Jain Poetry in Medieval Rajasthani Literature

During the medieval period Jain poetry was not written for the sake of poetry. Its main aims were the pursuit of knowledge, propagation of religion and building of character. Charit, Katha and Akhyan Kavya are biographical and essentially narrative. Their aim is to secure Nirvana or salvation for the devotees. The hero of a story generally belongs to a family of higher strata. Before, or after, marriage, he comes into contact with a Jain sadhu or other noble company or is moved by a touching incident and thinks of freedom from worldly attachment. He wishes to take initiation. Parents (and wife, if married) urge him not to do so, but he remains firm, and adopts a Jain sadhu`s life. In this state he faces many difficulties, but ultimately overcomes them and attains kewal gyan and thus becomes entitled to moksha. The stories are mainly taken from the Jain tradition. Some are popular folk-tales which are moulded according to the Jain way of life.

The Jain poet writes narrative poems for fulfilment of these aims. Brahma Jinadas was a great scholar and poet of the 15th century. Besides a dozen poems in Sanskrit, he has composed over fifty narrative works; mostly the Ras in Hindi and Gujarati mixed Rajasthani. They are mainly based on legends popular in the Jain religion. His Ram Sita Ras, based on Padma Puran of Ravisenacarya, was the first major work of its kind.

Chihal wrote around 1518. His available poems are Pane Saheli Git, Panthi Git, Udar Git, Pancendriy Veil and Nam Bawni. Pane Saheli, a Jain poem of the medieval period in Rajasthan describes the pangs of separation of five women from their husbands and their reunion after some time. They are the wives of a gardener, a betel-seller, a cloth-printer, a liquor-seller and a goldsmith. Each woman describes her pangs in the phraseology connected with her profession.

During the medieval period many beautiful narrative poems had also been written on the theme of Padmini and Gora. Some of the notable poets of medieval Rajasthani Jain poems were Kusal Labh, Samay Sundar, Hemratan Suri, Jinaraj Suri, Labdhoday, Jinharsa, Dharm Vardhan and a lot more.

Among these popular poets Samay Sundar was a famous poet and scholar. The variety and number of his works are surprisingly large. He composed many works in Sanskrit. In Rajasthani there are about two dozen narrative poems which mostly belong to the category of ras and caupai. Most of the poems of Samay Sundar are meant to be sung in specific tunes. Samay Sundar`s poetry is important for its content as well as form, metre, popular tunes and language. Through his poems he had rendered a great service to the cultural and religious improvement of the people. He had, at places, depicted a very realistic picture of the age.

Hence it can be said that the Jain poetry that had developed during the medieval period in Rajasthan were mostly concerned with the attainment of salvation and closely reflected the spirit of the age.