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A CRITICAL STUDY OF PAUMACARIYAM
first work which mentions the water-sports of Rama and Sītā (42. 20-22). Rāma and Sită play water-sports in the river Kroñcarava in the Dandaka forest. Sitä hurls at the face of Rama lotuses infested with bees. No sooner Ráma wipes them off, the bees rush towards the face of Sită considering it to be a lotus flower. Sita gets frightened and immediately embraces Rama. This particular incident of the bees rushing towards the face of Sita is not mentioned in the PCR (42. 78-84) though their water-sports in the river are described. The PCS (36.2) does not refer to their water-sports in the river. But in the Rama-story of Uttarapurana, Rama while sojourning in the Citrakuṭa garden at Banarasa, is mentioned to be playing water-sports in a lake there. A similar description of the bees rushing towards the face of Sită, considering it to be a lotus flower is found in it.
Aha te tattha mahuyarā, Rāmeņa samāhayā paribhameum Siyãe vayaņakamale, nilanti paumāhisankae (PCV, 42.21) Bhramarāḥ ka ñjakaṁ muktvā kāntasyābje-apatansamam Tairākulikṛtāmdṛṣṭvā khedi hladi ca so abhavat ||UP,68.147).
The above analysis reveals that the Rama-story of Uttarapurana is not based upon that of Paumacariyam. Two most important features of the story are common in the Vasudevahindi and the Uttarapurana. They are -Sīta as the daughter of Mandodari and Ravana and her adoption by Janaka & the absence of Uttarakanda i.e. the abandoning of Sita, It shows that both the works represent two currents of a common tradition but different from that of the Paumacariyam.
(c) VH and UP Represent some Earlier Stage of Rama-katha:
Just as some of the elements of the PCV are backed by an old tradition different from the VR, similarly some of the elements of the rest of the two Jaina Rama-kat has are supported by the old tradition different from the VR.
The Vasudevahindi refers to three wives of Ravana's father and their progeny too. This account does not agree with the VR but it is partly supported by the tradition of Ramopa khyana (Supra. Ravana-carita Ch. 4 and 'Rākṣasa Vamśa' Ch. 5).
That Rama remained in exile for 12 years is supported by the Dasaratha Jataka and Dasaratha Kathānam.
There is no reference in the VH that Hanuman took a flight over the sea. It is held by C.V. Vaidya that even in the VR this episode of Hanuman is based on some wonderful jumping (See VR, p. 160).
