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Rituals and Healing: The Case of.... : 69
refer to Vādīrāja II a religious pontiff. He was considered as an exceptionally intelligent Jain monk and a conqueror of all religious cum philosophical debates with renowned scholars of all religions. He was thus known as Vādīrāja or the king of debaters'. He belonged to the Cālukya kingdom (King Jai Singh I in 12th century A.D.. Even though he was inflicted with leprosy, he had a very large following of disciples. One day in the court of King Jai Singh some courtiers made fun of Vādītāja as a leper and ridiculed all the Jain naked monks. Angered by such statements, the treasurer who was a staunch follower of Vādīrāja said that Vādīrāja has a body of gold and the courtier is lying. The king decided to visit Vādīrāja next day. Vādīrāja consoled the treasurer and asked him not to worry. At night Vādīrāja composed the devotional poem known as Ekībhavastortra and had his body completely free from leprosy. Next day the king visited Vādīrāja and was amazed to see the lustrous golden body of Vādīrāja. He ordered the courtiers who defamed Vādīrāja to be punished." Here again the material circumstances of patronizing the disciple and saving him from royal wrath is more important rather than the cure itself. Vādīrāja did not create the text to cure himself but the creation was conditioned by the immediate necessity. Acts of ritualistic healing existed and were performed beyond institutionalized ways as well. Popular superstitions and beliefs also played a significant role. A seventeenth century north Indian autobiography Ardhakathānaka written by Banārsidāsa, a Jain merchant of Agra brings out this empirical reality. Kharagasena, father of the author, had many children but none survived beyond a few days. In the year V.S. 1637 (1580 A.D.) he along with his wife traveled to Rohtak, a revered place of a sati. The ritual of paying homage to sati was performed with a desire to be blessed with children and their survival.18 At the level of elites also ritualism and its healing aspect was being followed at interreligious level. Jain mendicants' interaction with the Mughal royal authority holds this premise. In spite of all the structural religious differences between
