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Conclusion
There is no doubt that the Rāma-story in Puspadanta's Mahāpurāna is modelled on the story in Gunabhadra's Uttarapurāņa, whether he knew it directly or learned it through some other unknown source. Nevertheless, as the analysis of the similarities in subject-matter suggests, Puşpadanta's Rāma-account also contains strong evidence that he was well-acquainted with the narrative of Vimalasūri's tradition.
Although both poets follow a different narrative, the Rāmaaccount in the Mahāpurāņa contains some striking similarities in wording to parallel passages in Svayambhūdeva's Paūmacariu. Added to this, Puşpadanta gives two references to Svayambhūdeva, the first at the beginning of the Mahāpurāņa and the second in the introductory kaļāvaka to his Rāma-story. This evidence suggests that many of the deviations in subject-matter from Guņabhadra's story-line in the Mahāpurāņa are probably rather due to direct borrowing from the Paūmacariu than from any of the other poems in Vimalasūri's tradition.
It is therefore clear that Puspadanta was influenced also by Svayambhūdeva, not just concerning form and style, but also concerning wording and subject-matter.
For more information on the Jain Rāma-kathās in general; cf. Narasimhachar, D.L. 1939. 'The Jaina Rāmāyanas', The Indian Historical Quarterly Vol. XV, No. 4:575-594; Kulkarni, V.M. 1959. 'The Origin and Development of the Rāma-story in Jaina literature', Journal of the Oriental Institute Vol. IX, No. 2: 189-204; Kulkarni, V.M. 1960. "The Origin and Development of the Rāma-story in Jaina literature', Journal of the Oriental Institute Vol. IX, No. 3: 284-304; Chandra, K.R. 1970. A Critical Study of Paumacariyam. Muzaffarpur:
Research Institute of Prakrit, Jainology and Ahimsa, Vaishali. 2. Edited by H. Jacobi: Jacobi, H. (ed.) & Punyavijayaji, M.S. 1962.
Ācārya Vimalasûri's Paumacariyam with Hindi translation- part I (Prakrit Text Society Series No. 6). Varanasi: Prakrit Text Society; Jacobi, H. (ed.) & Punyavijayaji, M.S. 1968. Acārya Vimalasūri's Paumacariyam with Hindi translation - part II (Prakrit Text Society Series No. 12). Ahmedabad: Prakrit Text Society.
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