Shared Characters in Jain, Buddhist and Hindu Narrative: Gods, Kings and Other Heroes

229 Pages·2016·12.767 MB·English

by  Naomi Appleton

i
Shared Characters in Jain, Buddhist

and Hindu Narrative
Taking a comparative approach which considers characters that are shared across
the narrative traditions of early Indian religions (Brahmanical Hinduism, Jainism
and Buddhism) Shared Characters in Jain, Buddhist and Hindu Narrative explores key
religious and social ideals, as well as points of contact, dialogue and contention
between different worldviews. The book focuses on three types of character – gods,
heroes and kings – that are of particular importance to early South Asian narrative
traditions because of their relevance to the concerns of the day, such as the role of
deities, the qualities of a true hero or good ruler and the tension between worldly
responsibilities and the pursuit of liberation. Characters (including character roles
and lineages of characters) that are shared between traditions reveal both a common
narrative heritage and important differences in worldview and ideology that are
developed in interaction with other worldviews and ideologies of the day. As such,
this study sheds light on an important period of Indian religious history, and will
be essential reading for scholars and postgraduate students working on early South
Asian religious or narrative traditions ( Jain, Buddhist and Hindu) as well as being
of interest more widely in the fields of Religious Studies, Classical Indology, Asian
Studies and Literary Studies.
Naomi Appleton is Senior Lecturer in Asian Religions at the University of
Edinburgh. Her major research interest is the role of story in the com munication
and construction of religious ideas in South and Southeast Asia. She is the author
of Narrating Karma and Rebirth: Buddhist and Jain Multi- life Stories (2014) and
J taka Stories in Therav da Buddhism (2010) as well as a number of articles on
ā ā
related themes. She has also published translations of early Buddhist narrative
collections.
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Dialogues in South Asian Traditions: Religion, Philosophy,

Literature and History
Series Editors:
Laurie Patton, Middlebury College, USA
Brian Black, Lancaster University, UK
Face-to-face conversation and dialogue are defining features of South Asian
traditional texts, rituals and practices. Not only has the region of South Asia
always consisted of a multiplicity of peoples and cultures in communication
with each other, but also performed and written dialogues have been indelible
features within the religions of South Asia; Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism,
Sikhism, and Islam are all multi-vocal religions. Their doctrines, practices, and
institutions have never had only one voice of authority, and dialogue has been
a shared tactic for negotiating contesting interpretations within each tradition.
This series examines the use of the dialogical genre in South Asian religious
and cultural traditions. Historical inquiries into the plurality of religious identity
in South Asia, particularly when constructed by the dialogical genre, are crucial
in an age when, as Amartya Sen has recently observed, singular identities seem
to hold more destructive sway than multiple ones. This series approaches
dialogue in its widest sense, including discussion, debate, argument, conversation,
communication, confrontation, and negotiation. Opening up a dynamic
historical and literary mode of analysis, which assumes the plural dimensions of
religious identities and communities from the start, this series challenges many
outdated assumptions and representations of South Asian religions.
Titles in the series:
Hindu and Buddhist Ideas in Dialogue
Self and No-Self
Edited by Irina Kuznetsova, Jonardon Ganeri and Chakravarthi Ram-Prasad
The Ethics of Sankara and Sa﻽ntideva
A Selfless Response to an Illusory World
Warren Lee Todd
Dialogue in Early South Asian Religions
Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain Traditions
Edited by Brian Black and Laurie Patton
Shared Characters in Jain, Buddhist and Hindu Narrative
Gods, Kings and Other Heroes
Naomi Appleton
iii
Shared Characters in Jain,

Buddhist and Hindu Narrative
Gods, Kings and Other Heroes
Naomi Appleton
First published 2017
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
and by Routledge
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2017 Naomi Appleton
The right of Naomi Appleton to be identified as author of this work has been asserted
by her in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and
Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in
any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter
invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or
retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered
trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without
intent to infringe.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloguing in Publication Data
Names: Appleton, Naomi, 1982– author.
Title: Shared characters in Jain, Buddhist, and Hindu narrative :
gods, kings, and other heroes / by Naomi Appleton.
Description: New York : Routledge, 2016. |
Series: Dialogues in South Asian traditions: religion, philosophy,
literature, and history | Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2016027949| ISBN 9781472484451 (hardback) |
ISBN 9781315608860 (ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: India–Religion–To 1200. | Gods, Indic. | India–Kings and
rulers–Religious aspects. | Heroes–Religious aspects | Heroes–India. |
Jainism–India. | Buddhism–India. | Brahmanism–India.
Classification: LCC BL2005 .A67 2016 | DDC 294–dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016027949
ISBN: 978- 1- 4724-8 445- 1 (hbk)
ISBN: 978- 1- 315- 60886- 0 (ebk)
Typeset in Bembo Std
by Out of House Publishing
v
For Anas Jarjour
vi
vii
Contents

