The account of
the earlier incarnations of Bhagavan Shantinath
indicates that his being had taken the path of discipline
that lead toward purity of soul many births before.
As a result of this uplifting during his incarnations
as Shrisen and Vajrayudh it was born as Meghrath,
the son of king Dhanrath of Pundarikini town in
Purva Mahavideh area. At the proper time, king Dhanrath
gave the kingdom to Meghrat and became an ascetic.
Refugee Protection
Meghrath was a benevolent and religious ruler. He
was compassionate and protected all living things.
Being a Kshatriya and a warrior he had the chivalry
to sacrifice all he had in order to protect those
in trouble.
One day while observing the partial renunciation
vow (Paushadh) he was about to start a discourse
on the religion propagated by the Tirthankars. All
of a sudden a pigeon, trembling with fear, fell
in his lap and uttered in choking human voice, "Save
me, O king! Give me refuge, take me under your protection!"
The compassionate king comforted the bird and took
it under his protection.
The pigeon was followed by a falcon who too uttered
in human language, "O king! This pigeon is my food,
leave it alone." The king tried to explain, "It
has taken refuge with me, as such I am duty bound
to protect it. I will give you any type of food
you want; why kill a living thing just to fill your
stomach?"
The falcon insisted, "If you will not leave it I
may die of hunger. I am a carnivore; who will provide
me food. If I die, you will be responsible and bear
the sin."
When the falcon did not yield, Meghrath said at
last, "O falcon! As long as I exist, I will not
allow you to die. I will cut out flesh from my body
equivalent to the weight of this little pigeon and
give it to you. You may satisfy your urge to eat.
But under no circumstance I shall allow you to kill
the bird that has taken refuge with me."
The falcon agreed to this proposal and the king
put the pigeon in one pan of balance and in the
other started putting pieces of flesh cut out from
his own body. Surprisingly, the weight of the pigeon
continued to increase as the king went on putting
his flesh in the pan. Witnessing this pathetic scene,
the queens and the members of the assembly were
moved to tears. They requested the king not to sacrifice
his precious life for a mere pigeon. The falcon,
was also requested relent but he too declined.
The king continued to cut flesh from his body and
put it in the pan of the balance. At last, when
the pieces of flesh were not enough, the king got
up from his seat and sat down in the pan. Everyone
present was dumb struck at this lofty compassion
and chivalry displayed by the king. Suddenly there
was a flesh of divine light and a divine personage
appeared. The pigeon and the falcon disappeared.
The god addressed the king, "Maharaj! The king of
gods was praising your compassion and courage, in
his assembly. I could not contain myself and came
around to test you myself. All this was my creation.
You come out with flying colors. You are worthy
of the praise bestowed on you by the King of gods.
Please forgive me." The god filled Meghrath’s wounds
instantaneously and left for his abode.
Whenever there is a talk about chivalry and compassion
king Meghrath’s name is taken with respect.
Discipline
Disturbed by
the miseries of the mundane life, one day king
Meghrath was doing mediation. He transcended to
a very high level of purity. Knowing about this
uncommon purity and determination of Meghrath
the king of gods bowed to him with reverence,
"My salutations to you O citizen Yogi! there are
but a few in this world who could reach this level
of detachment and purity." Two senior consorts
of Indra, Surup and Atirup did not like this gesture
of praise of a mere human. They both came to disturb
the meditation of Meghrath. They made several
beautiful and voluptuous damsels appear before
the king. These beauties tried to disturb Meghrath
by a display of dances and inviting gestures.
When these night long seductive afflictions failed
to disturb king Meghrath, the goddesses, before
returning to their abode, appeared themselves
and asked the king to forgive them.
King Meghrath, then, coronated his on and took
Diksha from Arhat Dhanrath. Due to his increasing
purity in meditation in the face of many afflictions,
he earned the Tirthankar-nam-and-gotra-karma.
Completing his age he reincarnated in the Sarvarthsiddha
dimension of gods.
From the dimension of gods, the being that was
Meghrath descended into the womb of queen Achira,
wife of king Vishvasen of Ikshvaku clan and ruler
of Hastinapur.
Once there was a great storm in the Hastinapur
area. There were heavy rains and many other calamities.
An epidemic followed these calamities and hundreds
of people started dying every day. The masses
appealed tot he king to save them, but the king
took a vow that he will not eat or drink as long
as peace and normalcy does not return to his kingdom.
Moved by this harsh vow of king Vishvasen, the
king of gods himself appeared before the king
said, "O king! You are disturbed unnecessarily.
Is there any death at the place where the wish-fulfilling
trio of Chintamani, Kalpavriksha, and Kamdhenu
(divine gem, tree and cow) exist? The embodiment
of peace is being carried by queen Achira Devi
in her womb and you still feel disturbed. It surprises
me!" The Indra then sang a panegyric in praise
of the Tirthankar and advised the king, "Let the
queen got to he roof top and sing this panegyric.
After this, let her throw a glance at the vast
expanses of your kingdom all around. This pacifying
glance of the queen will remove all miseries from
wherever it reaches."
On the thirteenth day of the dark half of the
month of Jyeshta the queen gave birth to the great
and illustrious son. The whole universe, including
even the hell, was pervaded by a soothing glow and
a feeling of joy and happiness. Due to the pacifying
influence during the period of pregnancy, the new
born named Shanti Kumar (Shanti = Peace). When he
came of age he was married to several beautiful
princesses. At proper time king Vishvasen gave the
kingdom Shantinath and took Diksha.
After a few years king Shantinath got a son who
was named Chakrayudh. Several years later, the divine
disc weapon appeared in the armory. When the traditional
worship rituals of this weapon were concluded, it
started moving toward the east on its own.
Shantinath followed the Chakra with
his armed forces. Most of the kings on the way surrendered.
After defeating the remaining few Shantinath became
a Chakravarti.
When, after a long and peaceful reign, he realized
that the moment for his renunciation was approaching,
Shantinath went into the Sahasramra jungle, and,
becoming an ascetic commenced his practices.
After wandering as an ascetic for one year he
returned to the same jungle and there, on the ninth
day of the bright half of the month of Paush, he
attained omniscience under a Nandi tree. His first
discourse was on the subject of disciplining the
senses. He came to Sammetshikhar after a long period
wandering and propagating true religion. There,
along with nine hundred other ascetics, he observed
a month long fast that started his final meditation.
On the thirteenth day of the dark half of the month
of Jyeshta, Bhagavan Shantinath attained Nirvana.
