Life of Hemchandracharya

Author(s): Manilal Patel
Publisher: Singhi Jain Shastra Shiksha Pith Mumbai

Page 66

CHAPTER VII.- THE CONSEQVENCES OF KUMĀRAPĀLA'S CONVERSION 47 the same merely as various forms of the same fundamental truth. It has been shown above that in the twelfth century the Brahmanical gods of Trimurti were identified with the Jinas and that probably Hemacandra himself made use of such an identification in the beginning of his attempts at Kumārapāla's conversion to his doctrine. It was then quito natural that his convert afterwards worshipped Siva along with Jina. We may perhaps also assume that Hemacandra fully concurred in that, for otherwise he could have hardly recorded so impartially tho Sivaite temples built by his patron and pupil. However that might have been, Hemacandra would not have offered any serious opposition to Kumārapāla's Śivaite tendencies and, in order not to jeopardise all his work, he might have connived at it, rather like a clever missionary. These assumptions are strengthened by the fact that Kumāra pāla is said to have been a Sivaite in the above-mentioned inscription in Devapattana in honour of Bhāva-Bphaspati, which was written in ValabhiSamyat 850 or Vikrama-Samvat 1225, only 4 years after his death. Naturally there is in it no talk of the conversion of the king to Jainism. On the contrary, grants are described which he made to Brbaspati and other Saivas and he is further called Māhes'varanrpūgranih, “the leader of the kings of the Saiva faith”, in line 50. Then there were indeed cases, which gave an opportunity to the Saiva-priests to court him as one belonging to their fold, just as there were facts which allowed the Jainas to give him a by-name Paramūrhata. A. perfectly complete victory Hemacandra could not therefore attain, but he certainly succeeded as much as any other heterodox teacher has done with a royal proselyte. It is true that he could not wholly lure Kumārapāla away from Saivism. But he succeeded in inducing him to constantly observe the most important Jaina-vows, and in exerting a great influence over the government. Gujarat did not, of course, become a Jaina-Empire in the sense that the majority of its population were converted to Jainism. A very significant spread of Jainism was already precluded by the fact that the dogmas of this faith forbade many of the most useful occupations, e. g. agriculture. But the edicts against the killing of animals, against spirituous drink, and against betting and playing at stakes were successfully enforced and thus some of the most important tenets of Jainism came to be rooted into the life of every one.