Jaina Rāmāyaṇas

The Rāmāyaṇa, the national epic of India and several other South East Asian Countries, is one of the largest ancient epics in world literature. Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa consists of nearly 24,000 verses . Traditionalists call it the Ādi-Kāvya(first poem). It is by far the most influential epic that India has ever produced.

Rāma is a heroic figure in across the Indian traditions. In Vaiṣṇavism & Sikhism , he is Viṣṇu-incarnate in the form of a princely king; in Buddhism, he is a Bodhisattva- incarnate; in Jainism, he is the perfect human being; In Rāma-centric traditions he is Para-Brahman himself; In Śaivism he is Parama-Śaiva. The influence of  Rāmāyaṇa goes far beyond the Indian Subcontinent, with almost every South East Asian country having atleast one own version of Rāmāyaṇa(Vessantarajataka, Reamker, Ramakien, Phra Lak Phra Lam, Hikayat Seri Rama etc). There also exists the Khamti Rāmāyaṇa among the Khamti tribe of Asom wherein Rāma is an Avatar of a Bodhisattva who incarnates to punish the demon king Rāvaṇa. The Tai  Rāmāyaṇa is another book retelling the divine story in Asom.

I have previously written on Mahābhārata : –  Misconceptions about Mahābhārata, on Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa:-  Misconceptions about Rāmāyaṇa & Did Indra Rape Ahalyā?

So here are some facts from the Jain versions of the Rāmāyaṇa:-

Acc to the Jain tradition, There are TriṣaṣṭiŚalākāpuruṣa or 63 illustrious or worthy or notable persons which includes the:

• twenty-four Tīrthaṅkaras(spiritual teachers),
• 12 Cakravartins(Universal Monarchs)
• nine sets of triads of
  • Balabhadras or Baladevas (Gentle heroes)
  • Nārāyaṇas or Vāsudevas (Warrior or violent Heroes)
  • Prati-Vāsudevas or Prati-Nārāyaṇas(Anti-Heroes or Villains)

One of these triads is was Rāma as the Balabhadra, Lakṣmaṇa as the Nārāyaṇa, and Rāvaṇa as the Prati–Nārāyaṇa. In each age of the Jain cyclic time is born a Vāsudeva/Nārāyaṇa with a half-brother termed the Baladeva/Balabhadra. Between the triads, Baladeva upholds the principle of non-violence, a central idea of Jainism. The villain is the Prati-Vāsudeva, who attempts to destroy the world. To save the world, Vāsudeva/Nārāyaṇa has to forsake the non-violence principle and kill the Prati–Vāsudeva or Prati–Nārāyaṇa.

Śvētāmbara texts use the word Baladeva,  Vāsudeva and Prati–Vāsudeva to refer  Balabhadra, Nārāyaṇa and Prati- Nārāyaṇa respectively.

Another of this triad is Kṛṣṇa as the Vāsudeva, BalaRāma as the Baladeva, and Jarāsandha as the Prati-Vāsudeva.

Unlike in the Vaiṣṇava Purāṇas, the names  Balabhadra & Nārāyaṇa are not restricted to BalaRāma & Kṛṣṇa in Jain Purāṇas. Instead they serve as names of two distinct classes of mighty half brothers, who appear nine times in each half of the time cycles of the Jain cosmology and jointly rule half the earth as half-cakravartī. Ultimately Prati-Nārāyaṇa is killed by  Nārāyaṇa for his unrighteousness and immorality.

According to Jain texts, Nārāyaṇa are generally of dark complexion and wear yellow garments. There are seven weapons and symbols of Nārāyaṇa, namely: conch, discus (Sudarśana cakra), club, bow, sword, jewel (Kaustubha maṇī) and a garland of flowers (Vanamālā). Balabhadras, half-brothers of Nārāyaṇas, are described as fair in complexion and wear garments of dark blue and have a banner of palm tree. Their symbols or weapons are: bow, plough, pestle and arrow. The two brothers are inseparable and they jointly rule three continents as half-cakravartī. Although Nārāyaṇa is the mightier of the two, Balabhadra is depicted as superior for his non-violent ways and he achieves liberation. According to the Jain  Purāṇas, the Balabhadras lead an ideal  Jain life.

