Bhagavana Mahavira and his Relevance in Modern Times

Author(s): Narendra Bhanavat, Prem Suman Jain, V P Bhatt
Publisher: Akhil Bharat Varshiya Sadhumargi Jain Sangh

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Prākrit and Hindi
19
Like Buddhist monks, they too delighted in elaborate sermons and converting worldly stories into legends of saints. To swell the ranks of their adherents, they elucidated their doctrines by means of examples, parables, dialogues, questions and answers, riddles, tests, adages, proverbs etc., thus exploiting the inherent love of the Indians for fables. The stories whether they be in prose or in simple words or elaborate poem, novels or epics, were never intended for mere entertainment, but always served the purpose of imparting religious instructions and edification. New Trends in Narrative Prakrit Literature :
After the advancement of Jainsim there came a stage when people were getting disinterested in the mythological Brahmanic legends. Vimalasuri (4th century A. D.), the author of Paumacaria aware of this fact, was inspired to compose his epic poem wherein he did not intend to follow Vālmīki. According to him, the Rāmāyana of Vālmīki is full of contradictory and untrustworthy data, hence it cannot be treated as authentic. The same point is raised in Dhūitākhyāna of Haribhadrasûri (8th century A. D.) wherein using his imaginative power, the author ridicules the highly coloured stories of the Rāmāyana the Mahābhārata and the Brahamanic Purānas thus providing the futility of these works. Common Man's Portrayal :
Consequently, instead of mythological stories, narratives, keeping the common man's interest in mind, were introduced in which the hero was not a king, or his minister, or a wealthy man, or a leader of a caravan, or a general, but an ordinary being struggling for existence.
In his Upadeśapada Haribhadrasüri has depicted the pathetic life of a poor man who had with him just a little barley-meal (sattū) a little of ghee, sugar and milk, but everything was spilt on the ground, and he had to go without food. In Haribhadrasuris' Samarāiccakahā which is described as a religious novel (dharmakathā), we come across numerous stories, parables and fairy tales, which we often come across in Indian literature; some of these may be said to belong to universal literature.
There are other Prākrit works which have been composed keeping in view the above tradition. In Rayaņacūựacaria of Nemichandra (18th century A.D.) there is a portrayal of wealthy woman