Aspects of Brahmanical Influence On Jaina Mythology

Author(s): Shaktidhar Jha
Publisher: Bharat Bharti Bhandar

Page 24

Aspects of Brahmanıcal Influence on the Jaina Mythology
all these legends and episodes, 22 like the vidyādharas of the Brhatkatha have fabulous power to move in the air and on the earth alike and they assume various forms at will and delight in all sorts of frolics and adventurous journey to lofty mountains, horrible forests and in sooth to all such uncommon places which human beings cannot traverse
In the Vasudevahınd123 this element is very conspicuous, and, the account of Vasudeva's wedding to a host of Vidyadhara maidens during the former's wandering incognito is practically a recast of that of Naravälianadatta's extraordinary marriages with the damsels of similar origin. It is however clear that the Naravāhanadatta motive is not peculiar to the works that deal with the exploits of Vasudeva and his progeny, but is found also in other sections In fact, the scope for the inclusion of such motivated stories and episodes is wider in the works that narrate the life-history of all the Salākāpurus as than in those which give the account of a single Salākapuruşa or a set of them Naturally, the number of such Vidyadhara-stories, with a skilful blending of the epic-cum-Purānic legends and episodes, 24 is greater in the MP, CMC and the TSPC for obvious reason of their having been written on an ambitious plan, dealing, as as they do, with the life-history of all the sixty-three excellent men of the faith 22 Clous Bruhn, Jotroduction, silánkācārya's Caupannamahāpurisacarija,
p 19, For tbc types of the Vidyadbara stories included in Jaina works,
Sec L Alsdorf, Harijamsapurāna, pp 65,119 23 JC Jain, op cit. p 382-83, L Alsdorf BSOS, vol 8, VS Agrawala
also observes "In the Vasudcoahındı Vasudeda takes the place of Naradahana and rebukes Samba that those sluggard fellows did not stir out of their homes and so achieved nothing, whercas in his youth he had visited many a land and by his wisdom and tact (also on account of bis cxtraordinary beauty) won the hands of many royal beauties" (Vide Matsya Purana-A Study, p 50, For the Purānic adoption of
the accounts) sce Finasena's Harivamsapurana, cantos 19-36 24 cg the stories of thc previous existences of $āntinātha It is in one of
the clusters of those stories that the famous cpic episode of the illustri. ous king Sabya (also called Subt) and the Hawk is incorporated as a part of the story of Megharatha, said to have been one of.the previous incarnations of the Lord (Vide MP Parvan 63; CMIC, pp 148-49, TSPC, Vol III pp-291-293), cf Rāmāyana, 11 12 43,11 14.4, MBH, 111 130 F, 197, XN1-32-where the king is named Visadarbha