Paumacariu

Summary

This instalment of Svayambhudeva’s medieval Prakrit epic “Paumacariu” (a Jain retelling of the Rāmāyaṇa) covers events following Rāma’s defeat of Rāvaṇa. Vibhīṣaṇa, Rāvaṇa’s righteous brother, escorts Rāma, Lakṣmaṇa and Sītā into Laṅkā. Rāma praises the twenty‑second Tīrthaṅkara Śāntinātha at a Jain temple and crowns Vibhīṣaṇa king. The heroes stay in Laṅkā for six years, practising austerities. A divine messenger informs them that Queen Kauśalyā is gravely ill, prompting their return to Ayodhyā. On the journey home they meet sage Gautama Gāthā and witness miraculous Jain shrines. At Ayodhyā, Bharata greets Rāma, renounces his kingdom and becomes a monk alongside his mother Kaikeyī. Rāma divides the kingdom among allies and marries off his sons. Sītā desires to worship the Jina at Pratilambikā but jealous courtiers gossip about her captivity in Laṅkā, prompting Rāma to banish her. Alone in the forest, she is protected by a vidyādhara chief who later helps her give birth to twins Lavaṇa and Aṅkuśa. The twins grow into mighty warriors trained by hermit Suddhaṅka. After defeating demons and expanding their realm, they challenge Rāma but are eventually reconciled. Sītā undergoes a fire ordeal to prove her chastity, emerges unscathed and renounces the world to become a nun. Lakṣmaṇa also dies heroically after resisting a divine temptress; his corpse is carried by Rāma for six months before being cremated with honours. At the climax, an aging Rāma realises the futility of worldly attachments, renounces his kingdom, practises severe austerities and achieves kevalajñāna (omniscience) on Mount Koṭiśilā. The epic emphasises Jain values: devotion to Tīrthaṅkaras, non‑violence, renunciation and the inevitability of karmic retribution. Characters who surrender pride and attachments attain spiritual progress, while those who cling to power suffer. Svayambhudeva adapts the popular Rāma story to promote Jain ethics and to illustrate how even heroes must ultimately renounce the world to attain liberation.