List of figures ix

List of key texts xi

Acknowledgements xv

1 Introduction 1

Historical and religious context 2
Methods and sources 11
Sources and dates 12
Overview of sources 13
The audiences 15
A shared narrative universe 18
2 Indra, king of the gods 25

Indra as a reformed character 27
Indra in the service of jinas and buddhas 32
Indra as supportive of good humans 35
Indra as tester of virtues 38
Multiple Indras – is Indra replaceable? 45
Conclusion 50
3 Brahmā or Brahmās 57
Brahmanical Brahmā 58
Brahmā, Ṛṣabha and the origins of society 61
Brahmā, Brahmās and the Brahmā heavens 64
Buddhist Brahmā gods 65
Deluded Brahmās 66
Supportive Brahmās 69
Brahmā entreats the Buddha to teach 71
Brahmā in Indian religious history 74
Conclusion 76
4 Viṣṇu, Rāma and Kṛṣṇa 82
Viṣṇu as an inclusivity tool 83
viii
viii Contents
Competing worlds 86
Jain tales of Rāma and Kṛṣṇa 91
Buddhist tales of Rāma and Kṛṣṇa 95
Conclusion 100
5 Mothers of heroic sons 107

Part 1: The mothers 108
Mothers in the Rāmāyaṇa 109
Mothers in the Mahābhārata 111
Mothers of the Buddha 114
Mothers of jinas 119
Part 2: The motifs 122
Miraculous mothers 122
Multiple mothers 125
Mothers as powerful, mothers as pioneers 127
Maternal grief 129
Conclusion 130
6 The renouncing royals of  V ideha 137

Part 1: The motifs 139
King Nimi and the grey hair 139
The four kings 140
‘Though Mithilā may be on fire …’ 146
Part 2: The lineage 151
Kingship and renunciation 152
Janaka and renunciation in Brahmanical literature 154
What about the women? 158
Playing with motifs and lineages: The story of King Arindama 159
Lineages of buddhas 161
Conclusion 162
7 Conclusion 170

Literary characters and religious ideas 170
Gods as shared characters 171
Patterns of intervention 173
Models of heroism 173
Shared characters, shared histories 175
Shared characters and the inter- religious encounter 175
The history of early Indian religions 179
Conclusion 183
Bibliography 187

Index 207
ix
Figures

1.1 Map showing major early Indian kingdoms/r ealms and
their capitals, c. 500– 450 BCE. 3
1.2 Ashokan pillar, topped with an Asiatic lion, at Vaishali, Bihar. 4

2.1 Indra conveys Ṛṣabha Jina on his elephant Airāvata. Folio
from a Bhakt mara Stotra manuscript, Gujarat, c. 1800– 1825. 33
ā
2.2 Indra takes disguise as a brahmin and asks for Vessantara’s
wife. Painted khoi manuscript, mid eighteenth century,
Central Thailand. 42

2.3 Indra paying homage to Kṛṣṇa. Folio from a Bhāgavata
Pur a manuscript, Madhya Pradesh, c. 1640. 47
āṇ
3.1 Brahmā, Viṣṇu and Śiva depicted together at cave 29,
Ellora, Maharashtra, c. sixth century CE. 60
3.2 Ṛṣabha Jina. White marble sculpture, Vadodara (Baroda),
Gujarat, 1612 (?). 62

3.3 Brahmā offers robes and a bowl to the renouncing Buddha-
to-b e. Wat Pratusan, Suphanburi province, Thailand. 70

4.1 The ten avatāras of  Viṣṇu on a Pala period bronze. 84
4.2 Multiple jina statues adorn a cave on the approach to
Gwailor Fort, Madhya Pradesh. 87

4.3 Multiple buddhas adorn a st pa at Bodh Gaya, Bihar. 89
ū
5.1 Birth of Bharata, Lakṣmaṇa and Śatrughna. Folio from a
R m ya a manuscript, Madhya Pradesh, 1634– 50. 110
ā ā ṇ
5.2 The birth of the Buddha, who is held by Brahmā as Indra
pays homage to Māyā. Painted khoi manuscript, mid
eighteenth century, Central Thailand. 116

5.3 On the order of Śakra, Harinaigameṣin brings the embryo
of Jina Mahāvīra to Queen Triśalā, Folio from a Kalpasūtra
manuscript, Rajasthan, mid seventeenth century. 121

6.1 Janaka and his wife see a fletcher making an arrow
straight. Janaka- j taka, terracotta tile, Ananda Temple,
ā
Pagan, Myanmar, late eleventh or early twelfth century. 147

6.2 Janaka- j taka at Wat No Phutthangkun/ Wat Makham No,
ā
Suphanburi province, Thailand. 150