The Balabhadra/Baladeva achieves liberation, except the last one goes to heaven; All Nārāyaṇa/Vāsudeva goes to hell, on account of their violent exploits, even though they did these in order to uphold Dharma.

Rāma is called as Padma in Jainism.

Time-period

Acc to Jain versions The incidents of Rāmāyaṇa are placed at the time of the 20th Tīrthaṅkara, Munisuvratanātha. According to the Jain version, both Rāma and Rāvaṇa were devout Jains.

There’s no mention of a person named Munisuvratanātha in the Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa. Acc to the Purāṇas and Itihāsa , the events of Rāmāyaṇa happened in mid of Tretā Yuga of the 7th Manvantra.

Ikṣvāku

The first Tīrthaṅkara of Jainism was Ṛṣabhadeva Ādinātha. Acc to Jainism Ṛṣabhadeva and Ikṣvāku are the same person, which makes Rāma as the descendant of Ṛṣabhadeva acc to Jainism. Ṛṣabhadeva got this name from the word Ikṣu (sugarcane), because he taught people how to extract Ikṣu-rasa (sugarcane-juice).

Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa mentions nothing about Ṛṣabhadeva and his son, Emperor Bharata. However, Vaiṣṇava-Purāṇas which mention the story of Ṛṣabhadeva, in those he is from Āgnīdhra dynasty, descended from Priyavrata, a son of Svāyambhuva Manu in the 1st Manvantra. And Ikṣvāku as per that lived in the 7th Manvantra. So that makes them two different non-related persons born in different epochs. Ṛṣabhadeva, is mentioned as one of the 24 Avatāras of Viṣṇu in the Bhāgavata Purāṇa.

Ayodhyā & Dynasty of Rāma

In Jain Rāmāyaṇa, Ayodhyā is known as Sāketa and is home to five Tīrthaṅkara of the current cycle: the first Ṛṣabhadeva Ādinātha, the second Ajita-nātha, the fourth Abhinandan-nātha, the fifth Sumati-nātha, and the 14th Ananta-nātha. Of the 24 Tīrthaṅkaras, 22 belong to the Ikṣvāku(Ṛṣabhadeva’s) dynasty, which is the dynasty of Rāma. Ajita-nātha’s younger brother, Sagara, was a Cakravartin, and an ancestor of Rāma.

Ikshvaku dynasty

Daśaratha was once king of Vārāṇasī and later moved to Sāketa (Ayodhyā).

Story of Sagara & Bhagīratha

In Jain tradition, Sagara was younger brother of Lord Ajita-nātha (second Tīrthaṅkara), son of king Sumitra and Queen Vijayanti of Ikṣvāku dynasty in Sāketa. He was the second Cakravartin ruler of Avasarpiṇī (present half of worldly time cycle as per Jain cosmology), who conquered the world with his seven jewels. His queens were Sumati and Bhadra. He had sixty-thousand sons from his queens, Janhu being the eldest. Janhu flooded the Nāga Kingdom with waters of river Gaṅgā. This infuriated the Nāga King who burnt all the sons of Sagara in anger. Sagara then placed Bhagīratha, his grandson, on throne and left for penance.

The Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa and the Vaiṣṇava Purāṇas give a different account of the incident, linking it to the mythical origins of the Ganges, and the sage Kapila. In the Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa Bhagīratha was the great-great-great-grandson of Sagara. Asamanja was the eldest son of Sagara from his . And Janhu was a sage, whose āśrama Gaṅgā had washed away and after whom she got the name, Jāhanavī.

Vānaras & Hanumāna

Vānaras, unlike in Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa, were not monkeys or ape-men, but tribes who had the image of the monkey on their flags.

Jain Rāmāyaṇa describes Hanumāna as an extremely strong & attractive man and son of Añjanā Sundarī and Pavanajaya or Pavanagati(wind deity) the prince of Ādityapura. Jainism describes him as 17th of the 24 Kāmadevas i.e. extremely attractive or ultimately handsome men. After the war he became a monk and after death achieved salvation i.e. became a Siddha and hence worship worthy.

