By
Prof. P. GOSWAMI, M.A.
Somadeva
Suri, the Jaina theologian, mentions that the writing of his kavya
“Yasastilaka” was completed in 959 A.D., on the day when the Rashtrakuta
emperor Krishnarajadeva was extending his sway at Melpati (North Arcot) after
having vanquished the Pandya. Chola, Chera, Sinhalese and other kings. Though
he makes mention of Krishna Ill, his work was not composed at Manyakheta, the
Rashtrakuta capital, but at an obscure place called Gangadhara, which seems to
have been the capital of a prince named Vagaraja, the eldest son of a Chalukya
chief, a tributary of Krishna III.
Somadeva
probably owed no allegiance to any potentate. He was primarily a Jaina Acharya.
But he took great interest in political affairs and in his “Nitivakyamrita” he
pays homage not to any king, but to the State!–“Atha dharmarthakamaphalaya
rajyaya namah.” His fame rests on the romance “Yasastilaka” which reveals the
manifold aspects of his genius. As has been observed by Sj. K. K. Handiqui, who
has made an exhaustive study of the work in his “Yasastilaka and Indian
Culture” (1949) 1: “He is a master of prose and verse, a profound
scholar with a well-stocked memory, as authority on Jaina dogma, and critic of
contemporary philosophical systems. He is a close student of the art of
government, and in this respect his “Yasastilaka” and “Nitivakyamrita”
supplement each other. He is a redactor of ancient folktales and religious
stories, and at times shows himself an adept in dramatic dialogue. Last but not
least, he is a keen observer of men and manners. The position of Somadeva is,
indeed, unique in Sanskrit literature.”
Whatever
his other activities might have been, Somadeva was a theologian, and tarka or
disputation was his true vocation. Like many intellectuals of his age he spent
a good deal of his energy in disputations with scholars of rival faiths. He had
titles like Tarkikachakravartin and Vadibhapanchanama. He himself tells us in
one of the opening verses of “Yasastilaka” that just as cow yields by eating
grass, similarly his intellect produced the beautiful utterances of his
poetical composition by feeding on the dry logical studies to which he had
devoted himself since his childhood.
“Yasastilaka”
might be characterised as a domestic tragedy. The story, which is woven around
the motif of infidelity, may here be given in outline: Maradatta, the young
ruler of Rajapura was told by a Tantric teacher that if he propitiated the
goddess Chandamari with human sacrifices, he would be able to conquer the
Vidyadharas. He accordingly made arrangements for the worship of the goddess.
His guards came upon two young Jaina ascetics, a boy and a girl, and enticed
them into the temple of Chandamari. The young children were not moved at the
terrific atmosphere which prevailed within the temple and began speaking to the
king. The king, who was already softened at the sight of the two tender faces,
set aside his sword and began to listen: “In the city of Ujjayini ruled the
king Yasorgha. Chandramati was the consort of Yasorgha, and Yasodhara was the
name of the royal child. Finding his hair greying one day Yasorgha gave orders
for the coronation and marriage of his son and renounced the world. Yasodhara
was duly married and anointed king.
“The
young king had a happy spell of time till, one midnight, when he was not quite
asleep, he observed that his consort Amritamati slipped away from his side and,
putting on the clothes of her maid, quickly went out of the royal chamber. The
king shadowed Amritamati and found her making love to an elephant-driver named
Ashtavanka, an ugly cripple. He however did not wish to create a scene and came
away quietly. A dark depression overcast his mind and he felt disgust for women
and worldly pleasures. But he told his mother that he had an evil dream. His
mother tried to dispel his mental gloom by advising him to sacrifice all kinds
of animals to their tutelary goddess. Yasodhara had already felt a revulsion at
animal sacrifice but was nevertheless persuaded by his old mother into
sacrificing a cock made out of flour. In the meantime Amritamati came to sense
that perhaps her guilt had been detected and determined to strike before her
husband could strike her. She proffered to sacrifice herself to counteract the
evil effects of her husband’s dream, and further begged that her husband and
her mother-in-law should partake a banquet at her residence after the worship
of their tutelary godess was over.
