Paumchariu Part 1

SR No.: 002523
Original Sutra Author: Swayambhudev
Author: H C Bhayani
Publisher: ZZZ Unknown
Publication Year: 1953
Total Pages: 458
Language: Sanskrit, English
Classification: Book_Devnagari & Literature
File Size: 11 MB

Page 57

16
PAUMACARIU
The Pau macariu.
This is described in Section 5. The Ritthane micariu
The Ritthanemicariu (Aristanemi-caritam) or Harivaṁsa purāna is the most voluminous of Svayambhu's works. Its extent is given as 18,000 Granthāgras. It has 1,937 Kadavakas'. Its 112 Sandhis are distributed over four Books or Kändas as follows": Jāyava-kanda (Yadava-kānda); 13 Sandhis; Kuru-Kanda, 19 Sandhis; Jujjha-kanda (Yuddha-kaņda), 60 Sandhis; Uttara-kaņda, 20 Sandhis. Its external form and structure closely resemble those of PC. As the latter is a Rāma-epic, the Riţthanemi-cariu is a Krsna-epic. It deals with the life-story of the twenty-second Tīrthankara Ariştanemi and the narrative of Krşņa and the Pandavas in its Jain version. The life-story of Rama and that of Krsna along with the Pandavas appear to have been very popular religious themes, and besides Svayambhū several Sanskrit, Prakrit and Apabhramsa poets, before and during his times, became interested in them, employing their literary talent in composing epics on one or both of the sacred themes. This is to be largely inferred from literary allusions and citations in other works, since only a few of such epics have survived to our days. The available information on this point can be tabulated as under:
Author Vimalasūri (1'sť or 3rd
Cent.)
Theme
Work Rāmāyaṇa Paümacariya"
Language Prakrit
Harivamsa
Prakrit or Apabhramsa
Rāmāyana
Kittihara (Kirtidhara) Anuttaravāya
or Anuttaravágmin Ravişena (677-8 A.D.)
Padmacarita Sanskrit
(1) Jain, 1935, 70.
(2) Appendix I, st. 59 (3) Jacobi, 1914, (4) Uddyotanasūri in his Kuvalayamála (778-779) refers paranomastically to Vimalasůri as the first author of Harivamsa:
buhayana-sahassa-daiyar Harivansuppatti-karayan padhaman
vandāmi vandiyam pi hu Harivamsam ceva Vimalapayam !! See Premi, 1942, 571-572. (5) See PC. í 2 8, which is taken from Ravişena. The latter in the introduc
tion to his Padmacarita, while giving the tradition says that the sacred theme of the Räma-narrative was handed down to Kirti and from Kirti, to Anuttaravăgmin; the written work of the latter was seen by Ravişeņa and hence his present attempt (viz. Padmaccrita):
Prabhavan kramatah kartiriz tato'nuttaravágminam likhitan tasya samprāpya Raver yetno'yam udyatah 11
Padmacarita I 42. Now we know that Ravişena's Padmacarita is hardly anything more than
an elaborated Sanskrit recast of Vimalasūri's Paümacariya (cf. Premi, 'Padmacarita Aur Paümacariya' (1942, 272-292). On this account can we identify Anuttaravägmin with Vimalasūri? But the latter does not say that he has inherited the tradition from any Kirti or Kirtidhara He seems to be the pioneer in composing a Rama epic, as well as a Krsna. epic; for the latter we have got the above quoted authority of Uddyotana.