards, he did not accept any milk or its products. Droṇācārya, other scholar monks and the four fold congregation requested him to please take a small amount of such foods like milk and its products etc but Sūrācārya remained firm in his resolve.
One day Droṇācārya permitted Sūrācārya accompanied with some young scholar monks to proceed to Dhārānagarī. While bidding farewell to Sūrācārya, Droṇācārya embraced him and gave some wise advice while proceeding to far of places. He said, 'Son! Always be alert while you are going on a wandering trip to far of places. You have all the capabilities to become a great person. You have also restrained your sensual inclinations. But always remember that youth is always unfaithful to all.'
Keeping the advice of his guru uppermost in his mind and after getting his permission, Sūrācārya bid farewell to in the royal court of King Bhīma. The king honoured Sūrācārya. As a coincidence, the principal adviser of Mālawārāja Bhoja appeared in the royal court and said, 'King Bhoja is extremely pleased with the unique glory and scholarship of your scholars. He is very anxious to meet your scholars. Therefore please send your esteemed scholars to the royal court of King Bhoja with us.'
As per the wishes of King Bhoja and his promise as given through his principal advisers, to welcome and honour Sūrācārya and other scholars fully, King Bhīma happily extended his approval for the departure of Sūrācārya to Mālawādeśa.
Sūrācārya thought, 'Due to the benevolence of my teacher, this happy coincidence has occurred today that I am keen to go there and King Bhoja also sent his warm invitation to me.'
King Bhīma bid farewell to Sūrācārya with one elephant, 500 soldiers mounted on horses and one thousand walking soldiers to accompany him.
When the principal advisers of King Bhoja informed him about the arrival of Sūrācārya, then King Bhoja himself accompanied with his principal advisers and army went to the border of Mālawādeśa to extend a warm welcome to Sūrācārya.
It is forbidden for a monk to ride an elephant as per Sūrācārya code of conduct. However as per the insistence of the principal advisers and with determination to take repentance for this, he did ride an elephant to proceed towards the border of Mālawādeśa.
Riding on elephants, both Sūrācārya and King Bhoja saw each other and got down from their elephants. They both embraced each other like brothers. The king made Sūrācārya enter his kingdom with full state honours.
There was a Jain monastery in the centre of Dhārānagarī and Sūrācārya went there while King Bhoja went to his palace.
After paying obeisance to the idol in Jain temple, Sūrācārya went to the study room of the presiding ācārya Būṭa Saraswati where there was light of knowledge all around and was echoing with the recitations of the students.
On seeing Sūrācārya, Būṭa Saraswatī went towards him and bowed and welcomed him. Later on he offered food and drinks with highest honours to him.
In those days, King Bhoja was filled with a keen desire to establish harmony amongst all religions. He wanted the principals of all the six religions and said, 'Actually all of you are causing confusing amongst commoners. Differences in opinions amongst you are the proof of this. Therefore all of you please sit together and compose a unified comprehensive of all six religions document to us so that no one can have slightest feeling of its being untrue and other independent religions true.'
The ministers advised the king that such a compromise of all philosophies is impossible. But the king did not agree with this and seeing them speechless, the king through his attendants made thousands of influential people of his kingdom assemble and have them imprisoned in a grand building. He further said that until all of you do not come up with a unified philosophy, you will not be offered any food or water.'
All assembled started dieing of hunger and they all agreed to find a way to protect their lives. Sūrācārya, being the ācārya of Jain philosophy, was also there amongst them.
Through a minister, Sūrācārya sent a message to King Bhoja, 'Due to the benevolence of thousands of these people of all philosophies, I wish to request you for something, if you permit.'
After receiving the permission of the king, Sūrācārya went to the palace with the ministers. On arrival there, he said to the king, 'O King! I have not come to you for my personal work. You have in away imprisoned people of all religions. This is bothering me a lot. I just wish to ask you as to what I should tell the people for their many questions about Dhārānagarī on return to Gurjara land?'
