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Padma-Purāna (A. D. 678) of Ravişeņa, which is a faithful Sanskrit version of the Prāksta Paumacariya of Vimalasuri. However, the interesting point to take note of in this connection is that Ravişeņa imitates Vimalasuri wholesale but makes no acknowledgement of his indebtedness to the latter anywhere, probably because the former was a staunch Digambara, and the latter a devout Svetāmbara. The introductory chapter of this work also betrays the same critical attitude towards the Ramayana of Valmiki as in the Paümacariya. It has been rightly suggested that "the way, in which the reflection is found, is an obvious evidence of the author's anxiety for minimising the fame and popularity of the Välmiki Ramayana among the Jaina lay. This undoubtedly proves that the Ramayana was fairly popular and accurately known and widely studied among the Jainas during this period. As regards the accounts of the families of Rāma and Rāvana the Jainas had no well-established tradition howsoever to fall back upon. Vimalasuri himself says that the Rāma-story existed in the form of a list of names and was handed down from teacher to his pupil in regular succession. The Jaina authors although claim a very old tradition for their legendary narratives, yet there seems to have been an earnest desire on their part to invest their versions with an element of antiquity and authenticity with a view to proving an ancient tradition of the Rama-story in Jaina mythology
It seems that before the advent of Ravişeņa on the literary scene, there flourished one Kirtidhara who attempted to translate the Prākta Kävya of Vimala, but the popularity of Ravişena's work completely overshadowed the poem of Kirtidhara which was almost foregotten in subsequent years The Padma-Purana or Padmacarita is not a mere translation, it is a brilliant piece of poetical fervour, and the description of war-preparations and love-scenes remind us of Bāņa's style which seems to have inspired all his writings.
The Raghara-Pāndaviya or Dvisandhāna, an epic in eighteen cantos, was composed by the wellknown Dhananjaya about whose personal life we know nothing except that his father was one Vasudeva and his mother one Sridevi. This work has been highly spoken of by many eminent poets including Rājasekhara. The theme of this work is based on the two Hindu epics- The Rāmāyaṇa and Mahabharata and "unlike most Jaina works the characters are not represented as embracing the religion of the Jinas". Dhananjaya was inspired by the writings of the great Sanskrit poets such as Kalidasa, Bharavi and Mägha, and he in turn inspired the later Jaina poets and philosophers from 800 A. D. which is evident from a study of their works.
The Harivansa Purana of Jinasena (A. D. 783) is another great work in this field and is considered to be the earliest known Jaina version of the Brāhmanical Harivansa It is true, Jinasena has introduced many changes as regards the detailed description of the exploits of the members of the Hari-dynasty, nevertheless the main theme does not in the least betray any departure from the original account given by Valmiki in his Rāmāyaṇa. This is particularly true of the gnomic-didactic and descriptive passages containing both idealogical and phraseological parallelisms : for instance, verse 77 of the eighth parvan of the Adi-Purānas of Jinasena which describes the utter impermanence of the worldly objects is somewhat akin to
1. R. C. Majumdar (ed.), The Age of the Imperial Guptas, p. 292. 2. Padmacarita, 3.17-27 ; 8.146-49. 3. Paümacariya. :
नामावलियनिबद्ध आयरिय परंपरागयं सव्वं ।
बोच्छामि पउमचरियं अहाणपुव्विं समासेण ।। 4. A. K. Charterjee, op. cit., p. 303. 5. Adi-Purāna. 8.77 :
सुखं दुःखानुबन्धीदं सदा सनिधनं धनम् । संयोगा विप्रयोगान्ता विषदन्ताश्च सम्पदः ।।
चैन साहित्यानुशीलन
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