Jambu Swami Charitra
A holy place named Rajgrihi is situated in Magadh region of Aryakhand, which is in the Bharat Kshetra of Jambudweep.
King Shrenik lived there and controlled all the public. His wife’s name was Queen Chelna. She was very much beautiful not only by her face but also by the virtousness of right faith & loyality to own husband etc.
Once upon a time the Samavasharan of 24th Tirthankar Lord Mahavir came there on the mountain of Vipulachal.
King Shrenik went there for bowing and paying reverence to Lord Mahavir. He was seated there in Samavasharan in the human group and started to listen the divine preaching (i.e. Divya Dhvani) of Tirthankar Prabhu.
Suddenly he saw a divine light, landing down from the sky. He asked from Gautam Gandhar Swami-O Lord! What I’m seeing this ?
Gautam Gandhar told Shrenik-This is Vidyunmali Dev, having a number of supernatural powers, is coming in Samavasharan with his four Devis for paying homage to Lord Mahavir.
He is a staunch devotee of Jinendra Bhagwan. After coming here, he will pay his hearty devotion and hearty wishes. Further He told him that-O King! The specificity is of this Vidyunmali Dev is that this Bhavyatma deity will take birth in humanlife in this Rajgrihi Nagri coming from heaven after seventh day from today and will attain salvation from that birth only.
Bhaavdev (Previous birth of Jambuswami)
Initiation of Bhaavdev
A town named Vardhman is situated in Magadh region of Aryakhand of Bharat Kshetra of Jambudweep. Many Brahmans, proficient in religious rituals, lived there. In them, there was a Brahman named Aryavasu. His wife’s name was Somsharma, who was a noble and religious lady, fully loyal to her husband. The couple had two sons named Bhaavdev and Bhavdev. Both of the brothers gained the knowledge of many Vedic Granthas and became expert in Sanskrit Grammer, Chhand, Alankar, music, poetry etc. They were very efficient in argumentation. Gradually they attained youthhood.
Once their father Aryavasu Brahman had the disease of Leprosy due to some sinful Karma. All the time he wanted to die because he could not bear the painful experience of his disease. At last, he died one day. After his death, his wife felt a lot of sorrow and died with her husband in his funeral by burning herself.
Bhaavdev and Bhavdev cried very much seeing the death of their parents. Their relatives convinced them with sympathy, then both of them performed the last rites of their parents.
After sometime Shri Saudharm Acharya came there. He was a great saint with Digambar Mudra, Guptis, Samitis, ten Dharmas etc. along with full possessionlessness, learnedness in Digambar Jain treatises & Compassion. He stayed there with his sangh of eight munis.
Bhaavdev Brahman came there for their darshan and listening to their preachings.
He became afraid of worldly miseries and prayed the Acharya- O Swami! Please defend me from the troubles of the world by giving me pious Jaineshwari Deeksha.
Acharya dev became convinced with the spirits of Bhaavdev and initiated him as a Digambar Muni. After initiation Bhaavdev also started great penance with his preceptor. He used to practice Jain Philosophical principles deeply. Time to time, he used to meditate on his own soul.
In this stage he was fully contented and felt himself most fortunate, because he was confident that I will cross the ocean of worldly miseries now very soon. Thus he was immersed in the meditation of his soul with great happiness.
Once Saudharmacharya reached that Vardhman Nagar with his Sangh and with Bhaavdev Muniraj during Vihar (on foot journey). There Bhaavdev Muni remembered his younger brother Bhavdev. Bhavdev was famous in that town for his indulgement in sensual pleasures and he was devoid of the true religion. He was unaware of the real upliftment of the soul.
With a lot of compassion for Bhavdev, Bhaavdev Muni got the permission from the Acharya, came to the home of Bhavdev and took the meals (Ahar). After the Ahar, Muni Shri Bhaavdev preached Bhavdev with the nectar of religion and started his return to the Sangh. At that time Bhavdev also accompanied the Muniraj with hearty regard.
As a matter of fact, Bhavdev was remembering his newly wed wife in his heart and wanted to return, because he was married on that day only. But as Bhaavdev Muni was proceeding with complete silence, Bhavdev could not get his permission to return. Ultimately both of them reached in the Sangh.
Seeing this, Munis of the Sangh praised Bhaavdev Muniraj for bringing his younger brother in the Sangh. Bhaavdev Muniraj told his preceptor (Acharya), ‘Gurudev! Please initiate my brother also, as a Digambar Muni, because he is eager to proceed on the path of salvation’.
Bhavdev was very perplexed on this sudden incident because he was thinking in his heart that if I leave my newly-wed wife, then I will remain disturbed always and if I do-not accept initiation, the dignity of my brother will be lowered down.
Thinking over these facts again and again, he accepted Muni deeksha. However, he used to remember his wife all the time with the inclination towards sensual pleasures.
