________________
74
same meaning. In the Lokatattva-nirṇaya he says I venerate all those who are free from all vices and adorned with all virtues, be they Brahmā, Viṣņu, Śiva or Jina.19 Haribhadra's crusade against sectarianism is unique and admirable in the history of world-religions. This view is further supported by various Jaina thinkers of medieval period such as Akalanka, Yogindu, Mānatunga, Hemacandra and many others. While worshipping Lord Siva the Jaina pontiff Hemacandra says: - "I worship those who have destroyed attachment and aversion which are the seed or birth and death, be they Brahma, Viṣņu, Śiva or Jina, 20" It is important that though Hemacandra was a Jain-saint, he composed a hymn in praise of Śiva. This liberalism is also maintained by later Hindi or Gujarati Jaina writers like Anandaghana and many
others.
Anandaghana, á mystic Jaina saint of the 17th century A.D., remarks that just as ocean includes all the rivers so does Jainism all other faiths. Further he beautifully expounds that all the six heretic shools are the organs of Jina and one who worships Jina also worships them.21 In a Hindi couplet J.K. Mudhtar (20th cent.) says:
Buddha Vira Jina Hari Hara Brahma ya usako svadhina kaho
Bhakti bhava se prerita ho, yeha citta usi me lina raho
Along with these literary evidences there are some epigraphic evidences of religious tolerance of the Jainas. Some Jaina Acāryas, such as, Ramakīrti and Jayamangalasūri wrote the hymns in praise of Tokalji and goddess Camuṇḍā; Jaina kings such as Kumārapāla, Visnuvarṣaṇa and others consutructed the temples of Śiva and Visņu along with the temples of Jina.22
19.
20.
JAIN JOURNAL VOL-XLI, NO. 2 OCTOBER. 2006
21.
22.
Lokatattva nirṇaya (Haribhadra) - 129
Mahadeva Stotra - 44
Namijinastavana - Anandaghana
Jainasilalekhasamgraha vol: - III Introduction - by G.C. Chaudhary.
Jain Education International
For Private & Personal Use Only
www.jainelibrary.org
