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THB ŚVETĀMBARA LITARATURE
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fee (sometimes as much as 800 drammas) from the customers. The character of the heroine reminds us of Damayanti of the Mahabharata, as both of them are represented as moving about in the streets in half-naked, dirty condition. However the story ends with the re-union of the husband and the wife. The author has also thrown some light on the economic and commercial life of the 12th-century India.
The Upadešapadate of Haribhadra, was another popular Prakrit work, on which an extensive commentary was written by Municandra in V.S. 1174, corresponding to 1116 A.D., at Anabillapāțaka. It contains a very good number of stories, wbich throw a flood of light on the everyday life of mediaeval period. In one story, we are told, how a Buddhist Bhikshu (raktapața) was humbled by a Jain sådhu in debate and in another story, the author has ridiculed the life of a Brahmin, who used to take his bath everyday in the Ganges, However, such stories, against the Brahmins, are to be found, as a routine matter, in almost every Jain narrative work, written from the earliest times up to the 18th century. Probably, the Jains were of the opinion that the offence is the best means of defence. However, this anti-Brāhmanical, attitude did not help them much, and they succeeded in converting only a microscopic percentage of the vast Hindu population of this country. The Brābmanical Hinduism, which derives its strength, from the Vedas and Epics, stood like the Himalayas, not only against the onslaughts of its internal enemies, but also against that mighty force, the religion of Islam.
Let us now turn our attention to the great works of that supreme Jain savant, namely kalikālasarvajña Hemacandra, who was not only the greatest Indian saint of the 12th century, but also, at the same time, the supreme literary artist
s country. He was not only a celebrated grammarian, but also at the same time, a successful historian and a famous literary artist. His great grammatical work, along with his own commentaries were written during the reign
