महावीरः इति ख्यातिः

'लोके वीरेषु कः श्रेष्ठः?’ इति विषये प्रवृत्ता काचित् चर्चा कदाचित् देवलोके इन्द्रसभां प्राप्ता । तदवसरे 'वर्धमाननामा यः भूलोके तिष्ठति सः एव वीरेषु श्रेष्ठः' इति इन्द्रः अवदत् । 'सः तु बालः' इति उपेक्षया अवदत् कश्चन सङ्गमनामकः देवपुरुषः । इन्द्रः तं बालं परीक्षितुम् अर्हन्ति इति यदा अवदत् तदा सङ्गमः सर्परूपं धृत्वा यत्र वर्धमानः मित्रैः सह क्रीडन् आसीत् तत् उद्यानम् अगच्छत् । तं सर्पं दृष्ट्वा सर्वे भीताः किन्तु वर्धमानः दक्षिणहस्तेन फणायाः अधोभागं गृहीत्वा पादं तस्य पुच्छे संस्थाप्य बलात् तस्य कण्ठभागं निपीडितवान् । दंष्टुं पुच्छेन प्रहर्तुं वा न शक्तं सर्पेण । स्वस्य पराजयम् अङ्गीकृत्य सङ्गमः सर्परूपं‌ परित्यज्य नैजरूपेण प्रत्यक्षीभूय महावीम् आशिषा अनुगृहीतवान् ।(“केन्द्रीयसंस्कृतविश्वविद्यालयस्य अष्टादशीयोजनान्तर्गततया एतासां कथानां ध्वनिप्रक्षेपणं क्रियते”)Once, in the heavenly court of Indra, a discussion arose about who was the greatest among heroes in the world. Indra declared that a boy named Vardhamana, living on earth, was indeed the greatest. A divine being named Sangama dismissed this, saying that Vardhamana was only a child. Indra then suggested that even as a child, his courage was extraordinary and worthy of being tested. Sangama agreed and took the form of a serpent, descending to the garden where Vardhamana was playing with his friends. Seeing the serpent, all the children fled in fear, but Vardhamana stood firm with courage. He seized the lower part of the serpent’s hood with his right hand, pressed its tail with his foot, and tightly held its neck. The serpent tried to bite or strike with its tail but could not escape. Accepting defeat, Sangama abandoned his serpent form, appeared in his true divine form, and blessed Vardhamana for his unmatched bravery.