Jain Ramayan

Author(s): Gunratnasuri
Publisher: Jingun Aradhak Trust

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loves her husband to such an extent that she is not only willing to share her love, but becomes his envoy and pleads Sītā to accept his love.
Kausalya's heart aches while granting Rama the permission to leave Ayodhya, but when the time comes to bid goodbye to Sitä, it bleeds profusely. She is an ideal mother-inlaw. Every character in Rāmāyaṇa represents lofty ideals. Rāma is an ideal son, brother, husband, foe and a monk. Sitā is an ideal daughter, wife, daughter-in-law, mother and an ideal ascetic.
The characters like, Sugriva, Hanumana, vidhyadhars who can fly, Jatayu and other celestial beings who can perform miracles, attract the children. Hanumana, who not only posseses enormous strength but also intelligence and humble nature, enthrall the children. The plot of Rāmāyaṇa unfolds not only on the earth, but also in the different levels of the celestial world and the under world. It also embodies the present, past, very remote past and future, in the most fascinating way, and the plot changes these tracks in such a smooth way that mind of the readers is not distracted.
There is a school of thought which believes that when the ksatriya kings accepted Jainism as a way of life, they began to abhor violence in any form and became totally submissive and docile. This gradually killed the patriotic fervour in their hearts and they became puppets in the hands of destiny. This has brought the downfall of India. Only those who can endure its austerities and the spirit of detachment can be true followers of Jainism. On the contrary, the epics like Jain Rāmāyaṇa and Mahabharata state that Rama, Lakṣmaṇa and Pandavas resorted to violence in order to vanquish their foes, who were menace to the mankind. In the whole, Jainism preaches its followers to crusade against injustice, immorality and evil behaviour. This aspect of Jainism is clearly seen in the Rāmāyaṇa.
"Vasudeva hindi", the composition of P. P. Sanghadāsa Gani is the most ancient treatise on Rāmāyaṇa, but "Paumacariyar" written by P. P. Vimalasūriji is the most popular. "Uttarapurana" composed by P. P. Gunabhadra M. S. and "Kathavali" written by P. P. Bhadreśvara M. S. are also the Jain Rāmāyaṇas. I have used the following books for reference, "Padmapurāna" written by P. P. Ravisena M. S.. "Mahäpuräna" written by P. P. Svayambhu M. S.. "Punya Candrodaya Puran" of P. P. Kṛṣṇadāsa M. S.. "Satrunjayamahatmya" written by P.P. Dhanesvara Süri M. S.. "Covana Mahāpurisa Cariyarh" by P. P. Silācārya M. S. and Trisasti Šalākā Purusa Caritra of P. P. A. Hemacandräcārya Süri M. S. and its english version, translated by Helen M. Johnson P.hd. I express my gratitudes to all of them.
How will this book help the reader? At first, today we Indians take a perverst pride in aping the western world. We are gradually throttling our own culture, in the name of spirit of modernity and progress. The media is working overtime to create a uniform culture, based on consumerism. We are running after a mirage called comfortable life, which have names like secure life, healthy life, unbiased life. The ancient Ārya values like brotherhood, selflessness, loyalty to the husband etc have become outdated, and self-centeredness is replacing them. We care for "my self", "my love", "my opinion", "my freedom", "my money". Family values are disintegrating. In crucial times like this, Rāmāyaṇa can be our excellent guide. It acquaints us with the basic tenets of Arya culture, and finally explains now to achieve Mokşa through asceticism.