Encyclopaedia of Jaina Studies Vol 01 Jaina Art and Architecture

Author(s): Sagarmal Jain, Others
Publisher: Parshwanath Vidyapith

Page 417

Uttarādhyayanasūtra
395
folk who informed the king. The king discovered the truth on investigation and the robber was slain. The illustration pertaining to the story represents mother and child in a cave on the hill while the robber is sitting outside.
In the fifth chapter of Uttaradhyayanasūtra Death Against One's will’- Mahāvīra preaches that people should follow the pious law and should avoid the worldly life that ends in life and death cycle. The illustrations show the death bed scenes of a layman and a monk.
The sixth chapter "The False Ascetic' concerns with a tale of a villager who worked hard but got no reward. One night he saw a man in a temple with wish fulfilling a beautiful jar. The villager gained favour of the person with his services and asked for the pot from the person as a boon. Getting wish- fulfilling jar he enjoyed with his friends, but one day keeping the pot on his shoulder the intoxicated villager danced, as a result the pot fell and broke, and he returned again to his life of poverty. The present story says that the ignorance of truth is the subject to pains. The illustrations show the villager having received the pot in front of the seated figure of the magician (Pl. 268). The lower part of the painting shows the wish-fulfilling jar festooned with garland and scarf, while foliage comes out of its mouth, and the eyes of a anthropomorphic face gaze out from beside the neck. The full jar is one of the mångalika-cinhas (auspicious symbol) among Jainas.
The seventh chapter 'The Parable of the Ram' tells the story of a ram who enjoyed good treatment for the sake of a guest. When a guest arrives ram's head is cut off and it is eaten. The commentary has a story of a calf who complained to his mother that he was fed only the dry grass while the ram, which was of no use to any one, got all sorts of delicacies. His mother asked him to be content and when the calf saw the ram slaughtered, he became satisfied with his own diet. The Uttarādhyayana manuscripts show the picture of the ram's death, its throat being cut by a
man with a long sword, while a cow and calf stand watching the scene.
The lower scene in the above painting shows a king who lost his life through eating mango, which was strictly forbidden for him. The king was very fond of mangoes but getting the warning by the physician he ordered to uproot every mango tree in his kingdom. One day, the king was riding with his minister and he stopped under a mango tree which was full of fruits. The king could not restrain himself and tasted the mangoes, as a result he died.
The illustrations show the king with mangoes in hand to eat and the minister is kneeling in front of him warning the king not to do so (Pl. 269).
The eighth chapter "Kapila' relates to the story of sage Kapila who was sent, in his boyhood, for education by her poor mother to one of his father's friends Indradatta. There he fell in love with a servant girl. To fulfil the desire of his lover he goes for money to a rich merchant and was arrested by his people and brought to king Prasenajita, the king of Kausāmbi, as a thief. Knowing that Kapila was no thief the king offered him a boon. Kapila fulfils his desire with this but recognising that desires are limitless he renounced all the things and became a monk. He preached the king and set out on austerities. Once in the forest, near Rajgrih he was caught by the robbers and asked to dance. During dance Kapila sang verses of the present chapter and a number of robbers ultimately became his followers.
The illustrations from the story present Kapila is being brought before the king; he is putting on the garments of monk, dancing before robbers and plucking out his hair to renounce the world.
The ninth chapter 'Nami's Entry into Monkhood' discusses the illness of Nami as a king of Mithila and his retirement from the world remembering the former birth as well as the arrival of Sakra in disguise as an elderly Brahmana and his long conversation with Nami who ultimately became a monk.
Jain Education Intemational
ucation International