10.3. Beliefs (in ancient India)

[Full title: Manners, Customs and Beliefs (in ancient India); (3): Beliefs]

The evidences available in the Paumacariya reveal that the people of ancient India had great faith in astrology, fatalism, prophecies, omens, auguries, portents, dreams and supernatural elements and their life was immensely influenced by these things. Astrology: Astrology was based on astronomical calculations. There are references to astronomical terms such as 'tithi', 'lagna', 'karana', 'yoga' and 'muhurta' (25.7; 8.8). They were all calculated on the particular position of planets and naksatras. They played an important part in the daily life of the people. It was the faith of the people that a particular time was either auspicious or inauspicious. The auspicious time was considered to be good and profitable while the inauspicious one was regarded as harmful and disadvantageous. Therefore any new work was started accordingly. Thus Paumacariya mentions that marriages were performed on auspicious occasions (nakkhatte sohane 6.27; sutihisunakkhattakaranalaggammi 15.95). Journey for marriage (subbhalaggakaranajoe 8.8) or trade (suhanakkhatte karanajutte 5.84) was commenced on the same consideration. Rama is said to have marched to Lanka on an auspicious occasion (suhakaranalaggajoe 54.28) and he bacame victorious. On the other hand Ravana commenced his march to the battlefield when the stars were adverse

SOCIAL CONDITIONS 381 adverse (nakkhattabalavimukko gahesu accantakudilavantesu 69.54), therefore, he brought about his own doom. The birth-time i. e. the planetary position of the new-born child. was recorded to calculate in advance the future of the child. Thus Rama is said to have taken birth on 'sohanetithimuhutte" (25.7) and in the case of the birth of Hanumat, the complete horoscope of his birth time is given in the Paumacariya (17.106-112). The benedictory remarks also indicated how the people had faith in the efficacy of the position of planets and stars.2 Falalism: Some painful event or calamity was generally assigned to some divinity or fate by the people. Thus Vaidehi blames divinity (daiva) or fate (vidhi) when her daughter Sita is forcibly demanded in marriage by Candragati for his son (28.89, 91). Anjanasundari considers that is was on account of her own fate (vidhi) that she was exiled by her mother-in-law (17. 31). Candranakha attributes the case of the death of her son, Sambuka to fate (pavavihi 43. 32). Sita finds fault with fate (vidhi 101. 12) and says that it was the cause of her public censure and exile. Prophecy:-The prophecies made by the soothsayers and the monks had great influence on the social and political life of the people. Thus the Paumacariya reveals that a certain mother becomes very happy to learn that two sons would be born to her (41. 42). A queen celebrates in advance the occasion of her husband's return (74. 34). Anjana gets some solace when she learns that she would reunite with her separated husband (17. 73). Many marriages are performed in accordance with some prophecies (5. 68; 8.161; 10.64; 51. 16. 8). With a mere apprehension of being reborn in hell, according to a prophecy, one renounced the world and became a monk (11.12). In the political field it was on account of the belief in prognostications that Ravana reoccupied Lanka (7. 169), Laksmana lifted up 'kotisila' (48. 99) and Vibhisana attempted to assassinate Dasaratha (23. 10)³. Nimitta and Sakuna:-There are regular reference to atthanganimittadhara (51.16) i.e. the interpretors of signs, omens and dreams, who were consulted by the people on various occasions and their predictions were believed by them. These eight nimittas are said to be the ན. 3. See 79.7 also. gahanukula hotu 53. 148; rakkhantu bhaviyaloyam, suraiyagaha aparisesa 118. 115. See 48. 86 also.

