Aspects of Brahmanical Influence On Jaina Mythology

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

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Aspects af Brahmanical Influence on the Jaina Mythology
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faith brought about a difference in their religious practices, yet it could not cause any substantial change in their mental frame which was largely shaped by the Rāmāyaṇa and the Mahabharata, leaving, as they did, an enduring impression on their life and thought Naturally, they were unwilling to sever their connection with the epics which, for centuries, had been their principal guides and wherein they found a suitable outlet for their emotions and aspirations Further, the people were not fully satisfied with the Jaina canons which, though having incorporated in their corpus some myths and legends of universal appeal in somewhat Jainised way, were mainly interested in the glorification of dry asceticism
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This state of things must have paved the way for the inclusion of the Rāmāyana and the Mahabharata in the curriculum of the Jaina system of education sometimes before the compilation of the Jaina canons 10 But the introduction of that hybrid education produced a reaction which was not conducive to the progress and popularity of the faith, for it began to dampen people's conviction in the Jaina religion in which the lay adherents could not find any scope for the realisation of their ideals
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Now, to counteract the ascendancy of the epics and to ensure unswerving adherence of the laity to the faith, the Jaina authors adopted the very method of the epic poets For the most part, they reproduced the same epican ideas and plots in a Jainised way. It was thus that the Jaina Puranakāras ende
8 The Age of Imperial Unity, p 252
0 eg Uttaradhyayanasütra, of which not a single lecture is free from that element Similar is the case with most of the works forming part of the canonical literature
10 In the Anuyogadoära (Su 25) the recitation of the two epics is referred to as a compulsory rite to be performed without fail, Vide LAI, p 171 11 One such adoption, among the many, is the interesting episode of Vasu, Parvata and Narada wherein Parvata is represented as championing the cause of animal-sacrifice, whereas Narada is stated to have stood for the non-violent form of sacrifice We are told that both of them contend over the meanig of the term aja, the sacrificial object, which, according to Narada meant old grain of barley, incapable of germination, but to Parvata the term was expressive of 'goat' Now, both the disputants approach King Vasu for enlightenment The king, although knowing full well that the scriptural evidences were in favour of