Acharya Dharasena lived in the Chandra Gupha, the Moon Cave, on Mount Girnar in Saurashtra. By his time the full oral canon had largely been forgotten, but he still held a portion of the Agrayaniya Purva, one of the ancient Purva texts, dealing with karma. Worried that even this would vanish with him, he sent a message to a gathering of monks at Mahimanagari in the south, asking for two capable disciples. The sangha sent two young monks who would later be known as Pushpadanta and Bhutabali.
Tradition says Dharasena first tested them. He gave each a mantra to perfect, one with an extra syllable and one with a missing one. When the goddesses who appeared looked misshapen, the monks saw the flaw, corrected the mantras through their knowledge of grammar, and the goddesses then appeared in beautiful form. Satisfied, Dharasena taught them day after day and then sent them on their way. From his teaching came the Shatkhandagama, and every Shruta Panchami honours this rescue of knowledge.
