First Steps in the Ascent to the Divine

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Mahajanapadas

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Jain Version

Among the Baladevas and Vasudevas, the most interesting are Balaram and Krishna (Kanha in Prakrit). They appeared at the time of Nemi, the 22nd Tirthankara. In fact Krishna was Nemi's cousin, We get here the Jain version of the Mahabharat The Story of the Kauravas and Pandavas and the descendants of Krishna and Balaram is described. The Kauravas and Pandavas are converted to the Jain religions. Finally the Pandavas also become ascetics and like Nemi, attain Nirvana.4 One interesting point is that the main battle here is not the one described in the Hindu Mahabharat. Krishna, the Vasudeva, fights a battle with Jarasandha, the Prativasudeva, and kills him. This is the main battle in the Jain version. In this battle between Krishna and Jarasandha, the Pandavas take the side of Jarasandha. In fact, the main story in this Jain version is the life of Krishna, and this is nearly the same here as given in the Bhagavati Purana of the Hindus. Even otherwise the Krishna is the only Vasudeva who plays some part in the Jain canonical works- Antakriddasah and Jnatadharma Katha.

The Jain version of the Ramyan is given in Padmacaritras or Padma - Puranas. Padma is actually the Jain name of Ram and his story in the Jain version differs in many particulars from that of Valmiki.

Hemachandra in this Trishashti-shalakapurusha- charitra gives the legend of Ram in detail. According to him, Dasharath, king of Saketa had four queens: Aparajita, Sumitra, Suprabha ad Kaikeyi. These four queens had four sons. Aparajita's son was Padma, and he became known by the same name of Ram also. Sumitra's son was Narayana: he became to be known by another name, Lakshmana. Kaikeyi's son was Bharata and Suprabha's son was Shatrughna.

Sita was the daughter of Janak. She had a twin brother Bhamandala who was kidnapped while still an infant. Once Janak was attacked by barbarians. Ram was sent to help Janak, and he easily repulsed the enemies. Janak was delighted and wanted Ram to marry his daughter Sita.

Dasharath had married Kaikeyi in a svayanvara festival where she had selected him as her husband out of the many kings who had attended the festival. The other kings who were rejected attacked Dasharath. In the battle that ensued, Kaikeyi had acted as the charioteer of Dasharath. She did her job so skillfully that Dasharath had promised her any boon that she desired. She had said that she would ask for her boon on a suitable occasion.

When Dasharath became old he wanted to abdicate and become a beggar. When Kaikeyi heard this she demanded her boon, and this was that her son Bharata should take over the kingdom as Dasharath's successor. Ram readily agreed to this proposal but said that if he stayed on in the capital, Bharata would not accept the throne. He therefore thought that he should leave the capital and live in the forest. Sita and Lakshmana accompanied him. The rest of the legend is more or less the same as in Valmiki's Ramyan There is, however, an important difference. It is Lakshmana and not Ram who actually kills Ravana. In the Jain system therefore it is Lakshman who is Vasudeva, Ram is Baladev, and Ravana is Prativasudeva.

There is another and perhaps an older version of the Jain Ramyan. This version is given in the 14th Chapter of Sanghadasa'a Vasudevahindi and also in the Uttarapurana of Gunabhadracarya. This version is not popular and is in fact not known to the Svetambaras at all. The story in brief is as follows: Dasharath was a king of Varanasi. Ram was his son by his queen Subala, and Lakshman by Kaikeyi. Sita was born to Mandodari, wife of Ravana, but since there was a prophecy that she would be the cause of her father's death, Ravana had sent her through a servant to be buried alive in Mithila. She was accidentally discovered by the king Janak when was plowing the field, and brought up as his daughter. When Sita grew up, Janak performed a yajna where Ram and lakshman were invited. Janak was impressed by Ram's personality and he gave his daughter Sita to him in marriage. Ravana had not been invited to this yajna, and when he heard that Sita was a beautiful girl, he decided to abduct her. There is no mention in this version of the Ramyan of the exile of Ram. Ravana in fact abducts Sita from Citrakuta near Varanasi. Ram recovers her by killing Ravana in Lanka. Therefore Ram and Lakshman come home and rule over their kingdom.