PANCHA KALYANA PRATISHTA MAHOTSAVA AT CHAMARAJANAGAR

RELICS WITH TRACES OF JAINISM DISCOVERED

HUNDREDS THRONG KOBA JAIN TEMPLE

RIGHTS TO JAIN MONKS' LAST RITES SOLD FOR CRORES

DHAVALA WORKS TO BE RELEASED AT BANGALORE

SHRUTA PANCHAMI AT MOODABIDRI

Chamarajanagara, May 15, 2009: The Pancha Kalyana Pratishta Mahotsava of Lord Chandraprabha at the newly renovated Sri Parshwanatha Basadi has been organised from 25th to 29th May under the guidance of His Holiness Swasti Sri Bhuvanakeerthi Bhattarakha Swamiji of Sri Digambar Jain Mutt, Kanakgiri. The Parshwanatha Basadi, constructued around a hundred years ago was in a dilapidated condition and the renovation works were carried out under the guidance of Sri Bhuvanakeerthiji was completed at a cost of around 40 Lakh rupees.

Sri Lakshmisena Bhattaraka Swamiji of Narasimharajapura Jain Mutt, Sri Lalithakeerthi Bhattaraka Swamiji of Karkala Jain Mutt, Sri Dhavalakeerthi Bhattarakha Swamiji of Arihantagiri (Tirumalai, Tamilnadu) Jain Mutt, Sri Bhanukeerthi Bhattaraka Swamiji of Kambadahalli Jain Mutt and Dr.D.Veerendra Heggade, The Dharmadhikari of Dharmasthala will be present on the occasion.

Programme Schedule:

• 25th May 2009 - Garbha Kalyana

• 26th May 2009 - Janmabhisheka and Balaleela

• 27th May 2009 - Rajyabhisheka and Vairagya Bhavana

• 28th May 2009 - Moorthi Pratishta (idol installation), Samavasarana Pooja and Sri Vihara

• 29th May 2009 - Moksha Kalyana and 1008 Kalashabhisheka

Sri Chandrakantha Pandit of Indi and Sri Anand Upadhye of Savadi will be Pratishtacharyas of the Mahotsava. Sri N.P.Bahubali Pandit of Chamarajanagar will assist the Pratishtacharya's in the proceedings. - Jain Heritage Centres News Service

MYSORE, May 6, 2009: Archaeologists involved with excavations at historic Talakad village have found an inscribed stela which authenticates the existence of
Jainism in the region.

Archaeology director Gopal said this relic and inscription throws open a flood of information on several facets of Jain culture. Balachandramuni was the discpline of Maladharideva of Kondakundanvaya, Desigana and Pustakamnaya, and a great scholar.

The release said the inscription reveals that Balachandramuni attained his heavenly abode after five days of fasting and Kundana Somidevi who erected this stela was the sister of King Nolamakulantaka Marasimha II (963-74 AD) . The inscription was written by scribe Immadi Perumadiachari Bahulavelenga.

The release disclosed that Kundana Somidevi is none other than the lady who had gifted a beautiful Jain bronze image now preserved in Sharavanabelagola Jain mutt and she was the daughter of Ganga King Butuna III(940-63) and wife of Rajaditya of the Chalukya dynasty.

Note said the carving of this stela is unique in the sense that it is designed and decorated like a small shrine having six essential arts of a shrine. The fagade has the relief of sage Balachandramuni in "Kayotsarga" posture between two pilasters.

The team of archaeologists included M S Krishnamurthy, R Gopal and T S Gangadhara, ephigraphist H M Nagaraj Rao deciphered the inscription. - News Courtesy: The Times of India

Gandhinagar, May 23, 2009: Hundreds of Jain devotees gathered at the Koba Mahavir Jain Aradhna Kendra here on Friday to witness the 'Surya Tilak' of Lord Mahavir Swami.

'Surya Tilak' is a unique event in which sun rays appear on the forehead of Mahavir Swami through a hole on the top of the Koba temple. On Friday, exactly at 2.07 pm, 'Surya Tilak' took place for three minutes at the temple. About 1,000 Jain devoteesadored the spectacular event.

"On May 22, Acharya Kailashsagar Suriswarji died in Koba Jain Aradhana Kendra. Since then Acharya Padmasagar Suriswarji pioneered to worship Lord Mahavir by Surya Tilak," says Manubhai Jain, an administrator of Koba Jain Aradhana Kendra.

