Sthulibhadra was the son of Shakatala, prime minister of King Nanda. He spent his youth in the company of the famous courtesan Koshya. When his father was killed in a court intrigue, Sthulibhadra renounced everything and took diksha from Acharya Sambhutivijay. After years of severe study, he asked his guru for permission to spend the four months of chaturmasa at Koshya's palace — not in the safety of a monastery, not in the wilderness, but in the very chamber where his senses had once been bound. His guru, after long consideration, agreed. Koshya welcomed him with feasts, music, soft lamps, every art she had practised. The young saint sat unmoving, ate dry alms, slept on the floor, and would not lift his eyes. After four months Koshya herself fell at his feet — she had been transformed by the silent strength of one who could be in the centre of temptation and remain free. The other disciples who had asked for harder posts — graveyards, wells, lion-dens — bowed when they heard Sthulibhadra's story. Their tests had been of the body. His had been of the soul.