Mahavira and the Cowherd

During the twelfth year of his spiritual practices, Lord Mahavira was standing in deep meditation (Kayotsarga) near a village. A cowherd came by and asked Mahavira to keep an eye on his cows while he went to the village.

Since Mahavira was in profound meditation, he did not hear or respond to the cowherd. When the cowherd returned, his cows had wandered off into the forest. He asked Mahavira where the cows were, but again received no reply.

Furious that this 'ascetic' had ignored him and lost his cows, the cowherd picked up some sharp wooden pegs (some versions say iron nails) and brutally hammered them deep into Mahavira's ears until they met in the middle.

The pain was excruciating, but Mahavira did not flinch, open his eyes, or utter a single sound. He harbored no anger toward the cowherd, viewing it as the clearing of his past negative karma.

Later, Mahavira went to a nearby village for alms. A merchant named Siddharth noticed the dried blood and called a surgeon. The surgeon had to use strong tongs to pull the pegs out. The pain of extraction was so severe that Mahavira uttered an involuntary groan, but his mind remained perfectly serene and forgiving.