Story Of Rama In Jain Literature

Author(s): V M Kulkarni
Publisher: Saraswati Pustak Bhandar

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Story of Rāma in Jain Literature
woman. Rāma kills Välin treacherously and is guilty of killing Sambūka. Rāvana is a tyrant, an oppressor of mankind violently obstructing sacrifices, and he abducts women. Vālin is a usurper, and unlawfully takes possession of his brother's wife and kingdom. Vimalasüri takes a very sympathetic view of these characters and attempts to clear them of blame. He represents Kaikeyi as a mother par excellence who is prepared to let her husband accept asccticism but desperately tries to retain her loving son. She does not demand Rāma's exile. Vālin, a mighty Vidyadhara hero, though capable of inflicting a crushing defeat on Rāvana, voluntarily appoints Sugitva to the throne and himself becomes a monk. This account acquits Valin of the shameful charge of liing with his brother's wife, and Rāma of the charge of treacherously slaying Välin, who had done no harm to him. Lakşmana kills Sambūka by accident and this exonerates Rāma completely from the guilt of slaying a may who, though a Sūdra, was a Tapasvin. Rāvana is a pious and devout Jajn. He restores ruined Jain shrines. As far as possible he avoids H msa, whenever he has to fight. In his world-conquest he is shown to have subdued his enemies whom he later on sets free and restores to them their kingdom. His only weakness is his passion for Sita. Vimalasūri is probaby the first post to represent Ravana as a hero eminently suited to a great tragic play of the western type. The poet presents Kumbhakarna and other Rākşisa heroes as very pious souls devoid of all the ugly and ferocious traits attributed to them in the Vālmiki Rāmāyaṇa. Another remarkable aspect of the characterization in the Pau macariya is to be seen in the large number of wives of some principal characters. According to Vimalasūri, Rama, Laksmana and Hanumat had 800), 1600) ani 1000 wives respectively. Sagara and Harişana, two sovereign rulers had each 64000 wives. Rāvana at a tim: had married 6000 wives. Vimalasūri probably believed that the greater the number of wives a person has, the greater is his glory ! According to Vālmiki's Rāmāyaṇa Rāma was devoted and fait'ful to his only wise Silā, Laksmana was married to Urmilā only and Hanu. mat was celibate. One more noteworthy aspect of the characterisation in the Paumacariya is that all the principal characters in the Paü macariya barring Lakşmaņa (and Rāvana) are pious Jain laymen who retire from the world at the end and become Jain monks and attain to liberation or heaven. Lakşmaņa is shown to have suak into hell after death for having failed to adopt Jain Dharma. Kaikeyi, Sitä. etc., become Jain nuis. Again, in Valmiki's Rāmāyana Rāma is the central figure but in the Paü nacariya Laks nanı plays a leading part. It is he, not Rāma, who kills Rāvana.
12. THE LANGUAGE OF THE PAÜMACARIYA100
The language of the Paümacariya is Prakrit. Jacobi points out some of its peculiar features and remarks : "It is, therefore, a primitive and yet grammatically 100 The Paümacariya is the oldest Prakrit Kavya preserved to us. It is, therefore, linguist:cally
of very great importance. A full grammatical analysis of the whole work is a desideratum. In writing this small section on the language of the Paümacariya I have made full use of