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Introduction
cocku
of Hemachandra himself but of one of his pupils. It contains passages from the T. S. P. C. also,
The Trişashți-salākāpurusha-charita + is a huge work composed in ten parvans, and the Parişishta parvan is a sort of appendix to it.
The work is written in an easy flowing style and contains fine descriptions. It has for its, model the Rāmāyaṇa, the Mahābhārata and the Purāṇas. One cannot judge such a huge work by examining minor details, but it should be judged in its total effect.
Prof. Jacobi has carefully examined the Anushtubh metre as it is used by Hemachandra in this work, and come to the conclusion that Hemachandra had used the sloka in a way peculiar to himself ' (pp. XXI). But. I think the learned professor is a little beside the mark when he says "He (Hemachandra) apparently attempted to facilitate the literary activities of the Jainas by making the Sloka a more handy means of composition than its classical model..." (pp. XXIII). I am inclined to regard the liberty which Hemachandra has taken with the Anushțubh metre as due to the fact that he was writing this work on the model of the Purānas, the Rāmāyaṇa and Mahābhārata which have metres which are lose in comparison with those of the later Kavyas.
The Vītarāga stotra consists of about 186 verses. It is divided into twenty Stavas-(prayers)-most of them having eight verses. *
+ The sixtythree great men include twentyfour Tirthamkaras, the twelve Chakravartins, the nine Vasudevas, the nine Baladevas, and the nine Prativasudevas.
*(1) The Prastāvanā stava (2) The Sahajātişaya - varnanástava (3) Karmakshayajātişayavarşanā stava
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