Añjanā gives birth to Hanumāna in a forest cave, after being banished by her in-laws. Her maternal uncle rescues her from the forest; while boarding his Vimāna, Añjanā accidentally drops her baby on a rock. However, the baby remains uninjured while the rock is shattered. The baby is raised in Hanuruha, his great-uncle’s island kingdom, from which Hanumāna gets his name. Hanumāna’s strength is not his own achievement, but attributed to his mother’s asceticism.

In the Jain version, Hanumāna is not celibate, but a sexually active personality, marries princess Anangakusuma, the daughter of Kharadūṣaṇa and Rāvaṇa’s sister, Candranakhā. Rāvaṇa also presents Hanumāna one of his nieces as a second wife. After becoming an ally of Sugrīva, Hanumāna acquires a hundred more wives. Hanumāna becomes a supporter of Rāma after meeting him and learning about Sītā’s kidnapping by Rāvaṇa. He goes to Laṅkā on Rāma’s behalf, but is unable to convince Rāvaṇa to give up Sītā. Ultimately, he joins Rāma in the war against Rāvaṇa and performs several heroic deeds.

Paumacariya (also known as Pauma Cariu or Padmacarita), the Jain version of Rāmāyaṇa written by Vimalasuri, mentions, Hanumāna as a, Vidyādhara (a supernatural magically powered being, demigod in Jain mythology). In several versions of the Jain Rāmāyaṇastory, there are passages that explain to Hanumāna, and Rāma, that attachment to women and pleasures are evil. Hanumāna, in these versions, ultimately renounces all social and material life to become a Jain ascetic.

While In the Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa, Hanumāna potrayed as an enormously powerful monkey and the son of Añjanā, an Apsarā, and Kesari the Vānara king; & the spiritual son of Vāyu(wind god) and a lifetime celibate. He didn’t left this world, and is a Cirañjīvī(immortal being), and is prophesied to be the next-to-next Brahmā in the Vaiṣṇava mythology.

In the Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa, Khara & Dūṣaṇa are two twin brothers and cousins of Rāvaṇa. They are described as man-eating Rākṣasas.

Talking animals

According to the Jain versions animals only behaved like plain, normal animals.

There are many many other instances in the Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa where humanised versions of animals viz. Sugrīva, Vālī, Jaṭāyu, Sampāti, Hanumāna etc. played significant roles.

Sītā

In some of the Jain versions, Sītā is shown to be a daughter of Rāvaṇa and Mandodarī. Whereas in the Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa, Sītā is shown to be a daughter of the earth goddess. Sītā is prophesied to be the prime disciple of a future Tīrthaṅkara, in the next birth.

In some of the Jain versions, Sītā is shown to be a daughter of Rāvaṇa and Mandodarī. Whereas in the Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa, Sītā is shown to be a daughter of the earth goddess. Sītā is prophesied to be the prime disciple of a future Tīrthaṅkara, in the next birth.

Rāvaṇa

As per the jains, Rāvaṇa was a Vidyādhara, having magical powers and did not have ten heads. He had a necklace with nine pearls that reflected his head nine times giving the impression he had ten heads. He was a devotee of Munisuvratanātha, the 20th Jain Tīrthaṅkara. He was one of the most powerful and handsome men of his era. He was an Ardha-cakri which means that he ruled the 3 khaṇḍas(parts) of Bhārata Kṣetra, with Laṅkā as his capital. In the next births Rāvaṇa will ultimately be a Tīrthaṅkara and Sītā will be his prime disciple.

Rākṣasas, also were a Vidyādhara clan like Vānaras in the Jain Rāmāyaṇa.

Abduction of Sītā

Once during exile,Lakṣmaṇa was roaming alone in the Daṇḍaka forest when he reached a place which had many bamboo pillars in front of which was a luminous trident. Lakṣmaṇa took it in his hands and with the aim of testing its sharpness cut the bamboo pillars with it. Dieties appeared and acclaimed him as thier master for acquiring the trident. That trident was no ordinary weapon, it was called the “Sūryahass“.

