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Sects of the Jaina Puranakäras --Caritas and Puranas
187
fied and altered by the adepts for the purpose of instruction " Under the circumstances, it will not be unreasonable to hold that the works irrespective of their specific nomenclature are mytho-romantic narratives, imbued with a spirit of religious propaganda
As regards the extent of the cpic-Purānic influence, the works betray their indebtedness to the traditional sources in regard to almost all conceivable aspects, such as mythology, cosmogony, customs and manners and beliefs and superstitions. However, in the present context, we shall confine ourselves to those cases which do not form parts of the universal history but find incidental mention as facts of known occurrence, contributing, in the main, towards the emblishment and elucidation of a topic under trcatment Such examples may be taken as illustrative of stray influences on the works in question
The works, being the products of different authors and of different times, cannot be expected to show uniform influence of the Brahmanical tradition Naturally, it varies from work to work. Similarly, the quantum of strictures on the epicPurānic sources ranges from iconoclastic attack to simple reprobation And the variance in the degree of dependence and structures on the traditional sources is due both to the dynamic social and religious conditions and to the religious and dogmatic outlook of an individual author representing a particular period Moreover, the authors' range of knowledge of the traditional lore is also responsible for the diverging degree of reaction against and reliance upon the spic-Purānic concepts
Reverting to the epic Puranic mythology we find that from among the host of the divine and demi-divine beings, only the three supreme gods have been subjected to severe snubbing And it is obvious that the religious importance of these godheads was a source of great embarrassment to the Jaina savants.
8 ज पुण विवज्जासिय कुसलेहिं उपदेसियपुव्व समतीए जुज्जमाण कहिज्जइ त कप्पियं।
-VH, Chap X, YIC, p. 124
