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ANCIENT JAINA HYUNS
Only from Hemacandra's "Abhidhāna-cintāmanikosa", I, st. 45, such an association might appear to exist. For, Hemacandra, instead of mentioning Mallinātha's Sāsana-devi under her actual name, refers to her as "Dharaṇa- priya”, which he explains, in his "Sropajñatīkā”, as "Dharañoragendrasypriyā Vairotyā”, i.e., "Vairotyā, consort of Dharana, tle Indra of the Snakes”. Obviously, this Vairotyä cannot be separated from the goddess whom Aryānandila invokes in his "VairotyaDeví-stava",' as “Dharaninda-padhama-patti Vaïruttā nāma Nāgiņi" (st.4), and as “Dharaṇoraga-dažā...... Vaïruttā” (st.12). The Prablāraka-carita contains, in its "Aryanandila-carita”, an account of the origin of this stava, in the form of a legend, tle motif of which recurs in Hindu folk-lore. According to this longend, Vairotyā was the wife of a merchant's son named Padma, and the mother of Nāgadatta, a disciple of Aryanandila (the second "a" of the latter name being short here). By some action of kindness, Vairotyā gained the favour of the snake people, who adopted and treated her as a relative, overshowering licr with divine favours. After her death, she became the queen of their ruler Dharana, the same divinity whom we mentioned previously as Pārsvanātha's Śāsana-deva ("'Dharanendrasya devi Sri-Pārsva-sevituh"), and has since then been assisting her mate in coming to the rescue of devotees of Pārsvanātha, especially in danger threatening from poison or fire. Aryanandila, who had been Vairotyā's Guru in her human existence, composed in her honour, the above mentioned hymn, the recitation
(1) Vide J. St. Sand., I, p. 347 ff. and its Introduction, p. S.
(2) L. l., p. 19 ff.; vide also Muni Kalyāņavijaya's remarks in his troduction to the Gujarati Translation of the Prabhavaka-carita (Jaina tmapanda Sabha, Bhavnagar, V. S. 1987), p. 22.
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