Salihipita (सालिहीपिता)

Dasamass ukkhevo. Evam khalu Jambū! Teṇam kāleṇam teṇam samayeṇam Sāvatthī nayrī. Koṭṭhue ceiae. Jiyasattu rāyā. Tattha ṇam Sāvatthīe nayrīe Sālihīpiyā nām gāhāvaī parīvasaī, aṭṭhe ditte jāv aparibhūe. Cāttāri hiraṇṇakoḍīo giṇhāṇapaṭṭāo, cāttāri hiraṇṇakoḍīo vuṭṭhipaṭṭāo, cāttāri hiraṇṇakoḍīo paviṭṭharapaṭṭāo, cāttāri vayā, dasa-go-sāhasieṇam vaṇṇam. Fagghuṇī bhāriā.

The opening of the tenth chapter. Thus it was, O Jambū! At that time and in that era, the city of Shravasti existed. There was the Koshtuk shrine. King Jiyasattu ruled. In that city of Shravasti, there lived a householder named Salihipita — wealthy, radiant, up to: revered by many. He held four crore gold coins in deposited form, four crore in circulating trade, and four crore in household assets; he had four gokulas, each with ten thousand cows. His wife's name was Phalguni.

The tenth and final chapter opens with the same setting that has anchored all ten stories — Shravasti, the Koshtuk shrine, King Jiyasattu. This repetition is intentional: it signals that all ten shramanopasaks belong to the same world, the same era, the same spiritual community. Salihipita (meaning 'father of rice' or 'grain-keeper') was a dhanadhya (wealthy) and prabhavshali (radiant, influential) guildmaster. His wealth exactly mirrors Nandinipita's: 12 crore gold coins and 40,000 cows. His wife Phalguni is named after the auspicious lunar month of Phalguna (February–March), a time of festivals and new beginnings — fitting for the wife of the final shramanopasak who closes the entire Anga. Like Nandinipita before him, no divine ordeal ever tested Salihipita. The last two chapters form a quiet, assured coda — ten disciples, two of them untested, all arriving at the same destination.

Simply Put: The final chapter begins in Shravasti. Salihipita was a wealthy, radiant guildmaster with 12 crore gold coins and 40,000 cows. His wife was named Phalguni. No ordeal ever came to test him — like Nandinipita before him, his entire path unfolded in undisturbed peace.

Sāmī samosaḍhe. Jahā Āṇamdo taheva giṇhidhammam paḍivajjai. Jahā Kāmadevo tahā jeṭṭhu puttam ṭhavettā poshasālāe samaṇassa bhagavo Mahāvīrassa dhammpaṇṇattim uvasampajjittāṇam viharḍhe. Ṇovaram ṭhiruvasaggāo. Ekkāras viṃ uvāsagaḍimāo taheva bhāṇiyavvāo. Evam Kāmadevam gaṇeyam jāv Sohme kappe aruṇakīle vimāṇe devattāe uvavvaṇṇe. Cāttāri paliomāi ṭhiī. Mahāvidehe vāse sijjhihaī.

The Lord arrived and established his samavaran. Just as Ananda accepted the householder's dharma, so too did Salihipita. Just as Kamadeva — after installing his eldest son and taking up residence in the poshdhashala — he devoted himself to the dharma proclamation of Shramana Bhagavan Mahavira. Special note: there was no divine ordeal. The eleven stages of lay practice are to be described as for earlier disciples. His life should be understood as Kamadeva's. He was born as a deva in the Arunakil celestial vehicle in the Saudharma heaven. His lifespan there is four paliopamas. He will attain liberation while dwelling in Mahavideha.

Salihipita's biography is the most concisely rendered of all ten — a single sutra covers his initiation, practice, retirement, and afterlife. Two reference points are given: Ananda (Ch1) for the act of taking vows, and Kamadeva (Ch2) for the manner of retirement. This distinction is significant: Ananda in his fifteenth year of retirement traveled far from home to a distant poshdhashala belonging to another community. Kamadeva, by contrast, established an independent poshdhashala within his own home compound and remained there. Salihipita — like Kamadeva and all shravoaks from Ch3 through Ch10 — stayed within the boundary of his own household, creating a private sacred space for his final years of practice. After installing his eldest son as household head, Salihipita devoted himself fully to the dharma — attending teachings, practicing the eleven pratimas, observing poshadha, deepening samayik. The Ṇovaram ṭhiruvasaggāo (no ordeal came) is stated explicitly, affirming that an untroubled path is just as complete as one forged through trials. He died in samadhi and was born in the Arunakil (dawn-blue peak) celestial vehicle in the Saudharma heaven.

Simply Put: When Mahavir came to Shravasti, Salihipita took his vows like Ananda, then followed Kamadeva's path — handing worldly duties to his son and creating a personal meditation hall at home. No ordeal ever came to test him. He completed all eleven stages of lay practice, died peacefully in samadhi, and was born in the Arunakil heaven. After four paliopamas there, he is destined for liberation in Mahavideha.

Evam khalu Jambū! Samaṇeṇam jāv sampateṇam sattamass amgass uvāsagdasāṇam dasamass ajjhayaṇass ayamatte paṇṇatte.

Thus indeed, O Jambū! By the Shramana Mahavir — transmitted down to one who has attained liberation — this is the meaning of the tenth chapter of the seventh Anga, the Upasakdashana, as proclaimed.

This brief sutra is the formal closing seal of the entire Upasakdashang — one of the twelve Angas of the Jain Agamic canon. Sudharmaswami, the direct disciple of Bhagavan Mahavir and primary transmitter of the Agamas, addresses his disciple Jambuswami and declares the tenth chapter — and with it the entire scripture — complete. The phrase jāv sampateṇam (up to one who has attained liberation) acknowledges the unbroken chain of transmission: Mahavir to Sudharmaswami to Jambu and beyond. Sudharmaswami himself attained liberation (moksha), and this sutra marks the moment of completing the handing-on of sacred knowledge. A note on the Upasakdashang as a whole: from Ch3 through Ch10, the description of taking vows follows Ananda's joy, while the description of retirement follows Kamadeva's pattern — because Ananda traveled to a distant poshdhashala, while Kamadeva and the nine others maintained independent meditation halls within their own home compounds. Ten lives. One teaching. One dharma, infinite paths.

Simply Put: Sudharmaswami closes the entire Upasakdashang by declaring to Jambu: This is what the liberated Mahavir taught — the tenth and final chapter of the seventh Anga. Ten lay disciples. Ten lives of devotion. One unbroken teaching handed down to us.