Essay name: Paumacariya (critical study)
Author:
K. R. Chandra
Affiliation: Research institute of Prakrit, Jainology and Ahimsa Vaishali
This is a critical study of the Paumacariya: the earliest Jain version of Rama's life story, written in Prakrit by Vimalasuri dating to the 4th century AD. In this text, Rama (referred to as Padma) is depicted with lotus-like eyes and a blooming face. The Paumacariya places emphasis on the human aspects of characters rooted in Jain values, contrasting with the divine portrayal in Valmiki鈥檚 version.
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214
A CRITICAL STUDY OF PAUMACAR陌YA峁�
beings who were suffering from hunger and thirst ran to the Praj膩pati
and asked him as to what they should do. Prajapati instructed them
to protect the water. Some of them said "We protect (rak峁Ｄ乵a岣�)鈥�
while the others said "We worship (Yak峁Ｄ乵a岣�)". Thus the former
were called R膩k峁sas and the latter as Y膩k峁s (Rak峁Ｄ乵a iti yairukta峁�
R膩k峁saste bhavantu va岣�/Yak峁Ｄ乵a iti yairukta峁� Yak峁 eva bhavantu
vah 7.4.13).
According to the Vi峁ａ箛upur膩峁嘺 those creatures ran towards Brahm膩
to devour him. At that time some of them said "Do not do like that, he
should be protected". Those who told like that were called R膩k峁sas
(Maiva峁� bho rak峁at膩me峁 yairukta峁� R膩k峁s膩stu te -1.5.43, See
Bh膩gavatapur奴峁嘺, 3.20.21).
The VR mentions Heti and Praheti as the first lords of the
R膩k峁sas (7.4.14). Heti's son was Vidyutke艣a. Vidyutke艣a's
son was Suke艣a who was favoured with a 鈥楶uram膩k膩艣agam' or
'Khaga峁僷uram' (7.4.32) by 艢iva. Suke艣a is further referred to as
resembling the lustre of clouds and making noise like the thundering
clouds (ghanagarbhasamaprabham
驳丑补苍补艣补产诲补蝉补尘补蝉惫补苍岣�
7.4.23-25).
and
Further it is said that Suke艣a's sons namely, Malyavat, Sumalin and
M膩lin, on account of their penance, were favoured with La峁僰膩nagar墨
as their permanent abode by Vi艣vakarman (7.6.25). Thus we find that
Heti and Praheti were the first R膩k峁sa lords. Heti's grandson Sukesa
was favoured with a connivance to fare in the sky and his sons
occupied Lank膩pur墨. Lank膩puri is called Khepuri (6 38.10). It
indicates that the inhabitants of La峁卥膩puri were the Khecaras.
Compare the adjectives of Suke艣a with the name Meghav膩hana or
Ghanavahana of the PCV (5.77,133).
Thus according to the PCV and the VR, they came to be known.
as R膩k峁sas on account of their duty of protection. Both the works
call them Khecaras and mention Lank膩puri as their first capital.
But about their ancestral history, the Jaina and the Brahminical
traditions differ.
The following is the genealogical list of the R膩k峁sa kings as found
in various Jaina and Brahmanical works :
