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COMPREHENSIVB HISTORY OF JAINISM
valicarita and it contains an account of the later Jain saints. Hemacandra also gives historical details about the Maurya kings, which are very valuable and positively help us in reconstructing the political history of the Mauryan times.
The other Books of this extensive poem are written in easy, limpid style. The first Book in six cantos, is the Ādiśvaracarita or in other words, dedicated to Lord Rshabhanātha ; it also gives the story of his son emperor Bharata ; the second describes Ajitanātha and king Sagara and in the tbird is described the story of the eight Tirthařkaras from Sambhavanātha to Śitalanātha ; in the fourth is given the story of the next five Tirthankaras, five Vāsudevas, five PratiVäsudevas, five Baladevas and two Cakravartins ; in the fifth parvan is given the legend of śāntinātha, who was both a Tirthaņkara and Cakravartin in the same bhava. The eth Book gives the story of the next four Tirthařkaras from Kunthu to Suvrata, and also of the next four Cakravartins, two Vāsudevas, two Baladeyas and two Prati-Vasudevas, The 7th parvan, is popularly known as the Jain Rāmāyana ; although it gives the story of Naminãtha and the two Cakravartios along with the 8th Baladeva and Prati-Väsudeva. the major portion of this Book, describes the exploits of Rāma. The 8th Book, called the Nemināthacarita gives the story of Arishțanemi, the 22nd Tirthankara and his three contem. poraries—Väsudeva Kșshŋa, Baladeva and Jarāsandha, who were the ninth Vāsudeva, ninth Baladeva and the ninth Prati-Väsudeva, respectively. As they were the contemporaries of the heroes of the Mahabharata, we have also a few details about them, in this Book of the T.S.C. The 9th Book is on Pärsvanātha and it also gives the story about the famous Brahmadatta, the twelfth Cakravartin. The 10th Book is on Lord Mabāvīra and it is almost a separate big kavya, in which the life of the last Tirth ankara, has been very extensively described. Even we get some useful details regarding king Kumārapāla, the patron of Hemacandra.
We have given above some details about the major works
