Ancient Jaina Hymns

Author(s): Charlotte Krause
Publisher: Oriental Institute

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ANCIENT JAINA HYMNS on two other pupils, viz., Indranandin and Kamalakalasa, but had decided later on to nominate the junior Hemavimala his successor as head of the Gaccha, in supersession of the other two. Thus, the spiritual descendents of the latter came to be considered as side branches of the Tapā Gaccha, under the names of Kutubpurā Gaccha and Kamalakalasa Gaccha respectively, while the main line, carried on by Hemavimala Sūri's pupils, is designated as the Pālhanapurā Sākhā or Hema Sākhā. It is this line which represents the Tapā Gaccha now-a-days, and which has produced celebrities like Akbar's spiritual guide Hiravijaya Sūri, the great logician and poet Yasovijaya, the popular poet Viravijaya, and the far-sighted reformer and scholar Vijaya Dharma Sūri of venerable memory.
To judge from the above sources, Hemavimala must have been an outstanding personality, who exercised great influence over his contemporaries and commanded their unrestrained respect, mainly by the integrity of his character and the strictness of the monastic discipline which he enforced on himself as well as on his flock, at a time when monastic ethics called for reformatory steps. His popularity is reflected in the great number of inscriptions testifying to the numerous consecrations of temples and installations of images performed by him during his extensive wanderings. It is moreover reflected in those accounts of festivals and receptions arranged in his honour by the communities of various places through which he passed, such as the famous reception accorded to him in V. S. 1572 by the over-enthusiastic Jaina community of Kapadvanj, said to have been fit for an emperor. Its report reached the Emperor Muzaffar Shah, and aroused his jealousy to such an extent that he sent emissaries to
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