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LIFE AND CULTURE IN JAIN A NARRATIVE LITERATURE * (8th, 9th and 10th Century A.D.)
All aspects of contemporary culture and civilization are delineated in Jaina narrative literature. Ways of life adopted by the people have been so intimately identifled with those of the characters. A Jaina monk in course of his wanderings never missed an opportunity to awaken and enlighten the people with the basic tenets and principles of Jainism. Villages, towns and cities-all were roused from their spiritual slumber by the stimulating touch of these wandering Jaina monks. Even though they were wedded to seclusion and solitariness, the monks did not hesitate to describe in their works the actual life lived by kings, queens, and the people They also gave a graphic account of the wild life of those days, customs and beliefs in the illustrative parables and stories written to emphasize the significance of the vows they undertook and the rites and rituals they performed. Their storieswritten in the dialects of the days, presented the cultural background of the social and political life of the age. Thus the stories of the Jaina writers have an irresistible appeal and charm.
This narrative literature of the Jainas in Prakrit is vast and rich. There was a time when Prakrit was spoken language of the people. This literature served the purpose of folk-literature also. It represents the initial stage of our folk literature. We find the origin of the folk literature in Vasudevahindi for the first time. Gunadhya's Brhatkatha which is Paijaci, is a veritable treasury of folk literature. Hence folk literature and the narrative of the Jainas in Prakrit are inseparably linked. We come across references to the dignity of man, a new meaning and significance of life, hero-worship, etc. It abounds in solutions of serious problems confronting mankind. Prakrt writers adopted the pattern of folk literature for their stories which were held in high esteem by western scholars amongst whom Hertal is the foremost. He says that the Prakrit writers have a technique of their own in the narration of the stories which have faithfully stored informations, regarding trends and tendencies shaping and governing the life of the people belonging to various strata of society. He states further that the stories are not only the source
* Published in the Orient (the cultural organ of Asia), 41-A Sahar Road, Andheri (East) 1974 This article is based exclusively on the informations contained in
a. "Haribhadrake Prakrit Katha Sahityakā Ālocanātmaka Parisilan "by Pandit Ne.michandra Sanstri pub. Research Institute of Parkrit, Muzzafarpur (Bihar), pp, 419; Price Rs. 10-30, and
b. "Jain Kathiomki Sinskritic Adhayayan" by Shri Chandra Jain, pub. Roshanlal Jain and Sons, Jaipur 3, 1971: pp, 160, Price Rs. 13/-.
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