Studies in Jain Literature

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

Page 29

CHARACTER OF JAIN MYTHOLOGY
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extension, amplification and illustration of the spiritual truths stated in the Vedas in the form of injunctions and commands, the Jain Purānas criticise and condemn the Vedic cult of animal sacrifice and the priestly religion, and amplify and illustrate the Jain ethics, the duties of a Jain householder, and of a Jain monk; in unequivocal words they condemn the incredible legends and doings of the Hindu Puranic deities; they illustrate the inexorable law of Karman that governs everyone's destiny and there is no place for any god bestowing favours and meting out punishments. There are, however, a few stories and incidents in which semidivine or heavenly (to be distinguished from the liberated) beings come to the rescue of Jain devout souls at crucial moments in their life. Exceptional sanctity is bestowed on life and Ahimsa is the highest moral principle guiding all human affairs. Śramanic ideology is always kept in the forefront. Tirthakaras and munis are introduced who give discourses on Jain ethics, dogmatics and philosophy, preach the worthlessness of worldly pleasures and inculcate love for liberation. The principal heroes and important personages are shown to have accepted the duties of a Jain householder or entered the ascetic order and in the end attaining to heaven or liberation. Whereas the heroes of the Hindu epics move in an entirely Brahmanical atmosphere in the Jain Purāņas the dharma preached by the Jinas is everywhere very much to the fore. No doubt the Hindu epics and Purāņas speak of belief in transmigration and refer to past births but in the Jain epics and Purāṇas the past and future lives of the heroes are told with a great wealth of detail. Whereas the epics and the Purāņas of the Hindus regard Rāma and Krsna as human beings who walked the earth veiling their supreme divine glory-incarnations of God Visnu and glorify the trinity of Brahma, Visņu and Mahesa and many other deities, the Jain Purāņas rid the stories of their divine elements-to them Rāma and Kṛṣṇa are no divine incarnations and gods such as Indra etc., do not shine prominently in their mythology. It is the 63 salākāpurusas that are celebrated in the Jain epics and Purānas. These salākāpurusas include the Tirthakaras whom the Jains venerate and worship as the Hindus do their gods-theoretically the Jains refuse to recognise gods and although their Jinas bear the appearance of deities on account of the irresistible Brahmanical influence, the Jinas are still bereft of the power of creation and destruction of the universe, of punishment or forgiveness of sins. Although all the Vedic gods do not retain their prominent position in the Brahmanical Epics and Purāņas still a few of them such as Indra, Agni, Varuna, the Surya etc., hold important positions. The Jain Purāņas do refer to a few Vedic deities such as Indra, Varuna etc., but they do not occupy places of supreme importance-they are subordinated to the great Tirthakaras. Some of the godlings mentioned in the Rgveda are termed as a class of Vyantaras and given comparatively greater prominence.