Treasury of Jain Tales

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

Page 42

xxix
instruction and edification. The narrative is often interrupted by long instructive discourses on the subjects of dharma (religion) and morality. The doctrine of karman is illustrated by describing the destinies in the former births of each one of the salākāpurusas. In the first parvan we have the life of Rsabha, the first Tirthankara in his previous births. The tenth parvan relates the Life of Mahāvira. It is of some significance from the historical point of view as it supplies detailed data regarding king Srenika Bimbisāra, the contemporary of Mahāvira and Buddha. Hemacandra also describes in the form of a prophecy of Mahāvira the ideal reign of his pious pupil King Kumärapala.
The Paris ista-Parvan or Sthavirāvalicarita i.e., "AppendixSection" or "Lives of the Series of the Elders" which forms the appendix to the Trisasti-Saläkā-Purusa-Carita has a wealth of fairy-tales and stories of all kinds. While with the exception of the last two Tirthankaras, Pārsvanātha and Mahavira, the personages of the Trisasti-Salākāpurus a-carita belong to mythology, the Sthavirāvali-carita contains the life-stories of the Sthaviras or Theras (Elders), i.e., the disciples of Mahāvira. There are many interesting parallels to be found among the stories of the Parisistaparvan not only to familiar stories from other Indian works but also to stories forming part of universal literature. The story of the twins Kuberadatta and Kuberadattā, the children of the courtesan Kuberasenā is a kind of Oedipus tragedy. Side by side with such stories there are also purely Jain legends, some of which read like historical or biographical accounts.
The caritas which relate the life of individual Tirthankāras are quite numerous. Among these, Rsabha Sāntinātha, Aristanemi or Neminátha, Pärsva and Mahävira are especially honoured by the Jains and their lives are among the most popular themes of Jain narrative poetry.
Gunacandra Ganin wrote his Mahavira-Cariyam (in Prakrit) in 1082 A.D. Hemacandra's Mahavi ra-Carita (in Sanskrit) forms the 10th Parvan of his voluminous work Trisasti-Salãkāpurusa-Carita.