Śambūka the son of Śūrpaṇakhā (sister of Rāvaṇa) and Kharadūṣaṇa was meditating for the last 12 years on those bamboo pillars for acquiring that Sūryahass. He was killed immediately when Lakṣmaṇa acquired it, so was destined. When Candranakhā saw the dead body of his son, mixed fealings of deep sorrow and anger gushed through her. She saw Rāma, Lakṣmaṇa & Sītā in the forest and understood what had happened. At first sight, she was so enamoured by the beauty of Rāma and Lakṣmaṇa that she forgot everything and approached them for marriage.But in the spirit of rightousness they politely refused to accept her. Her anger intensified and she narrated the entire incident to her husband Kharadūṣaṇa and also lied that Rāma & Lakṣmaṇa tried to molest her. Kharadūṣaṇa in great anguish with the help of his brother in law Rāvaṇa declared a war on Rāma and Lakṣmaṇa.

Brave Lakṣmaṇa immediately went to confront the enemies alone. Rāvaṇa was arriving in his Puṣpaka Vimāna in the battle ground but when he saw Sītā from the sky he was so enchanted by her beauty that he forgot about the war and started thinking about a way to get her. Using his special powers he learned that Sītā was the wife of Rāma, so he created a fake sound which led Rāma to believe that Lakṣmaṇa is calling him for help in the battle. Rāma left Sītā in good faith to help Lakṣmaṇa. Rāvaṇa used this opportunity to abduct Sītā forcefully and flew back to Laṅkā with her in his ‘Puṣpaka Vimāna’. Jaṭāyu attempted to save her but was killed by him. On the other side Lakṣmaṇa killed Kharadūṣaṇa and won the battle.

After the war

After Rāvaṇa was killed in the battle, his sons Meghanāda, Kumbhakarṇa, Indrajit were released from bondage, after which they took Jain Dīkṣā from a Jain Saint Anantavīrya. Forty eight thousand queens of Rāvaṇa including Mandodrī also became Jain Aryikas. Rāma and Lakṣmaṇa went to Laṅkā to meet Sītā. Their union was so emotional that dieties showered flowers from the sky. Rāma handed over the rule of Laṅkā to Vibhīṣaṇa ( brother of Rāvaṇa) and themselves stayed there for 9 years on his request. Kumbhakarṇa attains Mokṣa.

In the Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa, all sons and brothers of Rāvaṇa, except Vibhīṣaṇa, get slayed. Kumbhakarṇa was the brother of Rāvaṇa. Mandodrī, the queen-consort of Rāvaṇa, marries Vibhīṣaṇa, at the suggestion of Rāma.

Different Versions

Jains also have many different versions of the epic. Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa is considered the original & earliest Rāmāyaṇa. In Jainism Vimalasuri’s PaumaCarita.  or PaumaCariya (legend of Padma) is the earliest and most influential story of Rāma in Jainism. However, The story of Rāma in Jainism can be broadly classified into three groups; Saṅghadāsa’s version, Vimalasuri’s version and Guṇabhadra’s version. These 3 have influenced other Rāmāyaṇas in Jainism.

Some of the later Jain works which mention the story of Rāma are:

• Siyācariyam and Rāmalakkhaṇacariyam of Bhuvanatuṇga Sūri
• Rāmāyaṇa or Rāmadevapurāṇa of Jinadāsa(c. 15th century CE)
• Rāmacarita of Padmadevavijaya Gaṇi(c. 16th century CE)
• Rāmacarita of Somadeva Sūri(c. 16th century CE)
• Laghu-Triśaṣṭiśalākāpuruṣa Caritra of Somaprabha(c. 15th century CE)
• Padmapurāṇa(Balabhadrapurāṇa) of Raidhu in Apbhraṃśa(c. 15th century CE)
• Pampa-Rāmāyaṇa of Nāgacandra alias Abhinava-Pampa in Kannada (c. 11th century CE)
• Añjanā-Pavañjaya-Nāṭaka(aka Maithilīkalyāṇa) of Hastimalla in Sanskrit(c. 1290)
• Other Kannada versions imclude Puṇyāsravakathāsāra of Kumudendu(16th cent.), Rāmavijayacarita of Devappa(16th cent.), Jaina Rāmāyaṇa of Candrasāgara Varni(19th cent.)
• The Padma-Purāṇas of Somadeva, Dharmakīrti, Bhaṭṭāraka Candrakīrti, Candrasāgara, Śrīcandra each are some other Apabhraṃśa versions
• Other Sanskrit versions include Padma-Mahākāvya of Śubhavardhana-Gaṇi, Rāmacarita of Padmanātha, Padma-Purāṇa-Puñjikā of Prabhācandra, Sītā-caritas of Śāntīsūri, Brahmanemidatta, Amaradāsa?
• Rāmacarita of Devavijayaganir(c. 1596 CE)
• Laghu-Triśaṣṭiśalākāpuruṣa Caritra of Meghvijaya(c. 17th century CE)

