Sthulabhadra
{{Short description|4th century BC Indian Jain monk}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2015}}
{{Use Indian English|date=December 2015}}
{{Infobox religious biography
| image = File:Ārya Sthūlabhadra idol at Khaḍākhoṭadī no Pāḍo Jaina Temple at Patan, Gujarat (India).jpg
| caption = 14th century Ārya Sthūlabhadra idol at the Khaḍākhoṭadī no Pāḍo Jaina Temple (Patan, Gujarat, India)
| religion = Jainism
| sect = Śvetāmbara
| father = Sakatala
| predecessor1 = Acharya Bhadrabahusuri
| successor1 = Acharya Mahagirisuri and Acharya Suhastinsuri
| teacher = Acharya Sambhutavijayasuri
| honorific prefix = Acharya
| honorific suffix = Suri
}}
{{Jainism}}
Sthulabhadra (297-198 BCE) was a Jain monk who lived during the 3rd or 4th century BC. He was a disciple of Bhadrabahu and Sambhutavijaya. His father was Sakatala, a minister in Nanda kingdom before the arrival of Chandragupta Maurya. When his brother became the chief minister of the kingdom, Sthulabhadra became a Jain monk and succeeded Bhadrabahu in the Pattavali as per the writings of the Kalpa Sūtra.{{Cite web |title=Jaina Sutras, Part I (SBE22): Lives of the Ginas: List of the Sthaviras |url=https://sacred-texts.com/jai/sbe22/sbe2290.htm |access-date=2024-04-04 |website=sacred-texts.com}} He is mentioned in the 12th-century Jain text Parisistaparvan (appendix to the Trisasti-shalakapurusa-caritra) by Hemachandra.
Life
Sthulabhadra was a son of the Dhana Nanda's minister Sakatala and brother of Shrikaya.{{sfn|Natubhai Shah|2004|p=42}}{{sfn|Hemacandra|1998|pp=155, 169, 194–200}} He is traditionally dated in 297 to 198 BCE.{{sfn|Natubhai Shah|2004|p=42}} He loved and lived with a royal dancer in Dhana Nanda's court named Rupkosa.{{sfn|Natubhai Shah|2004|p=42}}{{sfn|Hemacandra|1998|pp=155, 169, 194–200}} He denied ministry after the death of his father and became a Jain monk.{{sfn|Upinder Singh|2016|p=273}} His brother became the chief minister in Nanda empire later.{{sfn|Natubhai Shah|2004|p=43}}{{sfn|Hemacandra|1998|pp=155, 169, 194–200}} He became a disciple of Sambhutavijaya (347-257 BCE) and Bhadrabahu (322-243 BCE).{{sfn|Natubhai Shah|2004|pp=42-43}}{{sfn|Hemacandra|1998|pp=155, 169, 194–200}}Arya Sthulibhadra By Vijaya Nityānanda Sūri, Cidānanda Vijaya He led an ascetic life for 12 years.{{sfn|Natubhai Shah|2004|p=43}}
File:Jain Universal History Diorama in Jain Museum of Madhuban 15.jpg at Rupkosa's home, during which she tried to lure him away from ascetic life but failed.|center|301x301px]]
He spent his chaturmas at Rupkosa's home, during which she tried to lure him away from ascetic life but failed.{{sfn|Natubhai Shah|2004|p=43}} Sthulabhadra in turn gave her vows of a Shravika (Jain laywoman).{{sfn|Natubhai Shah|2004|p=43}}
He is said to have learned only 10 purvas (pre-canons with meanings) from Bhadrabahu. Although he knew the last 4 purvas as well, but since he did not know the meaning associated with them, he is not considered to have been a Shrutakevalin.Hemacandra. H. Jacobi, ed. (1891). Parishishtaparvam, 2nd ed. Calcutta. Verse IX, pp. 55–76.
He was succeeded by his disciples Acharya Mahagirisuri and Acharya Suhastinsuri, whom he taught only 10 purvas because Bhadrabahu had imposed a condition upon him that he would not teach the last 4 purvas to anyone because he had used the knowledge of purvas to display magical powers.{{sfn|Natubhai Shah|2004|p=43}}Jain Dharma ka Maulik Itihas, Acharya Hastimal, 1974, Part 2, p. 383-440 10th century Digambara texts state that Sthulabhadra permitted the use loincloth during the 12-year famine, a practice that started the Śvetāmbara order, but is considered as baseless according to followers of the Śvetāmbara sect. Avashyak Bhashya, a 5th-century Śvetāmbara text written by Jinabhadra claims that the Śvetāmbara sect had always existed and that the Digambara sect was created by a rebellious monk named Sivabhuti.{{Cite book |last=Dundas |first=Paul |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=X8iAAgAAQBAJ |title=The Jains |date=2003-09-02 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-134-50165-6 |language=en}}{{citation |title=Digambara |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Digambara |encyclopedia=britannica.com }}Sthulabhadra, Ganesh Lalwani, Jain Journal, April 1985, p. 152
Legacy
File:Jain Temple, Kamaldah, Gulzarbagh, Patna, Bihar..JPG in Kamaldah, Patna]]
Śvetāmbaras venerate Acharya Sthulabhadrasuri in the following hymn:{{Cite web |title=YJA {{!}} Prayers |url=https://www.yja.org/prayers |access-date=2024-04-04 |website=www.yja.org |language=en-US}}
मङ्गलं भगवान् वीरो मङ्गलं गौतमः प्रभुः।
मङ्गलं स्थूलभद्राद्या जैनधर्मोऽस्तु मङ्गलम्॥
IAST :
maṅgalaṃ bhagavān vīro maṅgalaṃ gautamaḥ prabhuḥ.
maṅgalaṃ sthūlabhadrādyā jainadharmo'stu maṅgalam..
Meaning:
Bhagawän Mahävir is auspicious, Ganadhar Gautam Swämi is auspicious;
Ächärya Sthulibhadra is auspicious, Jain religion is auspicious.
See also
References
=Citations=
{{Reflist}}
=Sources=
- {{citation |last=Hemacandra |title=The Lives of the Jain Elders |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=quNpKVqABGMC |year=1998 |publisher=Oxford University Press |translator-first=Richard |translator-last=Fynes |isbn=978-0-19-283227-6 }}
- {{citation |last=Shah |first=Natubhai |title=Jainism: The World of Conquerors |url={{Google books|qLNQKGcDIhsC|plainurl=yes}} |volume=I |date=2004 |orig-year=First published in 1998 |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |isbn=978-81-208-1938-2 |ref={{sfnref|Natubhai Shah|2004}} }}
- {{citation |last=Singh |first=Upinder |author-link=Upinder Singh |title=A History of Ancient and Early Medieval India: From the Stone Age to the 12th Century |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Pq2iCwAAQBAJ |publisher=Pearson PLC |year=2016 |isbn=978-81-317-1677-9 |ref={{sfnref|Upinder Singh|2016}} }}
{{Jain Gurus}}
{{Jainism topics}}
{{Authority control}}
Category:Place of birth unknown
Category:3rd-century BC Indian Jains
Category:3rd-century BC Jain monks