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. PCV-No 267 exile
PCV-No
is
Manthar膩. R膩ma's
and for exiling R膩ma.
voluntary. 6. VH-R膩ma's period of exile is twelve years.
period mentioned. 7. VH-Bharata is away at his maternal uncle's
home when Kaikey墨 demands the boons. PCV- Bharata is at Ayodhy膩.
8. VH-Bharata brings R膩ma's 'p膩duk膩s'. PCV-No reference to
them. 9. The details of R膩ma's journey and his exploits till he enters.
the Dandakaranya are missing in the VH. 10. The VH refers to
Rama's entry into Vijanasth膩na and his passing by of various
T膩pasa-膩艣ramas. PCV-No reference to the Vijanasth膩na. 11. VH
It does not mention various marriages of Rama and Lak峁a峁嘺.
12. VH-Khara and D眉峁峁嘺 are two sons of Surpanakha. PCV-In
place of Surpanakha there is Candranakh膩. Kharad奴峁峁嘺 is one
husband
and
person
of Candranakh膩. 13. VH-R膩ma disfigures
the VH there is the
S奴rpa峁嘺kh膩. PCV-No disfiguring. 14. In
device of the golden deer. PCV-No deer. 15. VII Jatayu is a
Vidy膩dhara. PCV-It is a bird. 16. VH-Vali and
VH-Vali and
厂耻驳谤墨惫补
hostile to each other for a certain woman. R膩ma kills V膩li. PCV-
V膩li has no hostility with 厂耻驳谤墨惫补. He long ago became a monk.
R膩ma kills
厂耻驳谤墨惫补 and Sahasagati quarrel for obtaining T膩r膩.
bridge over the sea is
Sahasagati. 17. VH-Construction of a
mentioned. PCV-No bridge. 18. VH-Hanuman is the minister of
厂耻驳谤墨惫补. PCV-The son-in-law of 厂耻驳谤墨惫补. 19. VH-R膩ma is
enthroned as king of Ayodhya. PCV-Lak峁a峁嘺 becomes the king of
Ayodhy膩. 20. VH-Exile of S墨t膩 and details about R膩va峁嘺-carita are
lacking. 21. VH-Four wives of R膩vana's father and their many sons
and daughters. PCV-One wife, three sons and one daughter only.
22. R膩va峁嘺's parentage and his ancestors are at variance from those
given in the PCV.
The above analysis reveals that:-
are
Ramopakhy膩na of
The Rama-story in the VH is akin to the
Mah膩bh膩rata with certain minor alterations in points Nos. 4,12,13 & 15,
under sub-heading (ii).
Point No (ii) 2, is quite new while point No. (ii) 6 agrees with
the Dasaratha J膩taka and the Dasaratha Kath膩nam. Point No. (ii) 21
is more akin to K奴rmapur膩峁嘺 than the R膩mop膩khy膩na (See Supra, Ch. 5).
Though some elements are common in the PCV and the VH, yet
both the works constitute different Jaina traditions of the R膩ma-story.
(b) Current of Uttarapur膩峁嘺's R膩ma-Story:
An analysis of the story of Uttarapur膩峁嘺 (for details See Supra Ch.
3 and 4) reveals some traits of Buddhist J膩takas, Ramopakhy膩na,
