Narrative Tale in Jain Literature

Author(s): Satyaranjan Banerjee
Publisher: Asiatic Society

Page 44

NARRATIVE TALE IN JAIN LITERATURE
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memorable storehouse of a lot of heroic legends; popular stories, edifying narratives extended over many births, and sectarian and didactic tales. Many of the Ākhyānas, such as those of Cārudatta, Agadadatta, Pippalāda, Sagara princes, Nārada, Parvata, Vasu, Sanamkumāra etc., which are so popularly repeated in later literature, are already there in the Vasudevahindi nearly in the same form. The stories like that of Kadārapinga, who is well-known as a voluptuous character, can be traced back to this text; the motive remains the same, though the names associated with the story are different. The Harivamsapurāņa of Jinasena in Sanskrit and that of Dhavala in Apabhramsa share a good deal of common ground with the Vasudevahindi. Jinasena's text, it is remarkable, presents many details which can be more fittingly relegated to a work dealing with the lives of 63 Salākāpurusas. Under this type may be included hundreds of Jaina works, in prose or poetry, in various languages: some of them deal with the lives of individual religious heroes such as Jivandhara, Yasodhara, Karakandu, Nāgakumāra- and Sripāla; then there are edifying tales of pious house-holders and ladies that devoted their life to the observance of certain vows and religious practices; theré are short biographies of ascetic heroes well-known in early literature; and lastly there are tales of retribution, illustrating the rewards of good and bad acts here and elsewhere. What matter in these stories are the motives and the doctrinal preachings. Some heroes are drawn from earlier literature, some from popular legends, and some names may be even imaginary: the setting, however, given to all these is legendary. This category includes many Kathās, Akhyānas and Caritras in Sanskrit, Prakrit or Apabhramsa; their authors mind only the narration of the events and their style is epical. There are some notable examples like the Gadya-cintāmaņi, Tilakamañjarī, Yaśastilakacampū etc. which are fine specimens of high poetic ability and ornate expression. It is an essential qualification of a Jaina monk that he should be able to narrate various stories; naturally many Jaina monks, gifted with poetic inclinations, have richly contributed to this branch.