Mahavirswami Ane Gowala

This Jain text, titled "Mahavirswami ane Gowala" (Lord Mahavir and the Cowherd), published by the JAINA Education Committee, narrates an incident that occurred during the time of Lord Mahavir.

The story begins with Lord Mahavir pausing by a tree to meditate while traveling from one village to another. A cowherd, needing to go somewhere, arrived with his herd of cows. He asked the meditating Mahavirswami to look after his cows for a while. Since Mahavirswami was deep in meditation, he did not respond. The cowherd, however, assumed that Mahavirswami would take care of them.

The cows wandered off in search of grass. When the cowherd returned, he found his cows missing and angrily questioned Mahavirswami. Still in deep meditation, Mahavirswami did not reply. The cowherd searched in all directions but could not find his cows. While he was away searching, the cows, by chance, returned to the spot where Mahavirswami was meditating and stood there.

Upon returning and finding his cows, the bewildered cowherd became furious with Mahavirswami, believing he had hidden them. In his anger, he picked up his rope and ran towards Mahavirswami to strike him. At this moment, an angel descended from heaven, stopped the cowherd by catching his rope, and reprimanded him.

The angel pointed out that Mahavirswami was in deep meditation and could not have heard the cowherd. The cowherd protested that he had been deceived. The angel explained that because Mahavirswami was in deep meditation, he had not heard anything said to him. The angel further revealed that Mahavirswami was once Prince Vardhaman, a prince, and had no need for the cowherd's cows. The angel warned the cowherd that by harming Mahavirswami, he would accumulate severe karma.

Realizing his mistake, the cowherd apologized to Mahavirswami and left.

The angel then bowed to Mahavirswami and requested permission to serve him on his spiritual journey. Mahavirswami responded that no one can help another achieve spiritual progress or attain omniscience (Keval Gyana). He stated that to achieve Keval Gyana and become an Arihant, one must exert their own effort, and only through this self-effort can one become omniscient and attain liberation.

Satisfied with having helped Mahavirswami in his time of need, the angel returned to heaven. The text emphasizes that Mahavirswami held no ill will towards the cowherd or anyone else.

The story concludes with a moral lesson: we should never make hasty decisions, as we might be wrong. Before making any decision, we should investigate thoroughly. Furthermore, we should never intentionally cause pain to anyone and should always forgive when angry. By doing so, we can prevent accumulating negative karma that affects our soul.