________________
326
Paul Dundas
Jambū-jyoti
might best be treated first. It occurs in the tenth century Digambara Harisena's Brhatkathākośa, a story collection intended to illustrate the verses of śivārya's Bhagavatī Ārādhanā' Story fifty-four of this anthology, "The Enlightenment of Rudradatta by his Wife (Rudradattapriyaprabodha)" exemplifies the virtue of not giving up one's religion, the context being the relationship between the Saiva and Digambara Jain communities 10. The Saiva Rudradatta ostensibly abandons his religion in order to marry the pious Jain girl Jinamati but then reverts to Saivism after the wedding. Although his wife suggests to him that they each follow their separate religious paths, he refuses to allow her to practise Jainism and tries to force her to convert to saivism. One day, the city in which they live is set on fire by attacking barbarians and their house threatened by the conflagration. The couple agree that they will both follow whichever deity protects the house. To this end, they each perform an act of truth. Rudradatta faces north and, after calling upon the guardian deities, affirms the supremacy of Śiva, by whose will the world proceeds, the saiva path and initiation into it, calling upon the god for protection, if these claims are indeed soli,
But “although he invoked the true name of Śiva” (mahādevasya sannāma grhnato'py asya), the fire burns all the more fiercely, and continues to do so even when Rudradatta invokes other Hindu gods. In response to his plea to call upon the Jina to protect them, Jinamati, "having ritually undertaken an act of abstention" (pratyakhyānam vidhaya), enunciates her act of truth with the words, "If the Jinas are endowed with omniscience, free from passion, without mishap, lacking in passion or mishap, if the religious path of nonviolence taught by them is concerned with compassion for all creatures and is the basis of the happiness of heaven and earth, if the Jain ascetic initiation removes rebirth, then let it quickly protect me and my husband and sons”12. She then made an offering to the Jina and stood in the kāyotsarga position and, while she was carrying out this observance "with firm mind” (sthiramanasā), the fire ceased and the barbarians fled in fear. As a result of this miracle, Rudradatta became a Jain.
The second example occurs in story seven (the Vimalakaha) of Maheśvara Sūri's (first half of eleventh century) Nānapamcamikahão, a narrative collection illustrating the benefits of observing the Jñānapañcamī festival day!3. The early part of the story describes
Jain Education International
For Private & Personal Use Only
www.jainelibrary.org
