Manuscript Illustrations Of Uttaradhyayana Sutra

Author(s): W Norman Brown
Publisher: American Oriental Society

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25. THE TRUE SACRIFICE
Once a Jain monk named Jayaghosa, after a month's fast, came for alms to a sacrificial enclosure in Benares, where a learned Brahman named Vijayaghosa was performing a sacrifice.' When Jayaghosa made his request, Vijayaghoşa refused on the ground that only those were deserving of alms who were versed in the Vedas, observed chastity at the time of performing Vedic ceremonies, understood astrology, and had mastered the Vedic sacrificial ritual. This insistence upon Brahmanic orthodoxy did not anger Jayaghosa, nor did he leave, although his purpose in remaining was not to obtain alms. Rather he knew that the time had come for the salvation of Vijayaghosa and his attendants, and he told them that they did not know the true sacrifice. Vijayaghosa modestly asked him to explain, and Jayaghosa did so, pointing out that real Brahmanhood lies not in ritual observance but in living the good life of detachment from the world of desires and in practising the Jain holy law. Vijayaghosa was converted, and ultimately both he and Jayaghosa reached the highest perfection.
HV (fig. 98) and JM (fig. 99; painting wrongly placed in manuscript with Chapter 26) have essentially the same sort of illustration. Each has an upper panel containing a sarcificial enclosure in which sit two long-haired and bearded Brahmans with the sacrificial fire between them. These are Vijayaghosa and an assistant, manipulating the sacrifice. Outside the circle is Jayaghosa carrying his pot in his right hand and raising his left hand as he addresses Vijayaghosa. In the lower panel are shown Jayaghosa, and Vijayaghosa, with the latter apparently bestowing alms. HV (fig. 98) shows balls of food falling from his outstretched hand into Jayaghosa's pot, and JM (fig. 99) shows him using the sacrificial ladle to make the gift. Just above the ladle is the sacrificial water vessel, slightly tilted although not held by any hand, with the spout over the mouth of a jar into which it seems to be pouring
water.
DV (fig. 101) has only the upper scene of the two shown in HV and JM. Under trees, which indicate a grove, are two Brahmans, elaborately dressed like laymen, rather than anchorites, their coiled and matted coiffures very large. Between and below them is the fire, and between and above them, giving balance, is the lotus motif that was used with Gautama in fig. 89. Outside the sacrificial enclosure stands Jayaghosa preaching.
JP (fig. 100), as usual, is more original than the others. It shows the river Ganges cutting across the bottom of the picture, with a city wall and gate beside it and inside it a temple with banners. On the right-hand side of the picture the sacrificial circle is shown twice, and in each case it contains both Vijayaghosa and Jayaghosa, a rather surprising scene, for a Jain monk should not have entered such an enclosure. The Brahman priest, as is frequent in this manuscript, is dressed like a layman (see the remark in Chapter 12).
1 According to the commentarial story Jayaghosa and Vijayaghosa were brothers. Jayaghosa, on going one day to bathe in the Ganges, saw a frog being swallowed by a serpent, which in turn was being eaten by a mongoose (variantly, an osprey). The sight awakened him to the true religious life, and he crossed the river to take the vows under a Jain monk, who was preaching there.
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