Jain Journal 1982 04

Author(s): Jain Bhawan Publication
Publisher: Jain Bhawan Publication

Page 38

Half
Tale
The Ardhakathānaka translated, introduced and annoted by Mukund Lath
Illustrations by Ganesh Pyne
Rajasthan Prakrit Bharati Sansthan Jaipur
$ 25 Rs. 150
from introduction half a tale:
The Ardhakathānaka is a remarkable work. Written during the heyday of the Mughal rule in 1641 A.D., it is perhaps the only autobiography in the Indian tradition. Banarasi, its author, was evidently working without precedents. Yet he was surprisingly cognisant of the complexity of his task and the depth of introspection it needed. We find him commenting at the end of his narrative :
"In a man's life there is much that is too subtle to be palpable... Even in the tiny span of a day a man passes through myriad states of consciousness. The all-knowing Kevalin can perceive them, but even he cannot describe them in their fullness.”
Banarasi was 55 years old when he wrote this autobiography. He called it the Ardhakathānaka, or Half A Tale, for he thought he had lived only half the total span of life allotted to man, which according to an ancient Jain tradition he quotes, is 110 years. However, he did not much outlive the completion of his Half A Tale and so what we have is, in effect, a full story.
Banarasi was a Jain Merchant born in the enterprising clan of the Srimals, who were keen businessmen, spread in Mughal times almost all over North India, with flourishing communities in every major town. Some Srimals held fairly important official posts in Muslim courts.