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JAIN CULTURE AS DEPICTED IN THEIR FOLK
LITERATURE
Dr S. P. Padma Prasad
Culture tells us what a person or a community is. It is the sumtotal of one's interests, behaviour, works etc.
Customs, beliefs and traditions are interrelated. Beliefs form the foundation for customs and when customs are transmitted from one generation to the other, then it is called tradition.
Every community has its own customs, beliefs and traditions. They constitute the major part of culture. They are very well expressed in the folk literature of that cominunity. The Jains are not an exception.
This paper tries to outline Jain culture as depicted in the folk literature of Karnataka.
For the sake of understandable presentation this culture could be analysed at three different levels-i) Individual culture, ii) Religious culture and iii) Social culture.
i) Individual culture in Jainism :
Attitudies, behaviour etc. developed in a person together constitute the individual culture of that person. Some part of this is usually common to all in a community. But other parts are salient to each person. As tastes and views differ, people differ (loko bhinna rucih. i.e. the people have different tastes).
Hence the culture of a person expresses the culture of the community at large, and to some extent specific to such persons.
There are many folk songs which express this individual culture.
One folk song describes the curiosity of a boy in plucking flowers to worship the Jaina god.
My lad is naughtier than all climbing the red champak tree ! plucking flowers he made a bouquet for Jina!
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