Treasury of Jain Tales

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

Page 38

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animal sacrifices are denounced and so too the priestly class. The kings are generally pious laymen who retire from the world in their old age and become Jain monks. The stories of the previous births of the heroes are told with a great wealth of detail. Sermons are inserted on the dreadful consequences of killing and of the eating of meat with a description of hells added. The Raksasas are not man-eating demons with fearful and hideous appearances. Nor are the Vānaras animals having long tails living on fruits etc., and using their nails and teeth as weapons. They are a race of the Vidyādharas, - a class of beings endowed with many supernatural qualities, though not human beings in the correct sense of the term. They are depicted as having been highly civilized adherents to the vow of ahimsā. The dynasty of Vidyādharas of Lankā came to be called Raksasas after the great and celebrated Vidyadhara hero named Räksasa, and also because they guarded the islands. The Vidyadharas of Kiskindhipura received the name of Vānaras because of their custom of wearing the pictures of monkeys as symbols or totems on their banners and crowns. Răvana's epithet Dasamukha is explained in a realistic way: Rãvana's mother hangs around his neck a wondrous necklace of ratnas, in which his face is reflected nine times, hence his epithet Dasamukha - "The man with ten faces". The characters of Kaikeyi, Rävana, Välin, are elevated. Almost all the principal characters are represented as pious Jain laymen who retire from the world at the end and become Jain monks and attain to heaven or liberation.
The version of Sanghadāsa as presented in Vasudeva-hindi, is generally speaking, more in agreement with the Rämāyana of Vālmiki or the Ropākhyāna of the Mahābhārata than with Pau macariya. Gunabhadra's version as found in Uttarapurāna (9th century A.D.) is largely dependent on Vālmiki. It contains some features which have their parallels in the Dasaratha-jätaka and the version of Sanghadāsa and some traits peculiar to the Jain forms of the story of Rāma. This conglomeration of different elements gives Gunabhadra's version a new look and form. As this version