recalling what they had learnt during the day, and their head, the gargaṛiṣi, as he was called, told him that before he could join their company he must become a sādhu too. Siddhasūri instantly resolved to do so: he obtained his father’s permission, though with great difficulty, and was initiated on the following morning.[1] He studied Jainism deeply and became a great scholar, writing a commentary on the Upadeśamālā of Dharmadāsagaṇī. He then wished to study Buddhism and asked the gargarisi’s permission to go to a Buddhist monastery for this purpose. The gargaṛiṣi agreed, though with misgivings, but stipulated that if ever Siddhasuri felt he was being drawn to the Buddhist faith, he should come back and see him at least once before he joined their order. It fell out as the gargaṛiṣi had feared; the Buddhists were so struck with Siddhasūri’s learning that they proposed that he should turn Buddhist and become their Āċārya, Remembering his promise, he returned home to see the gargaṛiṣi once again; he was, however, engaged, and asked Siddhasūri to read a certain book, the Lalitavistara by Haribhadrasūri, whilst he waited. As he read it, repentance overtook him; he was again convinced of the soundness of the Jaina faith, sought forgiveness from the gargaṛiṣi, performed the penance imposed and became a sound Jaina. Eventually he rose to the position of Āċārya and strove by every means in his power to spread the faith.
Śīlaguṇasūri.The biographies of the successive leaders of the community need not detain us, but about two hundred years later there arose a great sādhu named Śīlaguṇasūri, who is famous as the restorer of the Ċāvaḍā dynasty. Once when wandering as a sādhu in the jungle between Waḍhwān and Kaḍīpāṭaṇa he saw a cradle hanging from a tree with a baby in it. By his knowledge of palmistry he at once discovered that this forlorn child would some day be a king. The child’s mother appeared and told him that she was the- ↑ The Jaina now wish to institute a period of testing and training before a candidate can obtain initiation.
