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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SOURCES, CONTRIBUTION AND INFLUENCE OF PCV. 235 30 (G) 2.116.11-12; 3.2.13-14; 3.19.19-20; 3.38.3; 5.22.9; 7.10.37
(H) 6.60.31-63; 6.61.27. Only the point No. B is at some variance.
According to the VR R膩ma killed V膩li for restoring Sugr墨va to his
original political status and for recovering his wife Rum膩 who had
been kidnapped by V膩li. Afterwards V膩li's wife, T膩r膩 accepted Sugr墨va
as her husband. So to say, R膩ma killed V膩li for the cause of Sugr墨va,
not for that the of T膩r膩. Still the presence of the above mentioned
topics in the VR proves that Vimalas奴ri was well-acquainted with the
story of VR.
2. Elements of Agreement Between V盲lmiki R膩m膩ya峁嘺 and
笔补耻尘补肠补谤颈测补峁�:
A comparative study of the PCV and the VR reveals that in its
outline the R盲ma-story is similar in both the works, but in details
there are many differences.
The following elements of the PCV, which form the outline of the
Rama-story are in agreement with those of the VR:
Dasaratha, king of Ayodhya had of his three queens-Apar膩jit膩
(Kausalya), Sumitr膩 and Kaikey墨-four sons, namely R膩ma (Padma),
Lak峁a峁嘺, Bharata and Satrughna. R膩ma married S墨t膩 in a
'svayamvara'. Kaikeyi on the strength of a boon installed her son
Bharata on the throne of Ayodhy膩 as a consequence of that R膩ma
along with S墨t膩 and Lak峁a峁嘺 went into exile. Bharata tried in vain
to persuade R膩ma to return and accept the crown of Ayodhy膩. R膩ma
in his exile sojourned in the Dandaka forest. There the sister of
R膩vana approached him with a proposal of marriage. but he rejected
her offer. Then she manoeuvred to excite R膩va峁嘺 to take revenge
upon R膩ma. R膩va峁嘺, on getting enamoured of the beauty of S墨t膩,
kidnapped her by fraud and kept her at Lank膩. Vibh墨峁峁嘺 attempted
in vain to get S墨t膩 released from R膩va峁嘺. R膩ma helped Sugr墨va in
recovering his wife and won him as his ally. At the instance of
Sugr墨va, Hanuman went to Lank膩 and brought the news of S墨t膩 and
her braid-jewel. R膩ma with the help of Sugr墨va and the latter's army
invaded Laik膩. In the battle Lak峁a峁嘺 got wounded by the Sakti
hurled by Ravana, but he duly got cured Ultimately R膩va峁嘺 was
killed in the battle. R膩ma, S墨t膩 and Lak峁a峁嘺 returned home. On
account of public scandal R膩ma exiled S墨t膩. She gave birth to
Lava(峁嘺) and (An)ku艣a. Finally she proved her purity by undergoing
an ordeal.
3.
Point of Difference :
As regards the details of the R膩ma-story there are numerous
differences between the PCV and the VR. They have been dealt
