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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EDUCATION AND ARCHITECTURE 431 saffron (53. 108; 68. 3). The water of the river became coloured by the
wash of the saffron besmeared on the bodies of the ladies of the king of
Mahe艣vara, who were plying water-sports in the river with the king
(angaparibhogalagga峁� kunkumadhovantapi帽jar膩runiya峁� 10. 44). It
was applied to the breasts of women (117. 26) as it gave a cooling
effect The Mlecch as have been referred to have applied some mineral
powder (dh膩ukaya峁僩ar膩g膩 27. 33) on their bodies.
Articles of fragrance and incense:-The PCV mentions the following
articles of fragrance and incense : The aloe (aguruya), the olibanum
(turukka) and the sandal (canda峁嘺) were commonly used by the
people (Janavayaparibhoyasusuyandha峁� 2.11) for fragrance. The
dark and red sandal (gos墨sa), the black aloe (k膩lagaru) and the
camphor (kapp奴ra) were used for incense (surbhidh奴vagandh膩i峁�.
14.92). Articles of fragrance and incense were regularly used for
worshipping purposes (66.29).
The betel leaf is mentioned along with the articles of cosmetics
(tambolaphullagandhadeh膩峁噓leva峁嘺 70.59). It gave reddish (80.30)
colour to the lips and it was chewed along with other fragrant ingredi-
ents, hence it may also be counted as an article of cosmetics.
Flowers Flower was an important article of toilet. The art of
decorating the body with wreaths and garlands of flowers was called
'mallavihi' (28.11). The people of ancient India had great love for
flowers (gandhakusumatattilla 2.6). Married couples of Lanka are
mentioned to be making a profuse use of flowers during the hours
of amorous pleasures (tambolaphullagandh膩iesu 70.59). The women of
S膩ketapur墨 are referred to be wearing flowers on their heads (Kusum膩-
u峁囜箛am s墨sa峁� 100.52). The lotus flower was used as an ear ornament
by women (ka峁囜箛uppala 70.22)鲁. Crests of flowers were worn on the
heads by the R膩k峁sa warriors (pupphasehar膩 53.108). The Mlecchas
decorated their bodies with the flowers of 艢r墨manjar墨 (27.33) in addition
to other precious ornaments. R膩ma and Lak峁a峁嘺 wore the garlands of
fragrant flowers on the occasion of their coronation (sugandhakusume-
su kaymala 85.21).
B. Music, Dance and Drama.
The PCV reveals that the art of music, dance and drama formed
an integral part of the education鲁 and culture of the society. This art
1, An Encyclopaedia of Hindu Architecture, P.K. Acarya-p. 245.
2. It may be an ear-ring of lotus shape made of precious metal. See p. 154,155
of the Har峁carita eka S膩峁僺k峁泃ika Adhy ayana 鈥揤.S. Agrawal膮.
3. 24. 5,
