Lives of the Jinas and Other Stories

Summary

This section retells hagiographic narratives central to Jain devotion and ethics, with a focus on Mahāvīra and earlier Tīrthaṅkaras such as Ṛṣabhanātha and Nemi. Episodes include Triśalā’s auspicious dreams and their interpretation; Mahāvīra’s birth, renunciation, ascetic trials, and omniscience; and moral exempla like the story of Śālībhadra. The prose foregrounds karmic causality, compassion, equanimity and restraint, showing how vows and right conduct transform worldly entanglements. For Ṛṣabha, the text emphasizes the civilization myths—teaching fire-use, agriculture and crafts—alongside the formation of social order and royal responsibilities. Nemi’s episodes dramatize renunciation against princely expectations, his pity for animals, and the ethical critique of violence. These retellings are interleaved with references to canonical sources and later vernaculars, and they echo visual cycles described elsewhere in the issue: birth festivals, hair-plucking, austerities, and the attainment of kevala-jñāna. The narrative tone is didactic yet vivid, linking private spiritual discipline to public ethics—charity, truthfulness, and non-injury. By moving between miraculous portents and humane dilemmas, the section models Jain ideals for householders and mendicants alike. It also underscores the role of kingship and polity when figures like Bharata, Bāhubali or royal patrons appear, casting renunciation not as withdrawal but as a re-ordering of desire and duty in light of liberation.