Jain Journal 1983 04

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

Page 12

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JAIN JOURNAL
that the devotees offered obeisance to the Jinas for realizing the virtues of the Jinas in their own lives and not for any worldly gain.
But it is difficult to accept the views expressed above. The Jainas performed worship not out of selfless devotion but from a desire to gain temporal as well as eternal blessings and happiness. Like the Hindus, the Jainas completely surrendered to the Jinas and expected favour from them. It is also wrong to think that the Jinas did not dispense divine grace to their devotees. The Jaina Purāņas and the stotra literature of the Karnataka Jainas reveal the fact that the Jainas were moved by the same feelings and desires as are found in any ordinary human being. They appeal to the Jinas as ardently as the Hindus to Brahma and Visnu. From the study of the Bhaktāmara stotra of Manatunga, it is apparent that the devotee can get victory over the enemies and escape the grip of disease by remembering the name of the first Jina Adinatha. Manatunga himself is said to have released himself from the bondage of forty-two chains by the mere recitation of the name of the Jina. The Harivaṁsapurāņa of Jinasena Suri also repeats the same idea and states that one can release himself from the influence of evil spirits by uttering the name of the Jina.
If R. B. P. Singh has interpreted the evidence correctly then this shows that at least some Jains worshipped the Jinas expecting help in return. One could still insist, however, that salvation is not sought through grace. In all the examples cited by R. B. P. Singh none referred to salvation.
From this point of view an entry under the item Bhakti in the Jainendra Siddhānta Koşa-a Jain encyclopaedia in Hindi-is of some interest. Firstly, it has a subheading entitled : Indication of the Doership of God in vyavahāra (as distinguished from niscaya) bhakti. This Kartāvāda of Isvara would seem to go against the grain of "correct” Jainism. The entry cites the following verse from Padmanandi's Pancavimšatikā. Padmanandi flourished in the 11th/12th century A.D. and the verse may be translated freely thus :
O Preceptor of the three worlds, O Lord, the one source of supreme bliss, show such compassion towards me, thy servant, that mukti be obtained. Banish my birth cycle of births and deaths taking pity on me. This is all that I have to say. I said all sorts of things on account of being tormented greatly (by samsāra), O Deva !