Acharya Hasti Mala
He was a contemporary of 28th pontiff Ācārya Vīra Bhadra and 29th epochal-ācārya Hārila. Ācārya Bhadra Bāhu was a great scholar and authored several important Jain holy texts during V.N.1000-1045. He was thus considered a distinguished scholar and writer of the niryuktis.
The name of Ācārya Bhadra Bāhu -II stands out in the first row amongst the authors and composers of niryuktis available today. He wrote niryuktis on Āvaśyaka, Daśavaikālika sūtra, Uttarādhyayana sūtra, Ācārāṃga, Sūtrakṛtāṃga, Daśāśruta skaṃdha, Kalpa sūtra, Vyavahāra, Sūrya Prajṅapti and Ṛṣibhāṣita.
He did yeoman service to Jainism by crisply expressing the deep rooted intent and meaning of the contents of these sūtras. Actually he was like a shining star of Jainism shedding light on Jain doctrine and literature.
Due to similarity of names prevailing for many centuries, some scholars have been professing that the writer composer of niryuktis was last Śrutakevalī Bhadra Bāhu. However research scholars have established by producing not just one or two but many proofs that Ācārya Bhadra BāhuII who existed some 875 years after Śrutakevalī Bhadra Bāhu, is in fact the author composer of niryuktis on these ten sūtras.
Based on available historical facts, we can infer safely that the facts concerning Bhadra Bāhu II given below as valid.
Around the last part of V.N. 8th century, two Brahmin brothers, Bhadra Bāhu and Varāha Mihira used to live in Pratiṣṭhānapura town of Maharashtra. Both these brothers were very intelligent and scholarly but they hailed from a very poor family and thus had almost no support for their survival.
Both the brothers had the good fortune to listen to the sermons of a scholar Jainācārya. On hearing his sermons, their minds were filled with feeling of detachment and quest for truth. So both the brothers took initiation in Jain monkhood by the ācārya. They started studying Jain scriptures. Monk Bhadra Bāhu studied the scriptures very diligently. Soon he was considered amongst the top Jain scholars. On the other hand his brother monk Varāha Mihira got attracted toward miracles and their super natural powers. Therefore he left his elder brother Bhadra Bāhu and the ācārya and started studying astrology and astronomy and considered his life fulfilled. Varāha Mihira therefore studied diligently Candraprajṅapti and Sūryaprajṅapti and other similar astrological and astronomical literature. In this process he acquired deep knowledge of these texts and the subjects described therein. He thus became a scholar of occult science. He started considering himself as fit to become ācārya. Towards his last period of life, the ācārya decided to nominate the ablest disciple to the post of ācārya. While undergoing through this process, he remembered a saying in scriptures which goes like this 'the auspicious post of a gaņadhara had always been decorated by a strong and serious scholar like Gautama. If a person intentionally appoints an incapable person to this position, then that person earns the highest demerit in his life'.
Keeping these in his mind, the ācārya considered Varāha Mihira as unfit for the post and Bhadra Bāhu as the most suitable person. Accordingly he appointed Bhadra Bāhu as ācārya and his successor. This decision of his teacher greatly irked Varāha Mihira. With deep hurt, he started feeling jealous and envious of his elder brother Bhadra Bāhu. He therefore decided to leave Bhadra Bāhu and the ācārya and go elsewhere. Further due to strong envy and jealousy with his brother, he even decided to leave 12 years of monkhood and become an ordinary householder again.
He started deep study of mantras and tantras in ancient religious texts and created strong following amongst royal advisers and commoners alike thereby accumulating vast financial wealth also. His desires to earn more wealth kept on increasing as his popularity and wealth continued their upward trend. Further to enhance his prestige, he started proclaiming through his followers that he had lived for twelve years in the solar constellation and Lord Sun himself had imparted all knowledge to him and sent him to earth.
Based on the essence of Sūryaprajṅapti, Candraprajṅapti and other similar texts, he wrote a unique text on astrology. In this way his writings and miracle generating acts resulted in his all-round popularity.
Influenced by this popularity, King of Pratiṣṭhānapura appointed Varāha as his royal astrologer / adviser.
During this period of popularity of Varāha Mihira, scholar of occult science, Ācārya Bhadra Bāhu also came to Pratiṣṭhānapura. On hearing this auspicious news, King of Pratiṣṭhānapura Alongwith his family, friends and advisers including Varāha Mihira came to pay obeisance to Ācārya Bhadra Bāhu in the garden where he was staying. After completion of the religious discourse by Ācārya Bhadra Bāhu, the king became busy in discussions with his royal adviser Varāha Mihira. At this point, a royal messenger came and gave the news of the birth of a son to Varāha Mihira. After paying reward to the messenger, the King asked Varāha, 'Purohitjī! In how many types of knowledge and skills your son will be a distinguished scholar and how long will he live and how many citations will be bestowed on him?' Fortunately scholar of all types of knowledge, Ācārya Bhadra Bāhu is also here and so we will establish the validity of astrological knowledge by him.
