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6.2 Cross-Cultural Parallels
6 ANALYSIS
times in medieval Purāņas. For example, we find this motif occurring in a ritual section of the Siva-purana, chapter VIIff. In these chapters there is a "catalogue of crime" and geography of death similar to that described by Vasunandin. The path that the naked creatures are designed to walk on is full of obstacles. When they move to the abode of the god of death some of the creatures lament (rudanti) while entering the unpleasant Southern door. The being is mourning (rodamāna) being punished in the Rauravaand Maha-raurava 306 regions. In (97-98) Vasunandin places his emphasis on compassion (anukampa / daya / ghrna). It is associated with the jewels of Jainism and is defined as a virtue of "true insight" in Śr 49ff. Besides, compassion is the foundation of abhaya-dāna, "giving fearnessless" to other beings.
6.2 Cross-Cultural Parallels
In this subsection we point out particular aspects regarding the relation of the central motif in Śr (133-204) to other Asian literature concerned with post-mortem "reward and punishment" and death ritual. In the present context it is helpful to isolate some structural elements and connect them with other theories or models. At first, it is noteworthy to mention the great variety and the geografical distribution of the motif in sources from Europe to Central Asia and China. We should consider those strings of thought a genre per se, which is often called "Wisdom literature", consisting of mourning songs, mythical narrative elements, instructive dialogues, descriptions of death rituals. Secondly, we should take to account that Vasunandin's attitude is deliberate. It mirrors a religious consciousness. Vasunandin makes
described by the poet. The creatures are crying pitifully (rudante/ dina-virutā), when they are attacked by black and spotted dogs, flocks of ravens, greedy jackals, vultures and crows. In the hells referred to in the Pañca-gati-dipanam the creature "cried" (roruva, cf. Feer 1884 [1983], verse 13). Moreover, in the Buddhist legend of "Kunjara-Karṇa" appears an allusion on the topic of "shrieking". A Yakṣa visits the infernal regions at command of Vairocana. The creatures which inhabit the hells have the shape of vessels, oval objects, and other vehicles. They weep and sobb pitifully, call for their fathers and mothers (Cf. Kern 1901).
306 Also the description of the sufferings in the hell which is called "fire-kettle" (aggikumda) reminds us of the prototype of the fiery and dark Raurava or Maha-raurava. Some related concepts of self-purification are discussed in Feer 1892-1893; Law 1925 [1973]:106107, 118. In the Ṛg-Veda VII.104 and IX.73.8-9 (cited according to Bodewitz 2002:215) there are indications of a post mortem-"field" of purgation. This was designed for those who committed evil deeds. Indra and Soma were invoked to push people who misbehaved in ritual or who failed in preparing Soma into the dark pit. But those concepts of "darkness", "narrowness", and "falling" were clearly associated with "lack of knowledge" in ritual on the one hand, and the amorph female goddess of the Southern region on the other hand. Another ancient tradition connects death ritual with the Vedic god Varuna. Notwithstanding the Vedic and Iranian generic relations the symbolic meaning of "fire" in the pre-Christian ritual texts is not homogeneous. The ideas in the Avestan and the Vedic textual sources differ considerably.
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