Essay name: Vasudevahindi (cultural history)
Author:
A. P. Jamkhedkar
Affiliation: Savitribai Phule Pune University / Deccan College Post Graduate and Research Institute Pune
This essay is an English study of the Vasudevahindi reflecting cultural history and traditions of the life of people in ancient and medieval India during the 6th century. The Vasudevahimdi is a romantic and religious tale that revolves around the wanderings of Vasudeva (a former Jain monk) and religious teachings in the guise of love stories, a common theme of poetry in Jainism.
Chapter 5 - Religion and Philosophy
121 (of 153)
External source: Shodhganga (Repository of Indian theses)
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Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)
575
Tirthakaras :
5 The details of the lives of four Tirthakaras,
viz., Usabha, Samti, Kumthu and Ara, are given in the
Vh(P). The important events in the lives of all the
Tirthakaras given here, so also elsewhere in the Jaina
literature, are more or less the same. A Tirthakara is
born in the family of the Kstriyas, many times in the
same family as that of Usabha 1.
He leads a princely life.
When reminded of his duty of showing the path of liberation
by the Logamtiya gods, he wanders as a monk in search of
the supreme knowledge, which he attains under a sacred
tree ( this tree differs from Tirthakara to Tirthakara )
and then preaches the tenets of the Jaina religion, and
organises the four sections of the followers of Jainism.
Some of the details in the life of Usabha, the
first Tirthakara are more than the general sketch given
above, as in addition to his role as a Tirthakara, he was
to be the founder of civilization also, as his work is
outlined in Vh(P).
1. Vh(P), 188.