King Bhoja said, 'I cannot say anything in front of you guests. I am just asking these people with different philosophical followings as the cause for their differences? Concerning the construction and people of Dhārānagarī I present my views on Dhārānagarī. Please listen to them carefully. Eighty four; Here there are rows of 84 high skyscraper palaces. Each row of palaces has eighty four crossings (four way intersection). Similarly there are eighty four bāzāras built in this Dhārānagarī. This is the description of Dhārānagarī.'
Hearing this Sūrācārya asked, 'O king! Please have one bāzāra made of all the eighty four bāzāras. What is the use of so many bāzāras? By making one bāzāra I place of eighty four bāzāras, people will not have to wander here and there looking for things and get the desired things at one place.'
The king said, 'By making people assemble looking for different things at one place will cause lot of hardship and mismanagement. With this view only I got eighty four bāzāras built.'
On hearing this Sūrācārya in a joking manner said, 'O king! You are a great scholar. When you are unable to dismantle these 84 bāzāras and build one bāzāra, then why are so keen to destroy these six philosophies prevailing from immemorable times. Like people go to different b to get their different things, similarly the people looking for worldly comforts go to Cārvākas; for worldly honours and grace they go to Vedics; and those seeking liberation go to worshippers of formless and nonviolent Jainism etc go to different religions. People are bound with their conceptions built over several generations. Under such circumstances O king! Please think how can these philosophies unite?'
The king felt this logic very true. He immediately gave up his insistence and offered food with dignity to the principals of all philosophies and let them go their respective places.
One day King Bhoja invited Sūrācārya Alongwith Būṭa Saraswati in his royal court. They both presented themselves in King Bhoja's royal court. The king had one rock placed in the Parśvanātha square of his court and with a desire to demonstrate his unique skill, got a hole pieced in this rock. Then he got that hole closed with sand of the same colour as the rock. As the king saw coming to the royal court, he put his bow and keeping it near his ear pulled the string for his arrow to piece the hole and go through that rock. Every one present there saw clearly that the arrow of the king pierced the rock and the arrow went through it.
This deceit of the king could not go unnoticed from the sharp eyes of Sūrācārya. He immediately in a deep rooted meaning composed a verse and recited the same which means 'Your majesty! You have pierced this rock. But from now please abstain from such deceitful and sinful act of piercing the rock. If piercing only causes you excitement, then please aim the Aburdagiri, the holy place of Paramāra lineage so that along with Dhārānagarī everyone including you goes to hell.'
King Bhoja felt contented with this capability of unique description of words of Sūrācārya. The jewel poet of King Bhoja Jain poet Dhanapāla present there also realized the unconquerable wisdom of Sūrācārya.
The lines appearing on King Bhoja's face projected the hidden thinking of him as to how to defeat this Jain poet Sūrācārya endowed with the knowledge of deep rooted meanings of words.
After bidding most honoured farewell to Sūrācārya, he assembled all the scholars in his conference room and said, 'This Jainācārya from Gurjara land has come here. Is anyone of you ready to hold scriptural debates with him?'
All the five hundred scholars (Paṇdita) there bowed their heads in shame. The king felt deeply hurt.
One of the scholars said, 'To achieve your objective, we must find a young man with high and sharp intellect and 16 years of age. Through some high scholar we should have him learn all the epistemological texts.'
The king agreed with this suggestion. Immediately a search was launched to find a young scholar. He was imparted education in epistemology. He attained deep knowledge and skill of logic in a very short time. The king found an auspicious time and invited brave Sūrācārya to have scriptural debate with this new and young scholar.
On seeing that young student, Sūrācārya said, 'O King! According to the rules of debates, it is necessary that the competitors should have equality in age, experience etc. It is not fit from all angles to hold debate with a new young and immature debater. Please consider this.'
King Bhoja said, 'O great seer! By seeing his age and experience please do not think that he is a child. Please have faith that Goddess of knowledge Saraswati herself in the mode of this youth have come to this court to hold debate with you. I will accept that your defeating this youth will be the defeat of this royal court.'
