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the 14th century. In this also the story is used as a frame-work for expounding important philosophical doctrines relating to Jainism.
JAINA LITERATURE IN TAMIL
The story is connected with the city of Vitaśōka, the capital of Gandhamalini in Videha-kṣētra. The name of the king who ruled over this country was Vaijayanta, and that of his queen, Sarvaśri. He had by this queen two sons Sañjayanta and Jayanta. The elder Sanjayanta, heir to the throne, was married to a princess by whom a son was born to him called Vaijayanta after the grand-father. The old king, who now had his namesake grandson, thought it better to abdicate the kingdom in favour of his son, himself desiring to enter tāpasa-āsrama as a yōgin. But his two sons did not care much about the royal splendour and hence expressed their desire to renounce the kingdom and follow their father. Thus the grandson Vaijayanta was made the king and the three, father and two sons, adopted asceticism and went to spend their life in yoga. While the three were engaged in penance, the father Vaijayanta, because of his success in yōga, soon managed to get rid of his karmas and became a sarvajña. As is usual at such times all the devas assembled there to offer worship at the feet of this Jivan-mukta. Among those assembled there was a beautiful deva, Dharaņēndra by name, who appeared with all his divine paraphernalia. The younger brother Jayanta, who was also engaged in penance, noticed this beautiful deva and desired to become one like him in his next birth. As a result of this desire and also as the fruit of his incomplete yoga, he soon
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