Akhyanakmanikosha

Author(s): Nemichandrasuri, Punyavijay, Dalsukh Malvania, Vasudev S Agarwal
Publisher: Prakrit Text Society Ahmedabad

Page 74

Social customs in AMKV.
19
Cremetion grounds were called peyavana (pretavana ) or masāņa (smaśāna ).
On the fāja-magga, the city high-way or main-road were the rows of shops (hatta paniti). When Naravikrama - kumāra entered the city with his newly wedded princess, people crowded on both the sides of the råyamagga in shops, on turrets or towers etc. (atçalaya ) and on tops of temples (deulaya), houses (bhavana ), palaces (295.196 ). Vihi means both a road and market. In the account of Candanāryā we find that she (Vasumai, before becoming a nun ) was brought to a vihi (market) and sold to Dhanavaha ( 36.11; also see, 37.22 ).
A beautiful description of the confusion of ladies who ran out into their windows etc. to sec Nala and Davadanti, newly married, returning to Nala's capital is noteworthy for acute observation of the society by the author of the AMKV (p. 49). Equally interesting is the description of wedding ceremony (pāniggahana ) of Nala and Davadanti. The pair is required to circumambulate four times the ritual fire (in veiya-vedika ). At the end of each such circumambulation (technically called mangalam ) the king gives gifts to the pair ( 48-67-69 ), these gifts included 1000 elephants, 10,0000 horses, one crore of suvanna (i. e. gold coins ), and in the fourth mangala one crore of pattaula (silk cloth ). During wedding rites the pair wears a kankana (a bracelet ) which Nala wore for all the ten days during his stay at Davadanti's father's palace.
Another such social custom often described in the AMKV is the Vaddhāvanayam (Varddhāpanakam, -9917 in Guj.) which is celebration of the birth of a son to a king or a rich person. The whole city celebrated the birth of a prince. Torana-Vandanamālās or Candanamalas of fresh leaves of mangotrees were tied on gates, Punnakalasas (Pārņakalaśas)' or auspicious jars, with sandal-paste applied to them, were placed on certain places (usually near entrance-doors ), beggars, students and bards were singing and praising, old ladies with rice ( akşata) in hands were performing suta-raksā (protection of child) ( 293, 117-121). The suta-raksā was possibly performed by throwing a few grains of (unhusked or ) husked rice on the child with muttering of certain benedictions etc. Ladies put on navaranga (of nine colours of the rainbow ) garments, vāravilāsinis danced; there came the enchanting sound of tara (a kind of musical instrument) and in various places Caccara songs, pleasing to the ears, were heard. People raised up on their houses (bhavanas ) the jua (yapa) and musala (pestle) (258. 448-451 ). Ja is explained as a sort of a pillar. The practice of raising jūa-musala is referred to in other jaina texts. Now if jūa is a post and musala or pest le also looks like a small post from a distance, it is not convincing that jūa was a small post in the above custom. Even today, at least amongst the Maharashtra people there is a practice of raising a small post with a small head of a goddess on top. Sometimes we find a small kumbha (pot) placed with head down on such posts. Jūa possibly meant a small kalasa placed with face down on post or pestle raised on house-tops. This is further supported by another meaning of “a kalaśa" noted by the Păiasaddamahannavo. There are many more descriptions of this festival in the AMKV., cf p. 266.32, or the festival on the birth of Meghakumāra on p. 231. 89 ff.
The naming of the child (nāmakarana ) was performed usually on the twelfth day but there is one reference (P. 20.20 ) which shows that it was done on the tenth day, all other references refer to the twelfth day. When the prince became eight years old he was placed in charge of a lehåriya or wvajhāya.
1. Pūrņakalasa as an auspicious object is popular in Brahmanical, Jaina and Buddhist art and literature. A detailed
description of it is given in AMKV 337.96-97. 2. See Paisaddamahappavo, p. 450, quoting " CH JESHEFÐ Fac" from Jacobi's ed. of the Kalpasitra.
The same dictionary also gives another meaning of 73, being one Hathra -31, based on Pravacanasároddhåra, 272, 3. cf, modern Guj, sprdame Ozbă of certain Brahmapa families.