Varāha Mihira said' 'O King! After thorough review of various constellations and their formations and their influences at the time of my son's birth, I am in a position to say that this child will live for 100 years, will acquire deep knowledge and become expert scholar of all types of knowledge and earn several citations. Your sons and grandsons will venerate this child as well'.
The King then humbly prayed to Ācārya Bhadra Bāhu, 'Please advise if everything my royal adviser tells about his son is true?' Ācārya Bhadra Bāhu remained equanimous and observed undisturbed silence. However on persistent requests from the king, he thought 'according to Jain scriptures it is clearly forbidden for a monk to announce the effects of a constellation and other such causes. However to cure diseases sometimes it becomes essential for a monk has to swallow a bitter pill.' Thinking so, Ācārya Bhadra Bāhu said, 'O King! The reality is in fact something else which I should not express as doing so will not yield benefit to anyone. Still I can only say due to your persistent requests that the effects of karmas will be known to all on the seventh day from today'.
The envy and jealousy which was growing against Bhadra Bāhu for several years now became uncontrollable for Varāha Mihira. He angrily and in a taunting manner said, 'O King! These Jain monks have no inkling of astrological science. If they have the slightest knowledge of the subject, let Ācārya Bhadra Bāhu say in clear terms as to what will happen after seven days. I have studied deeply the astrological science. There cannot be an iota of difference in what I have predicted for the child. Ācārya Bhadra Bāhu is saying all this to contradict me. His ambiguous statements do not yield any concrete conclusion. If he has any knowledge of the subject, let him in clear terms say what and when something will happen contrary to my prediction.' On hearing these angry statements of Varāha, the King said to Ācārya Bhadra Bāhu, 'O Lord, your deep knowledge of the world is like an ocean. However for the validity of astrological science's sake, today's events are an important yardstick. I am also curious to know as to what will happen after seven days. '
Ācārya Bhadra Bāhu in a very calm manner said, 'My silence at this moment is essential and beneficial to all. However it is also not proper to overlook your persistent requests. Based on astrological sciences, on seventh day, this child will die caused by a Biḍāla
All present there were astonished to hear these words from the ācārya. Varāha Mihira however with deep anger left for his home saying, 'O King, these statements of Ācārya Bhadra Bāhu will turn out to be false on seventh day. In that case, he should be severely punished.' However, his mind grew suspicious. Therefore he had soldiers protect the maternity room in his home surrounded and protected by all sides. He provided all essential commodities in the maternity home with an expert mid-wife to look after the new born child. He thus made all arrangements for strong vigilance and accordingly instructed the mid wife as well so that nothing untoward happens to the child.
As expected the disastrous seventh day arrived. Varāha started guarding the main door of the maternity room himself and alerted other soldiers to be on constant vigil all around. Towards the last part of the seventh day, a heavy iron rod with an ugly looking Biḍāla on its head fell from the maternity room and killed the new born child instantly. The news of the death of the newborn child spread like wild fire throughout the town. On arrival at the home of adviser Narendra and consoling Varāha Mihira, he wanted to know the cause of the death of newborn child from the mid wife. The mid-wife with tears in her eyes presented the iron like rod to the king. Seeing the ugly looking figure on the top of the rod, the king became nonplus and immediately pronounced that Ācārya Bhadra Bāhu in fact had deep and unique occult knowledge.
Taking the death of his newborn son as more painful than his own and loss of his own face, Varāha Mihira renounced the world and became a monk again. He became of firm opinion that Ācārya Bhadra Bāhu is the root cause of all his pains, loss of hard earned name and fame, death of his son and his renunciation.
Thus imbibed with deep feelings of revenge against his elder brother Bhadra Bāhu, he started observing many types of harsh and painful penances. He acquired great demerit by defaulting on the major vows undertaken as well as burning ego and not repenting on his mistakes /sins. After death, he was born as wicked vyantara with no extraordinary powers. This vyantara with pervert clairvoyant knowledge knew of his past life took a vow to take revenge against Bhadra Bāhu. After facing failure in this objective, he started torturing and inflicting injuries to Jain and Bhadra Bāhu's followers. These followers inflicted with pain caused by vyantara requested Bhadra Bāhu for relief saying, 'O Lord, how fortunate it is that people mounted on elephants are being bitten and injured by dogs?' An ordinary vyantara is causing all these problems on innocent people practicing Jainism and following Ācārya Bhadra Bāhu.
Hearing all such cries and based on his deep scriptural knowledge, Ācārya Bhadra Bāhu composed a miraculous stotra and asked his followers to recite it. His followers memorised it and regularly recited it. It resulted in all round relief from the pains inflicted as the vyantara was made weak by this stotra. This composition of Ācārya Bhadra Bāhu is popular even today and is known as 'Uvasaggahara'.
Ācārya Bhadra Bāhu also composed 'Bhadra Bāhu saṃhitā' (an astrology masterpiece) and 'Arhat Cuḍāmaņi' in Prākṛata. His composition 'Bhadra Bāhu saṃhitā' is not available today. Another text of the same name is not his creation but written by some other scholar.
Thus after serious research of several literary and other facts, we have tried to present selections of some important incidences from his life.
Ācārya Bhadra Bāhu -II existed approximately 800 years after Śrutakevalī Bhadra Bāhu.