Even then, he used to perform daily rites-meditation, studying religious scriptures, austerity etc. of his initiated life with all other Munis of the Sangh.
After some months Saudharmacharya came back in the garden of Vardhman Nagar. Some Munis of the Sangh started penance being engrossed into meditation and some Munis became indulged in Swadhyaya. At that time, Bhavdev Muni reached that nagar with the pretention of taking meals (Ahar). He saw a beautiful temple in the way to the village. He went into the temple and took three rounds of the vedi (Altar) with Jin-idol.
An Aryika Mataji was living in that Chaityalaya. She came for the darshan of Muniraj and after bowing down into his feet, she asked about his well-being. Muniraj also asked her well being and asked her, ‘Mataji! Do you know that two brothers Bhaavdev and Bhavdev used to live in this village, if you can tell that where is the wife of the younger brother Bhavdev ?’
Listening to this, Aryika Mataji clearly understood that Muni was Bhavdev, who had come there with unstability towards his path of renunciation. Seeing his condition, firstly she became anxious and then addressed him to become stable on his chosen path of initiation by a number of examples. She later disclosed that infact she was his wife.
She told him-‘When you left me, I utilized all your wealth in the construction of a Jain temple and organized the Panchkalyanak Pratishtha. After that I took Aryika Deeksha for getting rid of the worldly transmigration.’
Listening to this Bhavdev Muniraj became fully detached from the worldly passions. He greeted Aryika Mataji again & again and came back to his Sangh.
After listening to the preachings of Aryika Mataji, Bhavdev Muniraj went to his preceptor and critisized himself. Saudharmacharya understood all the condition and gave him deeksha again. From then, Bhavdev became Bhaavlingi Muniraj (real saint) and became the winner of all the sensual pleasures.
Bhaavlingi Bhavdev Muni was fully detached from his body, but fully attached with Mukti lakshmi i.e. the salvation.
He was bearing all the sufferings of hunger, thirst, cold and heat etc. by great patience. He had become more & more efficient in maintaining equilibrium in all conditions of happiness & sorrow, enemy & friend, life & death, profit & loss and criticism & appreciation etc.
Doing penance in such a way for a number of years, both of these Muniraj-Bhaavdev & Bhavdev performed Pandit-Maran (holy death) at the end of life and became deities in the third Sanatkumar heaven. They experienced divine pleasures there for longer times as the result of Samyaktva & penance of previous birth.
Bhaavdev & Bhavdev Again born As humanbeings
Both the deities (souls of Bhaavdev & Bhavdev) completed the lifetime of 7 sagars of the third heaven. However when six months remained in completion of their age, the illumination by kalpavriksha became down and by a number of other symptoms they knew about their separation from the divine luxuries of the heaven and so they became distressed a lot. At that time, other deities came and preached them with the nectar of religion.
Then, both of them, being consoled with the preachings, came to the Jin-Mandir, performed the worship with inner feelings & devotion and later when they knew about their end-time, they became seated under the Kalpa-Vriksha and accepted Pratimayog (full stability) and became immersed into meditation.
Remembering the ‘Mahamantra’ again & again they took their last breath and were reborn in the Middle Universe as human beings.
Where they were born ? The fourth Kal always remains in the east Videh kshetra of the Sumeru mountain of Jambudweep and there is eternal Karma-bhumi (Land of Action) arrangement. A country named Pushkalavati is situated there and the city Pundarikini is present in this country.
Here the people follow Shravak dharma i.e. the Jain religion of house-holders and then become Muni to get salvation.
The name of the queen of this country was Yashodhana, the wife of the king Vajradanta Maharaj. The soul of Bhaavdev became the son of this pair after coming from the heaven. His name was Sagarchandra, who later became Muniraj.
There is another nagari ‘Veetshoka’ in this country Pushkalavati. The emperor of this country was Mahapadma Chakravarti. He had 96000 queens. Vanmala was one of them. She was very fortunate. The jeev (soul) of Bhavdev became the son of Vanmala. He was named as Shivkumar. The child was growing up with increasing the happiness of his parents and all others. Gradually, he became young passing his childhood pleasantly.
Shiv Kumar Follows the Vow of Celibacy
Once upon a time Charanriddhidhari Shrutkevali Sagarchandra Muniraj came for Ahar in the home of a Seth, who was residing near the palace of the king. Sethji offered pious-pure meals to Muniraj with hearty feelings. Five miraculous events such as showering of jewels etc. from the sky in the courtyard of the palace of Sethji occurred as a consequence of giving Ahar to Riddhidhari Muniraj.
At that time, a great noise was originated due to the voices of Jai-Jaikar. Shivkumar in the royal palace saw outside listening to the noise. As he saw Muniraj, he felt that he had the darshan of the Muniraj in some previous birth and at the same moment, Jatismaran occurred to him. He knew that Muniraj was his elder brother in the previous birth. Knowing this, he came to Muniraj and due to excessive affection & love for him, he fainted down.
