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A CRITICAL STUDY
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something like what is already noted in the invented tale; and lastly, there is no deliberate attempt on the part of the author to confound issues by distortion or exaggeration of facts. The Dhūrtākhyāna, therefore, can be better and more appropriately called a satire of incredible Purāņic legends and episodes and against the credulity of those that believe them, using parodical imitation as its chief vehicle and casually taking recourse to irony, sarcasm, banter, wit and humour. It is a satire, and a perfect one, because of its unique construction, a delicious mingling of phantasy and reality, subtle sense of characterization (though in a limited quantity) and above all the startling situation of devils discussing scriptures which make it an inimitable piece of raillery and a good humoured amusement for all. Haribhadra possesses a righteous indignation which is passionate, noble and fearless. Like a true satirist, he thoroughly ridicules rather objectively, in his Sambodha-prakarana, the vices that had perhaps crept into the Jaina monastic order of his times : he detests, pities and condemns the vices and the irreligious routine of the ascetic life; while in the Dhū. he satirizes the folly of the degenerating belief of the masses in Purāņic legends. Monks are morally and religiously degraded, and the public is on the verge of rational bankruptcy; and here Haribhadra comes like an expert surgeon to ply his satirical instrument, before he can put the bandage of religious and didactic teaching. Like Voltaire, Haribhadra was out to cure, and he had a panacea, Reason. Haribhadra is a champion of rational and logical attitude; he declares in one place :* I am not partial to Mahāvīra, nor do I bear any ill will against Kapila and others; whose words appeal to reason, his mission is to be upheld. He has given vent to this spirit more than once. The good satirist, we know, holds a place half-way between preacher and the wit. He has the purpose of the first and uses the weapons of the second. He must both hate and love. For what impels him to write is not less the hatred of error and folly than the love of right and wise vision. The satirist's appeal is always to the intellect, and rarely does he play upon the emotions. His is a perfectly rational attitude strengthened by the nicest sense of proportion. Like & rationalist, Haribhadra's approach is intellectual, apart from his being a champion of logic and reason; but his atill greater asset is the mental poise with which he meets his opponents. He is not a logician infuriated with religious fanaticism, but he is a genuine rationalist of a balanced mind; and to a certain extent we see this even in the Dhurtākhyāna. As & genius Haribhadra has at his back a fund of good logic. Quite skilfully and humorously, like a creative artist, he applies it to the incredible Puranic ideas which have a sway over men's minds; the invented tales are full of logical extremos and absurdities; and when the Purāņic legends are set on par with them, they cannot but be ridiculous and absurd. The minds that start doubting
1 Ed. Jaina Grantha Prakāšaka Sabhā, Ahmedabad 1916, especially Garvădhikars. 2 In his Lokatattva-nirnaya: qarat #maraforlag 1 gftiga qerrer
qfar: ll' and in his Yogabindu : 'amet Aaltola yriti 747 ARE AET I Tantra युक्तियत्र तत्र मतिरेति निवेशम् ।।'
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