Bhagavana Mahavira and his Relevance in Modern Times

SR No.: 001595
Original Sutra Author: N/A
Author: Narendra Bhanavat, Prem Suman Jain, V P Bhatt
Publisher: Akhil Bharat Varshiya Sadhumargi Jain Sangh
Publication Year: 1976
Total Pages: 236
Language: English
Classification: Book_English, Philosophy, Discourse, & Articles
File Size: 13 MB

Page 34

Prākrit and Hindi
maiden, he loses control of his senses, and he is love-stricken. She is also in the same state after she returns home. Camphor, sandalwood paste, and the fan sprinkled with water are used to help them regain their consciousness. They start writing love letters on the sly and as soon as the parents hear this, their marriage is arranged. In some, a boy and a girl fall in love but when they are not given permission by the elders to get married, they elope and have a Gāndharva marriage.
In Prākrtakathāsaṁghraha there is a story of Sundaridevi, the learned daughter of a well-to-do merchant, who falls in love with king Vikrama on hearing his adventures. She sends him a casket of jewels with a parrot perched on it. From the stomach of the parrot the king discovered a priceless necklace and a love letter written with musk. On reading the contents he becomes restless, undertakes a voyage to Ratnapura to meet this young girl. They meet and finally get married. Rayanaseharikahā of Jinaharsagani (15 the century A.D.) is yet another interesting narrative with love as its theme. The king of Ratnapura learns about the beauty of the princess of Ratnāvati of Simhaladvipa and gets enamoured of her. His minister puts on the garb of a “jogiņi' and leaves for Simhaladvipa to meet the princess, who enquires from the jogini about her would-be husband. She replies that whosoever would enter the temple of cupid for gambling would marry her. As already planned, the king entered the temple and both were united in wedlock.2 Points of Comparison :
A large number of narratives which appear in Prakrit works can be traced in medieval Hindi literature. The princess Ratnavati of Simhaladvipa of Rayanaseharikahā for example, can be compared with Padmini Simhaldvipa of Padmāvata of Jāyasi (1540 A.D.). Such tales have a very ancient tradition in Indian literature. Sriharsa (7th centure A D.) in his RatnāvāliNātikā, describes Ratnāvalí as a princess of Simhala. Kouhala in his Līlāvai refers to princess Lilāvati of Simhala, who was married to king Sātavāhana of Pratisthāna. Karkandu of Karkandacariu of Kanakāmara also proceeds to Simhala to marry Rativela.
Besides, there are other points of similarity between Padmāvata of Jāyasi and older works of Prakrit and Apabhramsa. For instance, the description of a yogi in Jogikhanda of Padmāvata seem to be