Story

Following is the outline of Rāma story from the Jain narratives:

Daśaratha was the king of Ikṣvāku dynasty who ruled Ayodhyā. He had four princes Rāma, Lakṣmaṇa, Bharata and Śatrughna. Janaka ruled Videha. His daughter Sītā was married to Rāma. Sītā was kidnapped by Rāvaṇa, who took her to his kingdom Laṅkā. During the search for Sītā, Rāma and Lakṣmaṇa meet Sugrīva and Hanumāna. Sugrīva, the king of Vānara clan was removed from his throne of Kiṣkindhā by his brother Vālī(He later become Jain Monk and attained mokṣa). Rāma and Lakṣmaṇa helped Sugrīva get back his kingdom. They, along with the army of Sugrīva marched towards Laṅkā. Vibhīṣaṇa, Rāvaṇa’s brother tried to persuade him to return Sītā. However, Rāvaṇa did not agree. Vibhīṣaṇa allied with Rāma. There was a war fought between the armies of Rāma and Rāvaṇa. Lakṣmaṇa kills Rāvaṇa in the end(deviating from the Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa where the hero Rāma slays Rāvaṇa) and Vibhīṣaṇa becomes the king of Laṅkā. Rāma and Lakṣmaṇa return to Ayodhyā. Rāma had around eight thousand wives among whom Sītā was the principle consort(in the Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa, Rāma has only one wife, Sītā), where as Lakṣmaṇa had around sixteen thousand wives in which Pṛthivīsundarī was his principle consort(in the Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa, he had only one wife, Urmilā). After Lakṣmaṇa’s death, Rāma becomes a monk. He attains KevalaJñāna and subsequently mokṣa. Lakṣmaṇa and Rāvaṇa, on the other hand, go to hell. Sītā was born in heaven.

Vimalasuri’s Version

Vimalasuri’s version is one of the most important and influential Jain story of Rāma. Vimalasuri claims that the Rāmāyaṇa of Vālmīki is filled with illogical and false stories. In his version, Kaikeyī is shown to be a generous and affectionate mother who wanted to stop Bharata from becoming a monk. For this, she wanted to give him the responsibility of a king. When Rāma knew about it, he willingly went into exile. Rāvaṇa was also called Dasamukha(ten-headed one) because when he was young, his mother gave him a necklace made of nine pearls. She could see his face reflected ninefold. Hence, he was named thus. In Vimalasuri’s Paumcariya, Rāma married thrice when he was in exile. Lakṣmaṇa, his brother married eleven times. Rāvaṇa, was well known for his abilities in meditation and ascetic practices. He was the king of Rākṣasa, a kingdom of civilized and vegetarian people(Unlike the Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa). Sugrīva was appointed by his brother Vālī to become the king before Vālī renounces the world and becomes a Jain monk. Śambūka was accidentally killed by Lakṣmaṇa(In the Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa, Rāma intentionally kills Śambūka, although this incident is considered an interpolation by many scholars). Rāvaṇa had passionate feelings for Sītā. He said to have suffered in the end due to the effects of karma which was because of this vice. Lakṣmaṇa slays Rāvaṇa. Both Rāvaṇa and Lakṣmaṇa go to hell for their actions where as Rāma attains mokṣa(liberation). The Vānaras were humans, belonging to a dynasty or clan which has a monkey as their emblem. There are many arguments to which variant is actually authentic.

