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JAIN JOURNAL : Vol-XXXIV. No. 2 October 1999
The Jaina Puranas may be divided into three classes according to the subject matter they dealt with -
1. Relating to the Rāmāyaṇa Story
2. Relating to the Mahābhārata-Story 3. Relating to the Life-Story of one or more than one Salākā.
Puruşa (great personality).
Among the Jaina Purāņas there are some poetical works which are called Carita-kavya belonging to each of the three classes.
The Purāņas Relating to the Rāmāyaṇa
The oldest of all the Puranas relating to the Ramayana is the Paumacariya of Vimala Sūri. It is composed in Mahārāstrī Prākrit and contains many illustrations of archaic Prākrit. Prof. Jacobi thinks that it was composed in the 3rd century A.D. But the other scholars recommend 1st cent. A.D. as its date of composition.
This Purāna relates in melodious verses the life-story of Rāma. From the point of description this Purāna is closely related to the Rāmāyaṇa of Vālmīki.
Following the Pauma-cariya of Vimala Sūri, Jainācārya Ravişena composed the Padma-purana in Sanskrit in 677 A.D.
Relating to the story of Rāma, the poet Svayambhū, the most famous among all the poets of the Jaina-Puranas, composed his famous poem Pauma-cariu in Apabhramsa. He is regarded to be the first poet Adikavi' to write Jaina Purāna in Apabhramsa. From the information contained in this Purana it appears that the birth-place of the poet was Karnataka. His father was Marutideva, the mother was Padmini and the son was Tribhubana. His time was 8th century A.D. Apart from Pauma-cariu, Svayambhū composed another Purāna in Apabhramsa. It is Ritthanemicariu.
The Paumacariu relates in 1200 verses the story of the Rāmāyana of Vālmīki. It contains 90 Sandhis-2 in Vidyadhara kānda, 22 in Ayodhyā kānda, 14 in Sundarā kānda, 21 in yuddha kanda, and 13 in uttara kända. Among these, 83 Sandhis were composed by the poet Svayambhū himself and the rest 7 Sandhis by his son Tribhuvana.
The Ritthanemicariu relates in 3 kändas and 112 Sandhis the story of the Mahābhārata taking Krsna and the Tirthankara Neminātha as
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