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186 / The Rāştrakūtas and Jainism
Arikēsari-II, and the Parabhaņi plates of the Arikesari-III [JAHR, VI, pp. 169-92; JBISM. XIII]. The works of Guņavarma-I, Jinasēna-I and II, Guņabhadra, Mahāvirācārya, Pālyakirti Sākațāyana, Ugrāditya, Pampa, Ponna, Cāmundarāya and Ranna, the eminent authors of this age, are embedded with facts of historical note.
6.9.1. While summing up the achievement of Jaina authors of the Rāstrakūta span of life, a few salient points may need additional explanation. One of the difficulties faced initally by the non-Jaina readers is regarding the technical terminology. It is like a coconut, hard on the outside, but soft and sensitive, mellifluous and meaningful, once the shell is broken. If one withstands initial storm in the form of religious terminology, the doors of treasure trove are wide open. Drawing on the wisdom of the body, heavily steeped in the language of symbol and allusion, needing good background knowledge of the Jaina context to decipher their mysteries, even a serious commentary like Dhavalā, lead us loopingly in to the riches of spiritual world.
6.9.2. Second point would be about bhavāvali or punarjanma-kathana, narration of successive births of the same soul. In Mahāpurāņa of Jinasena Gunabhadra, Puşpadanta and Cāmundarāya, Jasaharacariu of Puspadanta, Yasastilaka of Somadēvasūri and in all the Purāṇas of various poets, this cycle of previous births figures very prominently. Since Jaina philosophy is enjoined to this concept of birth and rebirth, it needs an in extenso coverage.
6.9.3. Jaina Purāņa-kāvyas, legendary narrative poems, deal with punar-janma, reincarnation, which relfects the effect of karma (action) in successive births. Invariably Jaina authors embellish this motif of bhavāvali, series of successive births, skilled and gifted men of letters of poetic excellence, adopt this technique to powerfully portray the effects of karma, which haunt the soul in all its births till it is washed off.
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