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COMPR BARNSIVB HISTORY OF JAINISM
cårya of Ujjayini, who brought the Śakas from Pärasakala to Hindugudeśa (India) in order to punish king Gardabhila, who wanted to molest the sister of this monk, called Sarasvati. The story is told, for the first time, in the Nisīthacūrnies, and repeated in the Bhashya on the Vyavahāra. This story was so popular with the Jains that we have no less than 38 works, on this subject, the earliest of which, is recorded in the Kālikācārjakatharo of Devacand razūri, the guru of Hemacandra, who wrote it V.S. 1146. The next work on this subject?1, was by Maladhari Hemacandra, a celebrated Jain monk of the early 12th century, and who was a senior centemporary of kalikalasarvajña Hemacandra. The latest work on this subject was written in the 18th century.
Maladhāri Hemacandra, as we have already seen, in the first chapter of the present volume, was a contemporary of Jayasimha. He was the author of several Agamic commentaries?', a few of which contain popular stories, including the story of Kālaka, mentioned above. He was a vastly learned man, and was a respected figure in the early 12thcentury Gujarat.
A celebrated literary work of the first half of the 12th century is the Nammayasundarikaha's, writteh by Mahendrasūri in V.S, 1187, corresponding to 1130 A.D. It describes the trials and tribulations of Narmadāsundari, the wife of a Jain merchant, called Maheśvaradatta. It is significant to note that Maheśvaradatta did not hesitate to take his wife to a foreign country (Yayanadvipa), where he went on a business tour. Then we are told, that this merchant (like Othello) became suspicious of his innocent wife's character, and deserted her. Then we are told that this great lady was forced to stay with some prostitutes in another foreign country (Babbaral üla, probably in Arabia). However she remained a chaste woman, in spite of many temptations. In this connexion, some useful details are given about the free sexual life of the prostitutes, who used to charge very high
