Studies in Jain Literature

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

Page 81

DEVELOPMENT OF THE STORY OF RĀMA IN JAIN LITERATURE
(and Hemacandra)
the picture of Rāvana at the direction of her co- wives--this picture is the cause of scandal against her.
Kashmiri Rāmāyana, are later than the Anandarāmāyana, Jain versions. etc.
Vimalasuri
9. The sons of Sītā fight
against Rāma and Lakṣmaṇa.
With a good deal of variation.
Kathāsaritsāgara, Ananda, UttaraRāmacarita, and Jaiminiya Aśvamedha
10 Laksmana kills sam- Vimalasuri Telugu Rāmāyana With some varibūka, the son of Śūr
and Anandarāmāy ation. panakha.
ana From the foregoing table it becomes evident that the Jain influence on the later Hindu Rāmāyanas is not very striking. The explanation for this lack of strong influence is probably to be sought in the wide gulf that existed between the two communities. The Jain poets and authors were, as a rule, conversant with the Hindu works both of sacred and secular character. The Hindu writers, on the contrary, may not have cared to read the Jain works in the belief that they were of inferior workmanship and probably in their intellectual arrogance thought that they had nothing to learn from their opponents and antagonists.
Before we close at this point let us say a word about the story of Rāma as adoptd by the Jains and the best Jain Rāmāyana. To a dispassionate reader it will appear that the Jains have taken over the story of Rāma as given by Vālmīki and made it their own. In doing so, however, they have lowered its ethical value. The story is rid of its deep human interest and dramatic value by removing the Court-intrigue. The story gives Rāma, who is universally known as intently and solely devoted to his only wife-Sītā, and Hanuman, who is described as an ideal Brahmacārin, a large number of wives. This feature of the story is undoubtedly repugnant to the popular mind. Further, according to this story, Lakşmaņa sinks into hell. The reader is not prepared to accept such a terrible end to the glorious career of Laksmana. The antagonism of the Jains to the cult of Vedic sacrifice and hiṁsā, the sense of superiority of the Brāhmaṇas and their superstitious beliefs is perfectly understandable. One, however, would have wished that in making the beautiful Rāma-story their own the Jain poets had been able to avoid reducing its human and ethical content.
Vālmīki is the 'Adikavi' and his Rāmāyana, the 'Adi-kāvya'. It is admittedly “one of the greatest epics that were ever composed by man”. It is one of the most