Heart of Jainism

SR No.: 011099
Original Sutra Author: N/A
Author: Mrs Sinclair Stevenson
Publisher: Mrs Sinclair Stevenson
Publication Year: 1915
Total Pages: 365
Language: English
Classification: Book_English
File Size: 29 MB

Page 295

TAINA MYTHOLOGY
269
On the same level as Hell, but in a different direction, is Gods in Pātāla; there are, however, no human beings in Pätāla,
Pātāla. and so the gods who dwell there are not torturers as they are, in Hell. They are divided into two main classes, Bhavanapati and V yantara. These are again subdivided, there being ten kinds of Bhavanapati: first, the dark god Asura Kumāra, whose body is all black, who loves to wear red garments, and in whose crown is a great crescent-shaped jewel; then Nāga Kumāra, whose body is white, whose favourite garments are green, and in whose crown is a serpent's hood for a symbol; the body of Suvarna Kumāra is as yellow as gold, his clothes are white, and his symbol is an eagle; Vidyut Kumāra is red in body, he wears green vestments, and has a thunderbolt in his crown; the body of Agni Kumāra is also red, but his dress is green, and his symbol is a jug; the next god, Dvīpa Kumāra, is red, with green clothes, but has a lion for his sign; Udadhi Kumāra is a white god with green clothes, whose symbol is a horse; an elephant is the sign of the red Diśā Kumāra, who is clad in white; the god Vāyu Kumāra has a green body and wears clothes as red as the sunset sky, and his token is the crocodile ; and the last of the ten Bhavanapati is Sthanita Kumāra, with a body as yellow as gold, white clothes, and a shallow earthen pot as his symbol.
The other denizens of Pātāla, the Vyantara, are demons of various classes, and all have trees as their trade-marks. Piśāca are black-bodied, and have a Kadamba tree as a symbol; Bhūta, whose sign is the Sulasa tree, are also blackbodied; so are Yakşa, who possess the Banyan tree as their sign; Räksasa are white and have the Khatamba tree; the green Kinnara have the Aśoka tree; the white Kimpuruşa the Campaka tree; the Nāga or snake tree is the symbol of the black-bodied Mahoraga; and the last of the Vyantara demons, the black Gāndharva, have the Țīmbara tree for their sign.