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Mahavira as the Ideal Teacher of The Jainas
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was to illustrate human nature and human conduct. They have come down to us in four different types, viz.:
I. In this, the first type, something is said to possess one or other of four qualities, e.g., there are four kinds of blossoms (i) the mange blossoms which in due time bear fruits, (ii) the palmyra- blossoms which take very long to produce fruits, (iii) the creeper-blossoms which produce fruits very quickly, and (iv) the blossoms of the “ram-horn" (Mendha-visana) tree which have a golden colour but which produce inedible fruits. Likewise there are four kinds of men, (i) those who return in due time the benefits they have received from others, (ii) those who take a long time in returning such benefits, (iii) those who give very quick return and, (iv) those who indulge in beautiful words only and never make any return for benefits received from others.?
II. In the second type of these similes, something is said to possess one quality but not a second quality, or the second quality but not the first, or both the qualities, or none of them, e.g., (i) There are birds which have beauty but do not sing, (ii) There are birds which can sing but have no beauty, (iii) There are birds which have beauty and who can also sing, (iv) There are birds who can neither sing nor have beauty. So also with regard to men, some of whom may have this quality and not another, some may have the latter but not the former quality, some may have both the qualities, and some may have none of the qualities. 8
III. In the third type we have a contrast of opposites, e.g. friends, enemies who pass as friends, friends who pass as enemies, and enemies. The similes of this type refer to the contrast between appearance and reality, rule and exception, as also to the past and present.
IV. In the fourth type of these similes are presented the counterpart of a quality of an object together with an identical expansion of both the attributes, e.g., the shell of a snail that is curved from right to left, a left-ward-curve snail-shell called rightward-curved, a right-ward-curved snail-shell. So are also men. 10 The similes of this type have not been preserved in their complete form, for the human characteristics they dealt with by way of comparison, have not been mentioned. This loss deprives us of a good deal of picturesqueness that would have otherwise been available in these similes and we have to say with Schubring "with
