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VIMALASURI'S AIM IN WRITING THE PAOMACHARIYA :
:
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Dhruya, however, appears to have advanced this bighly fanciful hypothesis of two separate works called Rābavachariya and Paumachariyal to suit his late dating of Paümachariya based on ground of 'Inte' metres and modern' Prakrit.
No doubt, the poem deals with the life-story of Rāms, but it also deals with the life of Laksmana and Ravana at great length. That is Vimalasari presents to his readers the lives of three of the great figures ( viz., the 8th Baladeva, Nārāyaṇa or Vasudeva, and Pratinārāyana or Prati-Vasudeva ). Although Laksmana and Ravana are, with Räma, Sulaka-purusa3, they are spiritually inferior to him for he nlone at the end of his life bere attains Nirvāna and the other two sink in hell. This consideration might have weighed with the poet when he named his work as Padmachariya, In the popular story of Rāma, he being the first and foremost hero, the work is naturally named after him (e. g., the Rāmāyana ); and it is not unlikely that this factor too might have influenced the poet in calling his poem Paumachariya. As the date of the Padma-purānn of the Hindus is not known definitely we cannot say that the name Padmapurāņa might have influenced Vimalasari in naming his Purāņa dealing with the life of Rama.
14. THE EXTENT OF THE PAÜN ACHARIYA : Paumachariya is divided into 118 chapters or cantos, the first thirty-five of which are called Uddeśas (Uddeśakas, or occasionally Samuddeśaka ) and the rest Parvans. In the extent of individual cantos there is great disparity: the sbor test is the 60th canto with nine stanzas only and the longest is the eighth with 286 stanzas. Comparatively spenking, the cantos in the first half of the poem are longer, whereas those in the second half are shorter. The total number of stanzas comprising the work is 8651.
15. VIMALASURI'S AIM IN WRITING THE PAUMACHARIYA :
Vimalasari holds that the Rāmāyaṇa stories of the Hindu poets) are most ceretainly lies ; he thinks that the absurdities which are related regarding the life of Rāma, Rāvaņa, Kumbbakarna and others are not worthy of belief, and that the poets who composed Rāmāyaṇa were liers. Through the mouth of King Sreņika and Gautama the poet gives expression to all this :
"How is it possible that the great Rākşasa heroes, though very strong, were killed by the Vanaras (monkeys)? It is reported in the popular scriptures that all the Raksasas led by Rāvana used to eat meat and drink blood and marrow, and that Rāvana's brother Kumbhakarņa used to sleep for six months without a break; even though his body would be crushed by big elephants and his ears filled with potfuls of oil he would not wake up; he would not hear the sonnd of drums beaten near him nor would
1. See Introduction (pp. 7-8 ) to Paümachariyam (Chapters 27 and 28 ), edited by Sri S. C.
Upadhyaye. 2. Why the poet uses two words for a chapter' or 'a canto' and not one consistently we
cannot say. The Upodghāta to the Bhavnagar edition gives the total number to be approximately 9000 stanzas (Asanna-nava-sahasra-floka-pramitar). Pandit Premi states the total number of verses, to be 10000 Anuştup slokas (Jain Sahitya Aura Itihāsa, p. 89 of the revised edition) Professor Gore and Laddu remark in their edition that the poem contains more than 9000 stanzas. This statement needs to be corrected. अलियं पि सव्वमेयं, उववत्तिविरुद्ध पच्चयगुणेहिं । 27 HERTET AFT, a fear og II. 17
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