382 A CRITICAL STUDY OF PAUMACARIYAM earthquake, portentous phenomena, dreams, various colour and forms of the sky, throbbing of the limbs, chirping of the birds, characteristics of the parts of body and the signs of distinction' on body. The Paumacariya records that they were of two types i. e. auspicious (pasattha sauna 54. 32) or inauspicious (dunnimittaim 70. 5; 94. 36; avasauna 6. 140; pavasauna 44.38; saunaya vivariya 7.17). If somebody observed auspicious ones, it was considered that they brought success in any undertaking or victory in the battle while the inauspicious ones were the signs of failure, defeat or death. Therefore, the people before undertaking any new work or commencing their journey did not forget to observe whether the omens were favourable or adverse. These omens and auguries were associated with various factors such as birds, animals, human beings, worldly objects and natural phenomena. The Paumacariya mentions the following good omens which indicated success and victory. The crowing of a crow on a resinous tree (khirarukkha) on the left side (34. 37) and flapping its feathers (54. 31) denoted victory and success. The sight of a white horse of good breed and the neighing of a horse was an auspicious augury (54. 29-30). The sight of a woman wearing ornaments (54. 29) was regarded auspicious. The sight of a parasol (chatta), or a pitcher (kalasa) or a new arch (ahinava torana 54. 30) was considered to be favourable." The hearing of the sound of a drum (bheri) or a conch was an auspicious augury (54. 31). The blowing of fragrant breeze 7 (54. 30) or the sight of the fire without any smoke and its flames bending towards the right side (dahinavatto 54. 29) was considered to be advantageous. omens. The following have been referred to in the Paumacariya as inauspicious The crowing of a crow on a dry tree and flapping its wings on the right side (94. 35) was considered to be inauspicious. If a crow made. 1. 'Bhome uppate suvine antalikkhe ange sare lakkhane vanjane' Sthananga, 8. 608: 2. See Br-Samh, 95. 1.33; 86. 17 and Susruta Samhita (Sutrasthanam), 29. 30. 31). 3. Br.Samh, 86. 45; Su-Samh. (Sut. 29. 27, 28). 4. Su-Samh. (Sut. 29. 26). 5. Ibid, (29. 25). 6. Ibid. 29, 28) & Bra. Sam. 86. 23). 7. Su-Samh. (Sut. 29 26-28).

SOCIAL CONDITIONS 383 sound on a bitter tree (kaduyarukkha) on the left side, it indicated a quarrel (34. 36).¹ The sight of a crane (sarasa), a satapatra bird, a crow, an ass, a horse, a bull or a jackal making noise on the right side indicated defeat (7.16). The crossing of one's path by a black serpent 2 (70.6) was regarded inauspicious and foreboded defeat. The sight of a weeping women with her hair undressed and looking up at the sun was a bad omen (94.36)³. The obstruction of one's movement by the strike of another's leg (70.6) or the falling down of upper garment or breaking down of the parasol 4 (70.8) of the king were regarded as inauspicious and they indicated defeat. The throbbing of the right eye of a woman prognosticated some trouble (93.2). In Sita's case this augury came true as she was exiled. It depended on the mental attitude of a person whether he considered some thing auspicious or inauspicious. Thus the Paumacariya tells that the sight of a Jaina monk was regarded to be auspicious by Rama when he commenced his march to Lanka from Kiskindhipura (54.30), but a hunter who despised Jaina monks considered the seeing of a Jaina monk as inauspicious (6.140). The latter belief is corroborated by the Susruta Samhita (Sutrasthanam 29.46). The Bhadrabahu Samhita observes that the result of seeing a monk depended upon the out look of the person who saw him (13.76). Besides these the Paumacariya mentions some dreadful phenomenal occu rrences (uppayadaruna 69.47-53). They were observed on the occasion of Ravana's final march to the batllefield. These occurrences foreboded defeat and death of a king (desahivassa maranain) and so Ravana was killed in this battle. They are indicated below: 1. The sun turned intolerably scorching (akko auhasariso); 2. The sky was observed to be variegated or a shaggy halo surrounded the sun (pariveso ambare pharusavanno);7 3. The moon suddenly disappeared; 4. The fire-brands of the hew of blood lighted the eastern direction 8; See Br-Samh. 95. 56; 95.37 & Sushruta Samhita, (Sut. 29. 32-33). 1. 2. See Bhadrabahu Samhita, 13,62, 3. See Su-Samh, (Sut, 29.12). 4' See Bhadrabahu Samhita, 14,55. 5, Sec Sakuntalam, p. 161, vide, India in Kalidasa; (B.S. Upadhyaya) 1947, p. 330. 6. These occurrences & their efficacy can be corroborated from other works as follows. 7, Br-Samh, 34.5-9; Bhadrabahu Samhita, 4.13. 8. I did, 43. 14-10; Bhadrabahu Samhita, 3. 16-19.

