Arya Suhasti and the elder monk Arya Mahagiri were both disciples of Sthulabhadra, and for a time they guided the order together. Mahagiri chose an extremely austere path, trying to live like the jinakalpi monks of old, while Suhasti stayed close to the community, teaching monks and householders alike. Svetambara accounts say their approaches later drew apart, especially over how much royal support monks should accept — an early example of a balance every Jain generation has had to find.
Tradition says that in a former life Samprati was a starving man in Kaushambi who became a monk under Suhasti for a single day and died that night in peace. Reborn as the grandson of Emperor Ashoka, he recognised Suhasti years later during a chariot procession at Ujjain and became his devoted follower. Samprati is remembered for building and restoring many temples and for helping monks travel to lands where Jainism had not yet reached.