“The
duplicity of Amritamati only added to the king’s depression and his disgust for
her. He, however, after the completion of the worship went to her place and
along with his mother, son and daughter-in-law, partook of the food served out.
The food was poisoned and took immediate effect, only Amritamati cried aloud in
grief and, feigning to droop on her husband’s bosom, strangled him to death.”
After
this there is a description of the rebirths of Yasodhara and Chandramati and
their sufferings because they had sacrificed a cock, though artificial. The
ascetic boy concludes that he Abhyaruchi and his sister Abhayamati were but
reincarnations of Yasodhara and Chandramati and were then disciples of the sage
Sudatta.
This
long narration visibly softened Maradatta and he became Eager to meet Sudatta
and turn his disciple. Sudatta came of his own accord to the prospective
convert and commenced a long discourse on Jaina doctrines...
So
the story has a religious bias and is meant to teach Jaina doctrine. The story
has analogies in earlier as well as later literature. The chief interest in it
centres round the figure of Amritamati, who belongs to the ‘vadhaka’ or
murderess type of wife. The story of Yasodhara has been retold in another Jaina
work, in Pushpadanta’s “Jasaharacriu,” belonging to the tenth
century. Numerous poems dealing with the same subject are also
found in the succeeding centuries in Old Gujarati, Old Hindi, Tamil and
Kannada.
As
has been observed this romance is a mine of information. First might be
mentioned Somadeva’s comprehension of the spirit poetry. The true poets are
those whose words make familiar things unfamiliar, and unfamiliar things
familiar!
“Ta
eva kavayo loke yeshan vachanagocharah
sapurvo
‘purvatamartho yatyapurvah sapurvatam.”
This
somehow reminds us of the compact of Wordsworth and Coleridge who aimed at a
similar objective. The attitude of Somadeva to poetry seems to be modern, for,
as he says, poetry must be judged as poetry and the critic must not expect to
find in it what does not properly fall within the scope of poetry. Further,
learning is not necessary for the appreciation of poetry.
In
the description of Yasodhara’s life as a king, one comes across a series of
observations applicable to the routine of a medieval court. The functions of
royal officers like the Sandhivigrahi and the Mantri are discussed in detail.
One of the functions of the Sandhivigrahi is to announce the arrival of envoys
from foreign courts with presents typical of their countries. The Sandhivigrahi
is a sort of Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs. There is a good deal about
the evils of ministerial corruption. Verses dealing with such corruption ar an
approach to the little political satire that we have in Sanskrit: “Like a
mirage in a desert, the ministers daily deceive those (thirsty) deer, the
simpletons. Outwardly they have charming manners, but inwardly they are
good-for-nothings.” “A minister executes a task even by violent means when it
serves his purpose. But when it serves the purpose of another, he simply says:
The king has so many ministers; what authority have I?” The following is a
satire on an evil minister named Pamarodara: “Thy miniater appears in an
endless variety of roles. He is himself creator and destroyer both. He is
himself the speaker and the poet, the dancer and the clown!” One is reminded of
Dryden’s characterisation of Zimri. Spying seems to have been done on
ministers, for the evil nature of Pamarodara is revealed through the mouth of a
spy. The ideals of kingship are detailed at length.
The
view of women is amusing: “Discrimination between men and women is valid in
respect of physical activity. But women are superior and men inferior in
intellectual activity.” Women are not to interfere in matters which properly
belong to men’s sphere, their minds being extremely fickle and superficial.
The
account of the regiments of Yasodhara throws light on the composition of
medieval armies. Yasodhara had regiments also from the North. The Tirhut
regiment was fond solely of war and devoted to manoeuvres incidental to naval
combats. All the troops of this regiment were disturbed by the Gauda soldiers
who had long tufts of hair, the extremities of whose teeth were worn out by
constant chewing of flattened rice (chira) and whose mouths were tinged red
with betel. The Gauda soldiers were by nature irascible and hurled abuse at the
bystanders, being ashamed of stumbling on account of their long clocks reaching
to their feet.
