Aspects of Brahmanical Influence On Jaina Mythology

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

Page 73

Brahmanical Definition
55
cover the subjects treated under the Brahm anical topics, Sarga, Manvantara, Vamsa-cum-Vamsänucarita and Pratisarga respectively
C
Thus, as noted above, the Brahmanical Pañcalakṣaṇa definition is moderately applicable to our Jaina Purānas as well, for, in their own way they give accounts of creation, dissolution and re-creation of the world, origin of the families of gods, sages and deified Jinas, description of various Manuantaras and genealogical accounts of different royal dynasties 50 However, the study of the extant Jaina Purānas clearly shows that the works in question, like their Brahmanical counterparts, treat of a great number of such topics as are not embraced by the Pañcalakṣana definition The obvious reason is that these Purānas were written in the age when the corpus of the Hindu Purānas had already been filled with the extraPuranic materials to meet the racial, religious, cultural and spiritual exigency of the contemporary people These topics with sectarian tinge were related to the sphere of Dharma, Artha, Kāma and Mokşa, and were conceived as the four Puruşärthas. Now, the Jaina Purana writers in a bid to place their Puranic works at par with the Hindu Purānas were impelled to incorporate in them even those matters which were considered as essentially opposed or non conductive to the religious merit according to the early Jaina belief as embodied in their canonical works 51 Thus, being motivated by a sense of competition
49 Infra, Chap III
50 Vide Chapters IV-VI
51 कि माहरणा जोइ समारभन्ता उदएण सोहिं बहिया विभग्गह | a #gı afzfzu fauifz a a gfaço gaat ayfa 11 कुस च जूव तरणकट्ठमरिंग साथ च पाय उदग फुसन्ता । पारणाइ भूयाई विहेडयन्ता भुज्जो वि मन्दा पगरेह पाव ॥ -Uttaradhyayana, XII, 38-39 and comp त्रयोऽग्नय प्रणेया स्यु कर्मारम्भे द्विजोत्तम. रत्नवितयसकल्पादग्नीन्द्र मुकुटोद्भवा तीर्थं कृद्गुणभृच्छेष केवल्यन्तमहोत्सवे ।