Monks and Acharyas
Acharya Sthulibhadra
आचार्य स्थूलिभद्र · આચાર્ય સ્થૂલિભદ્ર
The monk who returned to the house he once could not leave
- 5 min full story
- 3 min children's telling
- Best shared with a grown-up
- Shvetambar telling
The son of a great minister spends twelve years in the house of a celebrated dancer, then turns his back on it all to become a monk. His hardest test comes when his teacher allows him to return to that very house.
What it teaches Self-control Humility Preserving the Scriptures
The opening of the children's telling
In the city of Pataliputra, the king's minister had a son named Sthulibhadra. He did not care for power. He loved a famous dancer named Kosha, and he went to live at her house. He stayed there for twelve years.
Then trouble came. The king grew angry with Sthulibhadra's father, and his father's life came to an end. The king asked Sthulibhadra to take his father's place. He sat quietly in a garden and thought, twelve years, and what have I gained? He came back to the king dressed as a monk and said, "I have thought it over." His younger brother became minister instead.
Read the whole story See plans
To carry into the day
True strength is staying steady in the very place where I once fell.
To talk about together
Why do you think the teacher said that Sthulibhadra had done the hardest thing of all?
Retold for JainStory from the traditional narrative and checked against published Jain sources. Details vary between tellings.