A
large number of verses discuss food in relation to health and physical
well-being. Certain kinds of food are recommended for particular seasons. For example,
on hot days one should take Sali rice, Moong soup containing ghee, lotus
stalks, fresh shoots and bulbs, fried barley flour, sherbets, curd mixed with
sagar and spices, cocoanut-milk, and water or milk with plenty of sugar. Along
with food comes examination with a view to finding out whether it is poisoned.
The fear of poison seems to have been genuine, for various illustrations are
cited to show how kings were murdered with poison. Danger lurks in presents
sent by rival courts or in letters sent by enemies.
The
lighter side of Yasodhara’s court life is represented by dance exhibitions in
the court theatre in connection with the Purvaranga ceremony accompanied by
hymns to Sarasvati. There were court festivals like the Mahanavami, the
Dipotsava, the Spring Carnival and the worship of Makaradhvaja, the god of
love. The Rangapuja which formed a part of the Purvaranga ceremony was probably
devoted to Sarasvati.
Various
cults and worships find mention in “Yasastilaka.” Jainism itself was influenced
by local customs, for there were Jaina practices like the burning of the dead
and the offering of rice-balls to the crows on the tenth day after death, as
also belief in ghosts and spirits and the worship of various deities. In his
attacks on various non-Jaina faiths Somadeva not only throws light on the
religious conflicts of the time but also hands on information on the different
branches of Saivism. Brahmanism and Buddhism. He casts strictures on the
“stupid customs” of popular Hinduism. He observes that if the Pitris have gone
to earthly or heavenly abodes, they cannot have any use for annual offerings of
rice-balls, which are actually eaten by Brahmanas and crows. He does not have
much to say on the Pancharatra system or the Vishnu cult. Probably Saivism wielded
greater influence than Vaishnavism at the time. Buddhists are mentioned first
among certain communities who recommended the eating of flesh. It is obvious
that his statements on the non-Jaina cults have to be taken with a grain of
salt. “Yasastilaka” contains some reviews of various schools of thought
associated with the cults current at the time.
The
section called “Samasta.-samaya-siddhantavabodhana”–“elucidation of the
doctrines of all schools” is a collection of philosophical tenets current in
the tenth century. This section deals in particular with the theories of
salvation propounded by the different school of thought, followed by critical
remarks on the opinions recorded by the author. The references to the various
schools of thought should be of interest to the historian of Indian philosophy.
There is a lot of information on Buddhists, Vedantists. saivas, Samkhyas,
Barhaspatyas, Naiyayikas, Pasupatas, Kaulas, etc. There were two distinct
schools of Vaiseshika philosophy, Saiddhanta and Tarkika, and “the former
sohool laid stress on the worship of Siva and faith in him, while the latter
represented the orthodox school with emphasis on Dharma and the knowledge of
the categories” (Handiqui, p. 218)…The review of the different schools of
thought illustrates the Jaina standpoint but it is also an independent attempt
at philosophical criticism.
“Yasastilaka”
is indeed a veritable compendium of information on a wide variety of subjects.
The references that it has made to earlier works and authors have great
chronological value in the literary history of India. For example, the allusion
to Gunadhya seems to suggest that the lost “Brihatkatha” was extant in the
Deccan in the tenth century. There are legends and tales scattered throughout
the book. These should have interest for the folklorist. One of the tales
alludes to Radha and Narayana. References to Radha in works earlier than the
tenth century are few and far between.
“Yasastilaka”
is a “champu kavya” and its prose is interspersed with verses on a variety of
subjects. It is thus an anthology of kavya poetry. The present essay might be
wound up with a verse typical of a disputant like Somadeva Suri: “The bravery
of a person without weapons is useless; just so the mastery of the Sastras is
futile in the case of a person without eloquence. The gems of learning may
flash in plenty in the ocean of one’s mind, but, without eloquence, they can
never edify the minds of the wise. Like the beauty of women, the outward
manifestation of learning causes delight. The inner existence of either matters
little. What is the use of investigating things beyond the range of the
senses?”
1
Published by Jaina Samskriti Samrakshana Sangha, Sholapur.