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38
(1) The goddess Sri is degraded to a second place in so far as even she stands in need of advice from the goddess Bhārati at critical moments and it is the latter who whispers to Sri the advice-evidently to free the benumbed hand of king Meghavāhana and ask him to do whatever he liked ! Again, after the king has completely severed his head, the goddess Šri only puts the head on the trunk but she does not have the power to join it. It is the goddess Bhārati who merely sprinkles water and the king is resurrected'? !! Clearly it is the predilection of the author of the TMKU, to Bhārati that has led him to introduce one more goddess Bhārati and play down the role of Sri of the original,
(2) The character of Vetāla suffers slightly due to an element of rudeness in his speech, while in the original he is quite courteous.78
(3) The character of king Meghavāhana has also suffered to some extent-though the author of the TMKU might have intended to elevate it to the level of a rashly heroic Rājput devotee 1-in so far as his satirical dialogue with Vetāla is totally omitted and the king is first martyrized and then resurrected.79
(4) The character of queen Madiravati is also tampered with, but to no advantage, in so far as she is rather degraded by ascribing to her a speech-as reported by the king to the Vidyadhara Muni-wherin she compares herself unfavourably with a she-boar01
(5) A tastefully mild and catholic religious background of Jainism in the original is covered with an explicitly gaudy and thick coating of the dogmatic aspect of Jainistic colour both at the beginning of the 77. See supra. TMKU. 212-219. 78. cf. supra, TMKU. 1653 178-79 as compared to TM(N) P.49 (8fi.):
राजन् ! किञ्चिदन्यत्त्वदीयमेव चेष्टितम् । 79. sce supra TMKU 167. 80. sce supra TMKU 63. 81. cf. TMKU 1-6 : मिथ्यात्वाविरतियोगा दुःकषायाः प्रमत्तयः ।
पञ्चामी भवसाम्राज्यमहामुदाधिकारिणः ॥१॥ पूर्वापरार्थसंवाद सत्यहेतुं विदन्नपि । मिथ्यात्वेन जनः कुर्याद् धर्मे गजनिमोलिकाम् ॥२॥ पुण्यकर्मापि सावध मिथ्यात्वं कारयजनान् । निर्ययास्तानपि भवाद्रक्षन्नेव कथं रिपुः ॥३॥ मिथ्यादृक्तपसः शेलतरोरिव गुरोरपि । भन्ते दर्शितवैरस्य स्वल्पमेव भवेत् फलम् ॥१॥ तत्त्वं देवादिमिथ्यादृक् पश्यन्नप्यन्यथेक्षते। यथा तैमिरिको दीपं परिवेषविशेषितम् ॥५॥ जन्तुर्मथितमिथ्यात्वः सम्यग्दर्शनभूषणः । अचिरान्मुक्तिमाप्नोति हरिवाहनराजवत् ॥६॥
Jain Education International 2010 05
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