Trishashti Shalaka Purusha Caritra
by Helen M. Johnson | 1931 | 742,503 words
This is the English translation of the Trishashti Shalaka Purusha Charita (literally “The lives of the sixty-three illustrious People”), a Sanskrit epic poem written by Hemachandra in the twelfth century. The work relates the history and legends of important figures in the Jain faith. These 63 persons include: the twenty four tirthankaras , the t...
Introduction to volume 1
The Ādīśvaracaritra is the first book of the Triṣaṣṭiśalākāpuruṣacaritra, the Lives of the Sixty-three Famous Men, by the Jain Ācārya Hemacandra, who lived in Gujarat from 1088 to 1172 A.D., It must be one of his latest works, as is evident from the Praśasti to the tenth book, where he enumerates works that he has written for King Kumārapāla, for himself, and for the people.
The biographies of the Triṣaṣṭiśalākāpuruṣacaritra vary greatly in extent and interest. Some consist of little but statistics, quite as dry as thoroughly authentic ones. Others are rich in folk-lore, fiction, exposition of Jain doctrine, etc. The Ādīśvaracaritra is one of the best, containing the biographies of the first Tīrthaṅkara, Ṛṣabha, and the first Cakravartin, Bharata. It is in itself almost a handbook of Jainism; for the lexicographer it has a large amount of new material; and for the student of folk-lore and the origin of customs it gives the Jain tradition, which is very difîerent from the Hindu.