L. D. Barnett Antagada-Dasao and Anuttarova Vaiya-Dasao

Annotation

Whilst the greatest effort has been made to ensure the quality of this text, due to the historical nature of this content, in some rare cases there may be minor issues with legibility. His tastes, however, led him in another direction. To one of his grim temperament religion offered a more honourable career than courts; and the prospect of pontifical power was attractive to an ambitious younger son. At the age of thirty he took the vows, and entered an ascetic fraternity observing the rules traditionally ascribed to Parevanatha. After a short time he left them, and established a severely ascetic brotherhood, claiming direct spiritual descent from Parevanatha and his legendary predecessors. These Nirgranthas, or Nigganthas, as they were called - the word means loosed from bondage became numerous in Bihar,1 and thence spread their doctrines over the rest of India.