Listening to the whole event, Chakravarti himself came there and seeing the condition of his son Shivkumar, he started weeping. When Shivkumar became alert, he saw the condition of his father, the Emperor. Although Kumar was fully detached from the worldly pleasures, but seeing the attachment of his father, he somehow accepted to stay at home. He adopted full celibacy and became pure Samyakdrishti.
He used to take meals sometimes only and those pure meals were used to be brought by his friend Dhrirverma avoiding the flaws of Krit-Karit & Anumodna. From that time, Kumar renounced all the possessions. He became single-clothed celibate. He used to live at home like a Muniraj. He used to perform a number of fasts & vratas of a week, month etc.
He followed the vow of full celibacy living in between his five hundred wives for 64,000 years. At the end of his life, he became Digambar Muniraj and performed Samadhi-Maran (holy death) and so after death, he became a great Indra ‘Vidyunmali’ in the 6th heaven-Brahmottar with the lifetime of 10 Sagars.
The Birth of Jambuswami & His Detachment
A Seth named Arhddas was living at Rajgriha Nagar, ruled over by Shrenik Maharaj. His wife was Jinmati, the religious minded lady.
At some time, Jinmati saw five auspicious dreams like Jambu Vriksha etc. in the last phase of the night. In the morning, she went to Jinmandir with his husband. There they knew from Muniraj having 3 types of Gyan (Mati, Shrut, Avadhi) that they will be blessed with Charamshariri (who will be salvated from this birth) son. Knowing this, both of them were very happy & satisfied. The Jeev (soul) of Vidyunmali Indra, described earlier, came into the womb of Jinmati after completing the lifetime of heaven & after nine months, he was born to the fortunate couple.
The son was born in the morning of the Poornima of the bright half (Shukla Paksha) of the month of the Falgun. A great festival was organized. All the atmosphere was filled with happiness by auspicious dances-music, donations, felicitations etc. The parents named the child as ‘Jambukumar’. The pious son was well-versed in all the good qualities, virtues & various arts since his childhood.
When Jambukumar became young, the Seth of the city ‘Sagardutt’ engaged him for marriage with his four daughters-Padmashri, Kanakshri, Vinayshri & Roopshri, who were quite beautiful & young.
Sometime Jambukumar overpowered a mad elephant during the play of spring season with his physical strength and so he was praised all over.
Later he protected the girl Vishalvati, the daughter of the king Mrigank by defeating Ratnachool Vidyadhar in the battle. Vishalvati was married to king Shrenik. However seeing the battle-field, Jambukumar had the feelings of a lot of sympathy & renunciation of the world.
The Initiation & Salvation of Jambu Swami
Shri Sudharmacharya along with his 500 disciples came to the garden of Rajgrahi Nagari. Jambukumar reached there, greeted the Acharya Maharaj with great devotion, worshipped him and after listening the story of his previous births, he prayed him for getting Jaineshwari Deeksha. Acharya Shri told him to go to his parents first to get their permission and for mutual forgiveness with them because it is the eternal tradition.
Jambukumar unwillingly went to his parents obeying the order of the Preceptor & told them about his wish of getting initiated. The parents could-not accept this truth because of their utmost attachment with their son and so they somehow married Jambukumar on the same day with the four girls, with whom he had been engaged. In the night Jambukumar remained fully detached from the worldly pleasures and started passing the night in telling the stories of renunciation to all the four newly married wives in the room.
At that time, the mother of Jambukumar was wandering outside the room with the anxiousness that whether Jambukumar is attracted towards the wives or not. In the meantime a thief named Vidyuchchar came there with the purpose of committing theft. Knowing all the event, Vidyuchchar started persuing Jambukumar with various tricks to stay at home only, on the prayer of mother Jinmati.
But Jambukumar remained fully unperturbed and as the Sun rose, he reached near Shri Saudharmacharya and took Jaineshwari Deeksha. At that time, Vidyuchchar thief along with his 500 companions, father of Jambukumar ‘Arhddas’, mother ‘Jinmati’ along with four newly-wed wives of Jambukumar, also accepted Jaineshwari Deeksha. Jinmati and other ladies were initiated by Suprabha Aryika.
With hard penance Jambuswami Muniraj attained Omniscience (Kevalgyan) on the same day when Shri Sudharmacharya got salvated i.e. attained Nirvan. So Jambuswami was called as Anubaddha Kevali. When Jambuswami got Nirvan, no other Muniraj could attain Kevalgyan on that day.
I pay my great reverence again & again in the holy feet of Jambuswami, who followed the vow of celibacy in the previous birth and in the present birth also, he remained fully detached from the newly-wed wives to follow strict celibacy and to be attached with Moksha-Laxhmi i.e. to get salvation.
