Part 1: Incarnation as Mahābala

In the East Videhas of this same Jambūdvīpa there is a province, fair Maṅgalāvatī, the abode of wealth and happiness. In it there is a jewel of a city, Ratnasañcayā, the crest-jewel of the earth, a mine of all jewels, like the ocean. In it there was a king, like Kubera in wealth, like another wind^[1] in strength, named Mahābala. He was resplendent with regal powers—energy, good counsel, and preeminence of treasure and army, like Himavat with the rivers Gaṅgā, Sindhu, and Rohitāṃśā.^[2] He ruled by the four methods conquering troops of enemies, like a young elephant by its tusks. He, a depository of intelligence, had regard for the Arhat alone as god, for a sādhu alone as guru, and for the dharma taught by the Jina only. He delighted in the fourfold dharma with the divisions of liberality, good conduct, penance, and state of mind, since merit of the great is allied to merit.

Possessing discernment, terrified of existence, knowing the transitoriness of all things, he was not contented with lay-dharma only partly free from passion. Then at the feet of Vimala Sūri he, like a tamed bull, adopted complete self-control, accompanied by pronouncement of the vow. When he was blamed by wicked people, he rejoiced for a long time in his heart. When he was worshipped by the good, on the contrary, he was ashamed. He was not depressed in the least, even when oppressed by the wicked; even when worshipped by the great, he did not attain pride. Wandering in delightful gardens, etc., he did not glow; he did not turn pale in forests terrible with lions, tigers, etc. In winter he endured nights of intense cold standing outdoors in pratimā, immovable as an elephant-post. In the hot season terrible from the heat of the sun, he did not fade away, practicing austerities in the sun, but shone like cloth^[3] purified by fire. In the rainy season, he stood under a tree in pratimā, with both eyes motionless in meditation, like an elephant. He observed all the fasts, ekāvalī, ratnāvalī, etc.,^[4] many times, like an insatiable person making acquisition of property. Also, by some sthānakas from among the twenty sthānakas he acquired the body-making karma of a Tīrthakṛt. After he had observed his vow for a long time, he died after fasting and became a powerful god in the palace Vijaya.