Sūrācārya honoured the king's decision and as per traditional rules, he asked his competitor to present his recitations first.
The child debater repeated the pre memorized citations as his presentation. Hearing such recitations, Sūrācārya immediately understood that this child scholar is repeating the memorized verses only without knowing their meanings. Therefore interrupting him in the middle Sūrācārya said, 'O Sir! The last part of recitation is incorrect. Please repeat it. '
With a simple mind, the child scholar demonstrating the truth said, 'I honestly say with firm determination that I am speaking exactly the same as was given to me in writing on a wooden slab.'
On this disclosure of the true state of the child debater, everyone present was stunned to know that he was repeating the lessons given to him.
Sūrācārya then put up a secretive question 'O Mālawārāja! Is this the type of scriptural debates conducted in your royal court?'
After defeating the royal court of King Bhoja in scriptural debates, Sūrācārya returned to his place of stay immediately. The disgrace of unfolding of the secret and the shame of losing the debate made the king dismiss his court and he retreated to his conference room.
Ācārya Būṭa Saraswatī said to his guest Sūrācārya, 'O crown of scholars! Debating skills and intellect of yours had greatly enhanced the prestige of Jainism. I am feeling happy for this. But now life is in danger. I am greatly worried about your imminent death. Actually King Bhoja, as per his nature, gets the winner of his court killed in one way or the other.'
Pacifying Ācārya Būṭa Saraswatī, Sūrācārya said, 'Please do not worry about anything. I will definitely protect myself from this sudden danger to my life.'
At that time a confidante of poet Dhanapāla came to the monastery and telling the message of his master to Sūrācārya said, 'O Venerable! Please accompany me very secretly to my home. You cannot believe this king. You do not have to do anything after my arrival here. I will make all proper arrangement for your safe arrival in Gurjara land.' After telling this message from his master, this confidante of Dhanapāla returned to his master.
The next day before the sun rise, soldiers mounted on horses, of Mālawārāja encircled the monastery. Their leader came to Ācārya Būṭa Saraswatī and said, 'Mālawārāja Bhoja, being happy with you, wishes to present a victory citation to you. Therefore please send the victor of the royal court, Sūrācārya with us to the royal court.' Hiding his worries in himself, Ācārya Būṭa Saraswatīsaid, 'I will definitely do so.'
In the afternoon Sūrācārya disguised himself as an old infirm monk by putting up such clothes and deceiving the mounted soldiers, left the monastery and straightaway reached at the home of Dhanapāla. Seeing him, Dhanpāla's joys had no bounds.
To send Sūrācārya to Gurjara land, Dhanapāla invited a group of very big tobacco leaf traders to his home. After making arrangements with great esteem and honour for their bath, food etc, he said to them, 'All of you with cartloads of tobacco leafs are going to Gurjara land. Please take a brother of mine with you and make him arrive safely to Anahilapura Pāṭaṇa.'
Those tobacco traders accepted the offer of Dhanapāla happily. Dhanapāla gave one hundred gold coins to those tobacco traders. They made Sūrācārya sit in between the cases of tobacco leafs on a cart. And the traders with their cart loads left for Gurjara land. The caravan started moving very fast towards Gurjara land.
Sūrācārya reached Anahilapura Pāṭaṇa safely and happily. Both Droṇācārya and king Bhīma became happy to see Sūrācārya. On hearing the entire episode, ruler of Gurjara land became extremely happy and said, 'My brother has conquered King Bhoja. I do not have any further need to win him anymore.'
Sūrācārya composed dual poem on Lord Vṛṣabhadeva and Lord Neminatha. He also composed 'Neminātha carita mahākāvya'. He also took penance from his guru for all the mistakes and sins he committed during his travel to Mālawārāja.
Droṇācārya, in the end made ritual confession for all his mistakes and died observing saṃllekhanā. After Droṇācārya, Sūrācārya preached Jainism for many years. Towards the end of his life, he gave up all types of foods and drinks and accepted pious death (saṃllekhanā and Prāyopāgamana). This fasting andsanthāra went for 35 days and he died.