Saṅghadāsa’s Version

Saṅghadāsa’s version is named, Vasudevahiṇḍī.

Saṅghadāsa’s version presents only a brief account of Rāma’s story. In this version, Daśaratha had three queens; Kauśalyā, Kaikeyī and Sumitrā. Rāma was from Kauśalyā, Lakṣmaṇa from Sumitrā, Bharata and Śatrughna from Kaikeyī. Sītā is said to be daughter of Rāvaṇa’s queen Mandodarī. It was predicted that the first child of Mandodarī would bring annihilation to the family. Hence, Rāvaṇa deserted the child when she was born. The minister who was responsible for this took her in a pearl-box, placed her near a plough and told Janaka of Mithilā that the girl is born from the trench. Janaka’s queen Dhāriṇī became Sītā’s foster mother(In the Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa, Janaka’s queen was named, Sunainā). While in exile, Rāma visited a place called Vijanasthāna. Śūrpaṇakhā was dumbstruck at the beauty of Rāma and wanted to have sex with him. However, Rāma refused to have sex with another person’s wife. He in turn cut her ears and nose after she was scolded by Sītā. Śūrpaṇakhā complained about this to Khara-Dūṣaṇa who was killed by Rāma on their quest for revenge. Śūrpaṇakhā then goes to her brother Rāvaṇa.

Guṇabhadra’s Version

Guṇabhadra’s version is named, UttaraPurāṇa.

In the story of Guṇabhadra, Daśaratha lived in Vārāṇasī. His queen Subālā gave birth to Rāma and Kaikeyī gave birth to Lakṣmaṇa. Sītā was born of Rāvaṇa and Mandodarī. She was subsequently abandoned by Rāvaṇa in a place where Janaka was ploughing the field.

Ravisena’s PadmaPurāṇa

Not to be confused with the Vaiṣṇava Purāṇa of the same name.

The story of Rāma in Jainism, found in Ravisena’s PadmaPurāṇa(Lorebook of the Padma) is termed as one of the most artistic Jain Rāmāyaṇa by Dundas. He belonged to the Digambara sect of Jainism and hence removes almost every Śvētāmbara elements that was present in the tale. Ravisena’s PadmaPurāṇa comes under the Vimalasuri’s version category. It is the closest to Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa, amongst all the versions of Jain Rāmāyaṇas.

For the detailed version of Ravisena’s PadmaPurāṇa, please see:- Jain Ramayana – ENCYCLOPEDIA OF JAINISM

Hemacandra’s Version

Jain Ācārya, Hemacandra, compiled a book named, TriṣaṣṭiŚalākāpuruṣa-Caritra[6], in which he mentioned about the pasttimes of all the 63 Śalākāpuruṣas of the current time-cycle, and in that he also mentions a version of Jain Rāmāyaṇa, belonging to VimalaSuri school. Please click on the link to read that, :- Book VII – Jain Ramayana (Rāmāyaṇa)

Svayambhu’s Paumacariyu

In Svayambhu’s version, Rāma is son of Aparājitā and Lakṣmaṇa is son of Sumitrā. Sītā is shown to be daughter of Janaka. There is also a narration about Sītā’s brother Bhāmaṇḍala. He did not know about Sītā being her sister and wanted to marry her. He even wanted to abduct her. This narration ends when Bhāmaṇḍala, after knowing that Sītā is her sister, turns into a Jain ascetic. Svayambhu’s Paumacariyu comes under VimalaSuri’s version category. Please see:- Jain Rāmāyaṇa-Paumacaryu

Harisena’s KathāKośa

In Harisena’s KathāKośa, there is an incident where Rama asks Sītā to give the famous Agniparikṣā. When Sītā steps into the fire, the fire turns into a lake. A Jain nun appears and Sītā & others around become Jain ascetic. Harisena’s KathāKośa comes under the Saṅghadāsa’s version category.

Ravisena’s PadmaPurāṇa- Jain Ramayana – ENCYCLOPEDIA OF JAINISM

Hemacandra’s version(belonging to Vimalasuri’s school) mentioned in his TriṣaṣṭiŚalākāpuruṣa-Caritra- Book VII – Jain Ramayana (Rāmāyaṇa)

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