Medieval Jainism

SR No.: 006727
Original Sutra Author: N/A
Author: P S Jain, R M Lodha
Publisher: Ashish Publishing House
Publication Year: 1990
Total Pages: 198
Language: English
Classification: Book_English
File Size: 8 MB

Page 75

FOLK TALES IN MEDIEVAL PRAKRIT LITERATURE
15th century A.D. can be added to this list. In this "Treasury of Stories" the narratives were either taken from earlier texts, or developed out of them, or composed independently based on popular tales. Thus we see that the tradition of elaborating Mahavira's teachings through fascinating tales, anecdotes, eloquent speeches, didactic verses, and riddles continued even in Sanskrit, Apabhramsha, Tamil, Kannada, Old Hindi, Old Gujarati, and Rajasthani.
Other Secular Narrative Literature
57
Jain writers were for look out for a popular theme which could be assimilated in their compositions. We know how the great popular novel, the Brhatkhatha, was incorporated not only in the Vasudevahindi and the Majjhimakhanda, but also later writers such as Jinasena in his Harivansapurana, Maladhari Hemacandra in his Bhavabhavana, Hemacandrasuri in his Trisastisalakapurusacarita and others have utilised this work. Besides, there are numerous other popular works which do not form a part of Prakrit literature, but Jains were keenly interested in them, and it is they who have been able to preserve them, otherwise they would have been lost. The "Textus Simplicior" of the Pancatantra, for example, has been assigned to Jain author Purnabhadrasuri. His Pancakhyana edition made the old Pancatantra so popular that it became a part of world literature and the readers forgot completely its Jain origin. According to Winternitz, The author of the Pancatantra has used Prakrit works and a number of popular stories from unknown sources in his composition. Like the Pancatantra, the original text of the Vetalapancavimsatika is no more extant and it has got wide current in world literature. It contains several