Studies in Jain Literature

Author(s): V M Kulkarni
Publisher: Shardaben Chimanbhai Educational Research Centre

Page 21

CHARACTER OF JAIN MYTHOLOGY
differ considerably and are conflicting. It is possible that the origin is traced to Mahāvīra in order to invest the Purāņa concerned with sanctity and authorityin the present state of our knowledge we cannot summarily brush aside their claim that they were given in the Pūrva texts which are irretrievably lost to usbut this much we can say that 'strings of names' (Nāmāvali), such as are found in the Tiloyapannatti, were contained in the Pūrvas and their oral exposition from his teacher was received by Vimala Sūri who composed the earliest extant Jain epic-Purana--the Pauma-cariya-written according to his own statement 530 years after the Nirvāṇa of Mahāvīra.
Modern scholars like Jacobi, Glasenapp and Winternitz hold that the mythology of the Jains is to a great extent derivative. The Mahābhārata attributed to Vyāsa and the Rāmāyana of Vālmīki—these two epics of the Hindus were very popular and had made a deep impression on the lives of millions of people in the land. Again some of the oldest Purānas, which tradition attributes to Vyāsa, must have been widely prevalent in those days. Especially the exploits of Rāma and of Krsna were such as made the Hindus look upon them as the Avatāras of God Visnu. The Jain writers, coming later, may have wished to make a popular appeal to rival the influence of Brahmanical works on the masses and therefore could not ignore the great heroes-Rāma and Krsna--and their lives. It was thus natural for the Jains to adopt the Rāma story and the Krsna-legend and to give them a Jain background and atmosphere.
Besides adopting the legends of Rāma and Krsna they incorporated a large number of popular legends in their mythology in order to propagate Jain virtues. These legends have their counterparts in Hindu and Buddhist literature : e. g., the well-known legends of Bharata, Sagara--the descent of Gangā and the destruction of 60000 sons of Sagara-Brahmadatta, Śrenika and Rsyaśrnga. They also introduced a number of purely Jain legends in their mythology. To this category belong the biographies of the first 22 Tīrthakaras (for the last two are historical ones), of some of the Cakravartins and some of the 27 heroes (Baladevas etc.). Not only the Tirthakaras themselves but other holy men too have been glorified in their works by the Jains, e. g. Śālibhadra, a famous legendary hero, Jivandhara, who is celebrated first in the Uttarapurāna and then in many later works in Sanskrit and Tamil, Yasodhara, Karakandu, Nāgakumāra and Śrīpāla. Thus we have the Jain Mythology built up out of considerable borrowings from the Hindu epics and mythology, popular legends from the common stock of Indian literature and pure Jain legends created to give Jainism a background of ancient tradition and to propagate Jain virtues of Ahimsā, Satya, etc.