Ancient Jaina Hymns

Author(s): Charlotte Krause
Publisher: SCIndia Oriental Institute Ujain

Page 65

REMARKS ON THE TEXTS
(vide foot-notes to the text). The rendering of the text is fairly correct and unambiguous, so that only a few corrections were necessary, as may be seen from the critical apparatus.
Out of the 40 stanzas, 34 are in Mandākrāntā(1; 2; 6-39), 3 in Vasantatilaka- (3-5), and 1 in Sārdūla vikridita-metre (40).
2. THE DEVASULID:NĀTHA-STAVANA This hymn is addressed to Adinātha or Rsabhadeva, the first of the last group of 24 Tirthaikaras of the Bharata-kşetra of Jambu-dvipa. It is, however, so entirely void of references to this Jina's life that it could be applied to any Tirthankara. Not only thus much, but it is even so free from allusions characteristic of a Jina, that it could be an expression of the worldweariness and devotion of the follower.of any religion that stands for faith in an omniscient and in every way perfect God, an immortal soul, and a final salvation from the misery of life in this world, were it not for a few Jaina termini like "Jina", "Tirthakrt", "karman”, "sat-kāyāḥ", some proper nouns like "Vrşabha", "Nābheya" (both synonyms of the Jina's name), etc., and the emphasis laid on the Tirthaikara's perfect passionlessness, which betray its Jaina origin.
Following a custom in vogue with Jaina poets of the period, the author does not address the Tīrthankara as such (the "Bhāva-Jina", to use a Jaina technical term) but the Tirthankara image of a certain sacred place (the "Sthāpanā-Jina"), in the present case the Adinātha image of "Delaüala”, or, sanskritized, “Derakula", or "Devakula Pataka", modern Delwāsā. This is a small place in Mewar, about 3-4 m. from Ekalingji, north of Udaipur, famous for its archæological remains,
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