Trishashti Shalaka Purusha Caritra

by Helen M. Johnson | 1931 | 742,503 words

This page describes Description of Varanasi which is the second part of chapter V of the English translation of the Suparshvanatha-caritra, contained within the “Trishashti Shalaka Purusha Caritra”: a massive Jain narrative relgious text composed by Hemacandra in the 12th century. Suparshvanatha in jainism is one of the 63 illustrious beings or worthy persons.

Part 2: Description of Vārāṇasī

Now in this Bhāratakṣetra of Jambūdvīpa there is a city Vārāṇasī, the ornament of the Kāśi-country. In its houses with jeweled walls filled with light a lamp, if it is present, is before a god in the eightfold pūjā. There the moon above high golden rods on the shrines attains a resemblance to an umbrella of Dharma possessing the sole umbrella. Vidyādharīs, resting on the watch-towers of its walls, were delighted, forgetting the latticed-windows in the wall around Jambūdvīpa. In its houses the doves coo at night, as if reciting auspicious things for the enlightenment of Rati’s husband (Kāma).

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