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Ancient Jaina Hymns
395
according to a third group, a Garuda, can easily be removed by the assumption that the archetypus, to which they all go back in the last instance, contained a word like “pārindra', which may mean a snake as well as a lion, or like 'vyāla', which may denote any vicious animal and could refer to a snake as well as to some dangerous quadruped. “Vihanga-rāja', the Garuda, may simply be a misread 'bhujanga-rāja'. Since Vairoțyā is anyhow equipped with the snake emblem, the idea that her mount was originally likewise a snake, does not seem to be a far-fetched conclusion. In any case, it means only a supplementary stroke of the brush to complete her picture as that of a doubtless snake-deity.
In this way, the similarity of the Vidyā-devi with the Digambara Sasana-devī of Vimalanātha of identical name, emblem and mount, is even more perfect than Bhattacharya assumes.214 As moreover, in the invocation quoted by that scholar, Vimalanātha's Śāsana-devi is actually addressed as a Vidyā-devi (Vairoți haritārcyate, or hrīí Vidyā-devī°215), no doubts can obviously be raised regarding their original identity. While thus the Digambaras apportioned this Vidyā-devi to Vimalanātha, without changing her original character, the Svetāmbaras, when associating her with Mallinātha, allowed her snake attributes to fall into oblivion. The only link that still connects this Svetāmbara goddess with her original home, the snake-world, is apparently the above-mentioned name of ‘Dharana-priyā' under which Hemacandra refers to her. Thus, this ‘kalikāla-sarvajña' is once more vindicated as standing on the firm ground of a very old and original tradition, while the legend of the Prabhāvaka-carita re Vairotyā Devī's direct association with Aryanandila is proved to be nothing but a recent growth of devotional fiction.
The fact that the Vidyā-devī Vairoțyā was indeed imagined to be the consort of Dharaṇa, the king of the snake-demons, is amply testified. Thus, Sobhana Muni gives her the epithet of 'Ahīnāgryapatni'. Sāgaracandra Sūri calls her 'Bhujagendra-patni'. Both these
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