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62
Story of Rama in Jain Literature
The poem is sometimes referred to as Padma-Carita. There is strong internal evidence to support this alternative title. Although the poet nowhere expressly mentions Padma-Purāņa as the title, in one place he refers to the present work as Purana.s On another occasion he tells us that 'Cestita', 'Carita' 'Karana' and 'Cāritra' are synonyms and hence the history of adventures of Rāma are called 'Rāmāyaṇa'. A study of this work reveals beyond any shadow of doubt that Revişena had placed before him Paüma-Cariya of Vimala as his model while writing the present poem. It is not therefore unlikely that the author had all along in his mind Padma-Carita as the title of the poem.
Even a mere glance at the titles of the cantos of the two works-Paimacariya and Padmapurāna-is enough to show that the Rāma-story, presented by Vimala and Ravişeņa, is identical and that Ravişena who is, chronologically speaking, later than Vimala must have borrowed wholesale from him-unless of course, we suppose that both have based their works on a comman source. (The interrelation between the two works is dealt with at length in the section that follows). Here we give a comparative table of the titles of the cantos of the two works:
2. A COMPARISON OF THE TITLES OF THE EPICS
vy
Padma-Purana
VV
102
Paüma-Cariya 1. सुत्तविहाणो नाम उद्देसो
90 2. सेणियचिंताविहाणो नाम समुद्दे सओ 119 3. विज्जाहरलोगवण्णणो नाम उद्दे सओ 162 4. लोगहिइ-उसभ-माहणाहिगारो उद्देसओ 90 5. रक्ख सर्वसाहियारे उद्देसओ 271 6. रक्खस-वाणर-पन्वज्जाविहाणो उद्देसओ 244
255 339
सूत्रविधानम् श्रेणिकचिन्ताभिधानम् विद्याधरलोकाभिधानम् ऋषभमाहात्म्याभिधानम् राक्षसवंशाधिकारः वानरवंशाभिधानम्
132
406
573
3. Thus Pandit Natharama Premi advocates the alternative title (His Prakkathana to pp.33 part I). 4. e.g. these statements of the poet :
पद्मस्य चरितं शुभम् । I.14, पद्मस्य चरितं वक्ष्ये । I.16. गदितु चरितं शक्तः केवलं श्रुतकेवली । 1.17. चरितं यस्य... तच्चरितं...। 1.18. बुधपंक्तिकमायतं चरितं रामगोचरम् । I.21.
चरितं पद्ममुनेरिदं निबद्धम् । CXXIII.182 5 See v. 44 of the first canto : सप्त पुराणेऽस्मिन्नधिकारा इमे स्मृताः । 6 Canto 123, v. 155:
चेष्टितमनघं चरितं करणं चारित्रमित्यमी यच्छब्दाः । पर्याया रामायणमित्युक्तं तेन चेष्टितं रामस्य ।।
