Ajitha purana
Encyclopedia
The Ajitha Purana written by Ranna
in 993 AD narrates the story of Ajithanatha
, the second Tirthankara of Jainism
. This is the shortest Jinapurana in Kannada. It narrates two stories of the previous births of the Tirthankara.
The second part deals with the story of Sagara, the second Chakravarti of Jainism
who is deeply attached to all worldly pleasures. His friend Maniketu tries his best to turn the attention of the king towards renunciation but could not succeed. Finally he contrived a plan by which the 60,000 sons of Sagara were killed and in the guise of an old man with a dead son in his arms presented himself before the king and begged of him to enliven the child by fighting with death. Sagara felt helpless in the matter and said that death was no respecter of persons and all must suffer sorrow and pain.
There upon Maniketu revealed to him the simultaneous death of his sons. Sagara was overcome with grief but bore it heroically and taking to a life of penance realized him in the end. Ranna has depicted this story in all its pathos and the character of Maniketu in the role of hold man bereaved of his son is the center of interest. The above are the finest parts of his work and when compared with the corresponding parts of the Sanskrit original the improvements made by Ranna can be appreciated. The feature of Ajitha - Purana is the portrait of Attimabbe painted with grateful devotion by Ranna. She was a pious and dutiful Jaina lady famous for her generosity in extending patronage to poets, in erecting temples to the Jina, and in the propagation of Jaina texts. An inscription at Lakkigundi in Dharwar district, probably written by Ranna gives a few more details concerning her religious life. It was for her sake that Ranna wrote the Ajitapurana. Her personality was so pure and noble that the poet has compared her to the sacred waters of the Ganges and to a leap of Snow-White cotton.
Ranna
Ranna was one of the earliest poets of Kannada language.Ranna, Adikavi Pampa and Sri Ponna together are called "three gems of Kannada literature".-Early days:Ranna was born on 949 C.E. in Muduvolalu Bagalkot district, Karnataka....
in 993 AD narrates the story of Ajithanatha
Ajitnath
Ajitnatha was the second Jain Tirthankar of the present age . According to Jain beliefs, he became a siddha, a liberated soul which has destroyed all of its karma. The soul that became Bhagavan Ajitnath, in its earlier incarnation, was the great king Vimalvahan of Susima city in Mahavideh area. He...
, the second Tirthankara of Jainism
Jainism
Jainism is an Indian religion that prescribes a path of non-violence towards all living beings. Its philosophy and practice emphasize the necessity of self-effort to move the soul towards divine consciousness and liberation. Any soul that has conquered its own inner enemies and achieved the state...
. This is the shortest Jinapurana in Kannada. It narrates two stories of the previous births of the Tirthankara.
Story plot
The first part opens with a prince named Vimalavahana who is ovecome by an intense feeling of renunciation upon beholding a few strands of gray hairs on his cheek. The grey hair remind him of the transitoriness of life and the supreme power and inevitability of death. He takes to a life of meditation and is born as a Dev in one of the heavens. In his subsequent birth he becomes Ajithanatha, the king of Ayodhya. The customary fivefold auspicious in the life of a Thirthankara have been described at great length by Ranna with his usual gusts and devotion and piety. He was subject to intense emotional disturbances and did not know how to control them except by giving them to eloquent expression in words.The second part deals with the story of Sagara, the second Chakravarti of Jainism
Jainism
Jainism is an Indian religion that prescribes a path of non-violence towards all living beings. Its philosophy and practice emphasize the necessity of self-effort to move the soul towards divine consciousness and liberation. Any soul that has conquered its own inner enemies and achieved the state...
who is deeply attached to all worldly pleasures. His friend Maniketu tries his best to turn the attention of the king towards renunciation but could not succeed. Finally he contrived a plan by which the 60,000 sons of Sagara were killed and in the guise of an old man with a dead son in his arms presented himself before the king and begged of him to enliven the child by fighting with death. Sagara felt helpless in the matter and said that death was no respecter of persons and all must suffer sorrow and pain.
There upon Maniketu revealed to him the simultaneous death of his sons. Sagara was overcome with grief but bore it heroically and taking to a life of penance realized him in the end. Ranna has depicted this story in all its pathos and the character of Maniketu in the role of hold man bereaved of his son is the center of interest. The above are the finest parts of his work and when compared with the corresponding parts of the Sanskrit original the improvements made by Ranna can be appreciated. The feature of Ajitha - Purana is the portrait of Attimabbe painted with grateful devotion by Ranna. She was a pious and dutiful Jaina lady famous for her generosity in extending patronage to poets, in erecting temples to the Jina, and in the propagation of Jaina texts. An inscription at Lakkigundi in Dharwar district, probably written by Ranna gives a few more details concerning her religious life. It was for her sake that Ranna wrote the Ajitapurana. Her personality was so pure and noble that the poet has compared her to the sacred waters of the Ganges and to a leap of Snow-White cotton.