Studies in Jain Literature

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

Page 34

16
STUDIES IN JAIN LITERATURE
Rāmacariya and Halaharacariya used in the work stand for the Paümacariya and by no stretch of imagination can we ever speak that the Rāhavacariya was a work quite different from the Paümacariya of Vimala. Professor K. H. Dhruva, however, appears to have advanced this highly fanciful hypothesis of two separate works called Rāhavacariya and Paümacariya 2 to suit his late dating of Paümacariya based on grounds of late' metres and modern' Prakrit.
No doubt, the poem deals with the life-story of Rāma, but it also deals with the life of Laksmana and Rāvana at great length. That is Vimala presents to his readers the lives of three of the great figures (viz., the 8th Baladeva, Nārāyana or Vāsudeva, and Pratinārāyana or Prati-vāsudeva). Although Laksmana and Rāvana are with Rāma, salākā-purusas, they are spiritually inferior to him for he alone at the end of his life here attains Nirvana and the other two sink in hell. This consideration might have weighed with the poet when he named his work as Paümacariya. In the popular story of Rāma, he being the first and foremost hero, the work is naturally named after him (e.g, the Ramayana); and it is not unlikely that this factor too might have influenced the poet in calling his poem Paümacariya. As the date of the Padmapurana of the Hindus is not known definitely we cannot say that this name Padmapurana might have influenced Vimala in naming his Purāna dealing with the life of Rāma. (iii) THE EXTENT OF THE PAÜMACARIYA
The Paümacariya is divided into 118 chapters or cantos, the first thirtyfive of which are called Uddeśas (Uddeśakas, or occasionally Samuddeśakas) and the rest Parvans13. In the extent of individual cantos there is great disparity : the shortest is the 60th canto with nine stanzas only and the longest is the eighth with 286 stanzas. Comparatively speaking, the cantos in the first half of the poem are longer whereas those in the second half are shorter. The total number of stanzas comprising the work is 865124. (iv) VIMALA'S AIM IN WRITING THE PAÜMACARIYA
Vimala holds that the Rāmāyana stories (of the Hindu poets) are most certainly lies; he thinks that the absurdities which are related regarding the life of Rāma, Rāvana, Kumbhakarna and others are not worthy of belief, and that the poets who composed Rāmāyana were liers. Through the mouth of Śrenika and Gautama the poet gives expression to all this :
"How is it possible that the great Räksasa heroes, though very strong, were killed by the Vanaras (monkeys)? It is reported in the popular scriptures