Page:The Heart of Jainism (IA heartofjainism00stevuoft).djvu/106

 Khapuṭa who lived in Broach, and the founding of Śatruñjaya ^1 in the state of Pālitāṇā.

The next spiritual leader ^2 of great importance for our purpose was Vajrasvāmī, the last and greatest of the Daśapūrvī. It was in his time that the sixth schism took place. A Jaina sādhu called Rohagupta ^3 taught that there are not seven but only three constituent elements of the earth, viz.: Jīva, Ajīva and Nojīva; the schism is accordingly called the Nojīva schism and is believed to have arisen in 71. A seventh schism, led by Goṣṭa Mahāl, also took place under Vajrasvāmī's rule. The Jaina believe that Vajrasvāmī was able to call up at will a magic carpet which conveyed him and his friends to any distance, and that once by its means he transplanted the whole community from a famine- stricken district to the town of Purī. The more enlightened Jaina say that this carpet really represents some modern mode of locomotion (steam engine, motor car, or aeroplane) the secret of whose construction Vajrasvāmī had anticipated. Vajrasvāmī had a famous disciple, Āryarakṣita, who had originally been a Brāhman and had studied all knowledge at Benares. His mother spurred him on to study the Jaina Pūrva, and whilst doing so he was converted to Jainism and learnt from Vajrasvāmī the whole of the nine-and-a-half Pūrva. He is famous amongst the Jaina for having arranged the Sūtra into four divisions that they might be the more easily understood.

We now come to the great division of the community. Vajrasvāmī was followed by Vajrasena, and under his leadership the Digambara finally separated from the main community. The new Head had not the personality of his

^1 Śatruñjaya, the Jaina say, was built by a monk who had the power of rising through the air, and by a disciple of his who had the power of creating gold. This fortunate conjunction of talents has resulted in one of the loveliest temple cities in the world.

2 Indradinna had been followed by Dinnasūri, and he by Siṁhagiri, and then came Vajrasvāmī.

^3 Rohagupta had a disciple called Kaṇāda who was, according to the Jaina, the founder of the famous Vaiśeṣika philosophy.