Nileshbhai R Shah, a devotee, said, "Every year my family attend this miraculous event in the temple. This unbelievable spiritual occurrence happens only in two temples of India - one at Jain temple of Kanyakumari and second at Jain Aradhana Kendra at Koba. We feel so pure from within after darshan of this rare incident." -News Courtesy: DNA India

MUMBAI: He had barely shut his eyes and crossed his legs in a meditative padmasana when pain flashed through his chest. In a quiet hamlet of Nadiad in Gujarat, Hemratna Suri Maharajsaheb, spiritual mentor to lakhs of Jains, died last Friday. The next morning, more than 15,000 Jains thronged to the tiny temple town of Shahapur in Maharashtra. Many of them were there for a unique community ritual: to bid for the right to perform the last rites of the 58-year-old Jain monk.

The bidding was spirited, and the amount spiralled steadily. Eventually, an Ahmedabad-based land developer, Kalpesh Shah, lit the pyre after paying the perfectly symmetrical sum of Rs 1,11,11,111 (Rs 1.11 crore). The monk's relatives, though present, were treated no differently from the thousands who attended the funeral because when Hemratna Suri Maharajsaheb took his lifetime vow of diksha decades ago, he had renounced the world and all its comforts, familial and material.

The practice of bidding or ghee bolo started 450 years ago to catalyse community charity. "At that time, devotees didn't contribute even a penny to the temple box. So something had to be done to raise funds to build more Jain temples and spread the religion," explained Vimal Sagar Maharajsaheb, a Jain monk. "That was when the idea of ghee bolo emerged. Initially, it took place only as and when resources were needed, but over the years it has become a regular ritual."

Bids are not invited at every monk's passing. Many funerals are simply performed by local Jain associations. Hirabhai Parekh, who heads the Kalapurna Suri Smarak Sangh, said that big-ticket bidding is usually associated with those who have a huge following. "There may be one or two cases a year where it could run into crores. For monks who are not senior or acharyas, smaller sums are asked for, and this is as frequent as twice a month," said Parekh.

According to Babulal Jain-Ujwal, a Kandivli resident who is a veritable fount of information on Jainism, about 350 monks die each year. Jain-Ujwal maps yearly data of the initiation and whereabouts of Jain monks and publishes and distributes palm-sized booklets within the community. Last year, he said, approximately 250 monks passed away. His data shows that close to a thousand Jains take diksha every year, in a woman-to-man ratio of 3:1. Of the 13,947 monks residing in temples and upashreyas, 10,654 are sadhvis, he said.

Various aspects of the funeral rites are bid for separately. For instance, while Kalpesh Shah may have performed the agni daan in Shahapur last Saturday, there were other bidders for the antim sanskar or last rites. Four families carried the bier, another devotee carried the monk's body to the pyre and the second-highest bidder circled the pyre with a pot of water on his shoulder. Each had bid several lakhs for the honours. In this case, the entire collection will be used to build a temple at Shahapur, but often the ghee bolo money goes to secular causes such as eye-donation, animal shelters and education.

Bengaluru, May 15, 2009: The Kannada edition of Dhavala works, published by the Institute of Prakrit Studies and Research (Shravanabelagola) will be released at Bangalore on June 18th along with the inauguration of Jain Sanskriti Mahotsava. The Jain Sanskriti Mahotsava, a ten day event; has been organised to mark the visit of His Holiness Swasti Sri Charukeerthi Bhattaraka Swamiji (the pontiff of the Digambara Jain Mutt, Shravanabelagola) to Bangalore.

The Dhavala is a 16 volumes compilation of the sacred Jaina works comprising the Dhavala, Jaya Dhavala and the Maha Dhavala. The mamoth task of traslating the entire set of works to Kannada from Prakrit has been taken up by the Institute of Prakrit Studies and Research under the guidance of His Holiness Swasti Sri Charukeerthi Bhattaraka Swamiji. This has been considered as one of the all time best works in the history of Kannada literature.

The Saraswati Stuti and the Swasti Vandana dance programmes by Smt Ambale Rajeshwari and team has been organised on the occasion. - Jain Heritage Centres News Service