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Some brilliant female characters created by Somaprabha are likewise
(i) a tribal woman, who was expert in arguments and debates (p.403.30) (ii) a Brahmin's wife and daughter-in-law, who were well-versed in samasyāpārti
(p.390-391) (iii) a normal housewife who understands the language of animals and birds (p.221.1) (iv) a princess ruling a country in a royal costume like a king (p.392.5-6) (v) a female servant telling a truth to his master to remove his doubts about his wife
(p.158.5-6) We can conclude from these instances that Somaprabha's unbiased and just attitude towards women is reflected in the collection of the narratives viz. Kumārapāla-pratibodha.
D] Beliefs, Faiths and Rituals in KumāPra
When we grasp the strata of the society reflected in KumāPra, we can understand the beliefs and rituals of the commoners in better manner. Some of the examples are noted down bellow -
* The protecting deity of the city (nagara-devatā) reveals herself before the prince and offers
enchanted water to sprinkle over the five caused by the evil spirits."
* Because of the step-mother's witcheraft, the son was affected by dropsy. * A lady called Mangala died and became a vyantari. She created a magical display
(indrajāla). 7 * Due to black magic (Mar. Bhānāmati) on inauspicious fire broke in Ujjayini. Prince
Abhayakumāra dispelled the bad fire and evil spirits by pulling sacred fire. * The vow of begging a child to a deity and the fulfillment of the vow by naming the child
after that deity is seen in several narratives.
The growing influence of lower deities like Yakşas, Yaksinis, Śāsanadevatās and Kuladevatās can be observed in many narratives. (FMCCÌ, siya1421 p.298; ashraf, affash42 p.344; Heidi, 76001 p.392) The philosophical background of Jainaism does not allow the interference of these deities but in their daily routine. It is seen that Jainas observe the deity-based rituals due to the vicinity of their Hindu brethren. As noted down by Dr.A.N.Upadhye, these
popular practices finally find a definite role in the temple art of Jainas after 10th century onwards. Thus the references of lower deities in KumāPra are important from the stand point of sociocultural history of Jainas.
E] The Motifs Used to Accelerate the Happenings
The story writers employ certain motifs to accelerate the multiple happenings by raising the curiosity of the reader which compels him to go forward up to the end of the story. If we analyze such instances in the narratives of Somaprabha, we come to know that some of the motifs are based on the philosophical concepts of Jainaism, some are the contemporary social beliefs while some others are purely ‘kavisamketas'.
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