धर्मचक्र की धुरी-गणधर गौतम स्वामी

Summary

This article, from the first issue of *Jñāna Deśanā* (January-June 2008), explores the central role of the Gaṇadhara, particularly Gautama Svāmī, in Jain tradition. It argues that the Gaṇadhara is the essential axle of the Dharma-cakra (wheel of religion), just as a wheel requires an axle to turn. The Tīrthaṅkara sets the Dharma-cakra in motion, but it rotates on the Gaṇadhara as its pivot. The article emphasizes that the Tīrthaṅkara's divine discourse (*divya dhvani*) cannot benefit living beings without the Gaṇadhara, who alone possesses the unique capacity to receive, comprehend, and codify it into the twelve Aṅgas (scriptural limbs). This ability stems from four special types of intellect (*buddhi*): Koṣṭha, Bīja, Padānusārī, and Saṁbhinnaśrotṛtva. The text details the life of Indrabhūti Gautama, the chief Gaṇadhara of Mahāvīra. Born a learned Brahmin with pride in his knowledge, he was led to Mahāvīra's samavasaraṇa (divine assembly) by the god Indra, disguised as an elderly Brahmin. There, humbled by the Tīrthaṅkara's presence, Gautama and his five hundred disciples took initiation. He immediately attained the eight ṛddhis (supernatural powers), including supreme intellect, and upon hearing Mahāvīra's first sermon, he composed the twelve Aṅgas within a single *antar-muhūrta* (a brief time unit). The article notes that while all Tīrthaṅkaras from Ṛṣabha to Mahāvīra had Gaṇadharas, their birth and nirvāṇa days are not celebrated, questioning this ingratitude. It concludes by