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DRŪRTĀKHYANA:
work was in Gatha metre, the language being Sauraseni or Mābārāsţrl; and for the present we might presume that the plot of Dp. owes its birth to Jayarāma.
Comparing the works of Harişeņa and Amitagati one finds that, so far as the the events of the plot and their sequence are concerned, both of them are in close agreement. This indicates that Amitagati has not taken much liberty with the structure of the plot. Harişeņa's text is not available in print; so I give below the analysis of the narrative structure of Amitagati's Dp. which would enable us to compare and contrast the two works, Dhû, and Dp.
In Jambūdvipa, on the southern range of Vijayārdha, in the town named Vaijayanti, there lived a Vidyadhara king Jitaśatru and his queen Väyuvegā who had a son Manovega, endowed with faith in Jina's doctrines. His friend Pavanavega, prince of Priyāpurī, had no such faith; and he was much worried on that account. Once returning from his visit to Jina-temples, his vimūna stopped at Ujjainī, in Mālava; and in its northern park there was an omniscient monk, Jinamati, on whom he waited with reverence. Jinamati expounded to the audience the proportion of pleasure and pain in saṁsāra with the explanation of madhu-bindu-drstānta and the consequences of religious and irreligious life. Manovega asked Jinamati whether his friend Pavanavega would possess samyaktva; and he got a reply that he could enlighten his friend by taking him to Pāķaliputra. Pavanavega was anxious to meet his friend Manovega whom he met on the way to the joy of both, Manovega told him how he visited various Jaina holy places and came to Pāțaliputra, a prosperous centre of Brahmanic ritual and learning. Pavanavega expresses his impatience to visit Păţaliputra, and next morning both of them reached there and got down in the park.
I. Both of them, though decked with ornaments, assumed the form of faggot-grass-sellers. It was a surprising sight to one and all who began to speculate about them. They reached the Brahma-śālā, bet the drum, and sat on the golden seat. At this challenge, Brāhmaṇas rushed forth for dispute. They wondered at their splendour and race, and almost mistook them for gods. On being pointedly questioned, Manovega, requesting them not to be irritated, told them that all that they did was out of mere curiosity and that they were mere grass-selling boys whose prototypes were found in Bhārata stories. One Brāhmaṇa asked : 'How can there be grass-faggotsellers decorated with jewels? If such cases are found in the Rāmāyaṇa
1 Mironow follows the rule divide et impera' and presents the summaries of various
stories separately. The method is admirable and quite suited for studying the stories. But the analysis of disjoined stories does not clearly bring out the effect of entire work, especially of the fantastio tales and the bearing of subsequent legends on their points. Just to bring out this aspect of Dp. clearly, I have added here a bit detailed summary. Those who want more particulars about individual storios may either consult the original Sk, text or Mironow's dissertation,
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| SR No. | 001861 |
| Book Title | Dhurtakhyan |
| Original Sutra Author | Haribhadrasuri |
| Author | Jinvijay |
| Publisher | Saraswati Pustak Bhandar Ahmedabad |
| Publication Year | 2002 |
| Total Pages | 160 |
| Language | Sanskrit, Prakrit, Gujarati |
| Classification | Book_Devnagari, Story, Literature, P000, & P030 |
| File Size | 14 MB |