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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SOCIAL CONDITIONS 385 (varakusumakundava峁囜箛a峁�), a lion the sun and the moon. Sumitr膩
(25. 4) on the occasion of conceiving the embryo of Laksma峁嘺, the
eighth Vasudeva, saw in her dream four objects viz. Lak峁墨 holding
lotuses in her hands, the moon, the sun and further found herself seated
on the peak of a hill wherefrom she could observe the land stretching
up to the sea. Kekas墨 (7. 78), the mother of R膩vana, the eighth
Prativasudeva saw in her dream-visions a lion entering her belly and
the rising moon and the sun.
These accounts of the Paumacariyam are corroborated by the
evidences from other Jaina works. The Bhagavati s奴tra (16. 6.579) and
the N膩y膩dhammakah茫o (I. p. 9) mentions that the mothers of T墨rthankaras
or Cakravartins saw fourteen dreams out of the thirty great dreams
(t墨s膩mah膩suvi峁嚹佱箛a峁�). The N膩y膩dhammakaho,鹿 the Kalpas奴tra虏 and
the TSP3 agree with the names of the fourteen objects mentioued in
the Paumacariya峁� as quoted above. But the Digambara tradition holds
that sixteen dream-objects were seen by the mothers of the T墨rthan-
karas. Two more objects in addition to the fourteen objects (except
a flag for which the Digambara works mention a fish-jha峁) mentioned
above are royal seat (se峁僪膩sanam) and a palace of the king of snakes
(Phanindrabhavanam).
It has been already stated above that the Paumacariya峁� (25.4)
mentions four objects in connection with the dream-visions of the
mother of a Vasudeva. These objects are-Lak峁墨, the moon, the sun
and the sea. This number of four does not agree wilh the Bhagavatis奴tra
(16. 6. 579) and N膩y膩dhammakah茫o (I. p. 9) which mention seven
objects. Hemacandra" also mentions seven objects viz. an elephant,
a lion, the sun, the moon, the fire, 艢r墨 and the sea. As regards the
Digambara tradition the Uttarapur膩峁嘺 attributes five objects, i. e. a
rice-field and a lion in addition to those of the Paumacariya峁� except
Lak峁墨. Ravi峁峁嘺 refers to five objects viz. a lion being sprinkled by
Lak峁墨, the sea, the sun and a wheel decked with jewels. Puspadanta
mentions one object only, i. e. a lion while in the case of Trp峁涐梗tha
Vasudeva鈦� two objects viz. the moon and the sun are mentioned.
1. 1. p. 9.
2. Kalpa Su 4, & 32-47 or 4. 66-87 ?
3. Vol I, p. 100 & 148 of TSP.
4, AP, 12. 103f; See also MP, 3. 6, for 峁氠梗abha and 38. 12 for Ajita.
5. TSP, IV. p, 193.
6. Gunabhadra, 67. 151.
7. PCR, 25. 13.
8. MP. 69. 12.
9. Ibid. 50. 12, 9. & for Dvip峁涐梗峁環a-54. 8. 7.
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