384 A CRITICAL STUDY OF PAUMACARIYAM 5. There was a shower of blood.¹ 6. There occurred a sudden earthquake² and 7. A terrible storm.³ 8. Big trees were uprooted;' 9. Peaks of mountains were falling down and 10. The lakes were drying up³. 11. The crows were crowing (vasanti karayararavam) harshly looking up at the sun; 12. The jackals were howling in the north emitting fire sparks from their mouth;" 13. The horses were neighing harshly and were trembling their necks;8 14. The elephants were trumpeting fright-fully and striking the earth with their trunks and finally, 16. The idols of the deities were shedding tears.10. Dreams:-Similarly the ancient people had great faith in the efficacy of dreams. The traditional belief was that the birth of a great person was associated with some auspicious dream-visions and the mothers of the sixty-three illustrious persons of the Jaina mythology saw some dream-objects infallibly at the time of conceiving the embryos. of those persons. It is mentioned in the Paumacariyam that Marudevi and Padmavati at the time of conceiving the embryos of Tirthankara and Munisuvrata respectively Rsabha saw fourteen dreams. (caudasasumine 21.1) The objects of those dreams were an elephant (gaya), a bull (vasaha), a lion (siha), the Laksmi (abhiseya or varasiri), a flower-garland (dama), the moon (sasi), the sun (dinayara), a flag (jhaya), a pitcher (kumbha), a lotus-lake (paumasara), the sea (sagara), a heavenly palace (vimana-bhavana), a heap of gems (rayanuccaya) and the fire (sihi) (3.62 and 21.13). Aparajita (25.2) at the time of conceiving in her womb, the embryo of Padma (Rama), the eighth Baladeva, had the dream-visions of four objects viz, a bright-flower 1. Br-Samh, 46, 40, 43. 2. Ibid, 32.32; Bhadrabahu Samhita, 13.70; 14, 49. 3. Ibid, 39.2; Ibid, 13.70; 14; 49. 4. Ibid, 46.25; Ibid, 14,42; 5. Ibid, 46,50; Ibid, 13.121. 6. Br-Samh, Ch, 95. 7. Ibid, Gh, 90. 8. Ibid, 93. 5; Bhadrabahu Samhita, 14 157. 9. Bhadrabahu Samhita, 13. 161, 10' Br-Samh, 46, 8,

SOCIAL CONDITIONS 385 (varakusumakundavannam), a lion the sun and the moon. Sumitra (25. 4) on the occasion of conceiving the embryo of Laksmana, the eighth Vasudeva, saw in her dream four objects viz. Laksmi holding lotuses in her hands, the moon, the sun and further found herself seated on the peak of a hill wherefrom she could observe the land stretching up to the sea. Kekasi (7. 78), the mother of Ravana, the eighth Prativasudeva saw in her dream-visions a lion entering her belly and the rising moon and the sun. These accounts of the Paumacariyam are corroborated by the evidences from other Jaina works. The Bhagavati sutra (16. 6.579) and the Nayadhammakahao (I. p. 9) mentions that the mothers of Tirthankaras or Cakravartins saw fourteen dreams out of the thirty great dreams (tisamahasuvinanam). The Nayadhammakaho,¹ the Kalpasutra² and the Trishashti Shalaka Purusha-caritra 3 agree with the names of the fourteen objects mentioued in the Paumacariyam as quoted above. But the Digambara tradition holds that sixteen dream-objects were seen by the mothers of the Tirthankaras. Two more objects in addition to the fourteen objects (except a flag for which the Digambara works mention a fish-jhasa) mentioned above are royal seat (semhasanam) and a palace of the king of snakes (Phanindrabhavanam). It has been already stated above that the Paumacariyam (25.4) mentions four objects in connection with the dream-visions of the mother of a Vasudeva. These objects are-Laksmi, the moon, the sun and the sea. This number of four does not agree wilh the Bhagavatisutra (16. 6. 579) and Nayadhammakahao (I. p. 9) which mention seven objects. Hemacandra" also mentions seven objects viz. an elephant, a lion, the sun, the moon, the fire, Sri and the sea. As regards the Digambara tradition the Uttarapurana attributes five objects, i. e. a rice-field and a lion in addition to those of the Paumacariyam except Laksmi. Ravisena refers to five objects viz. a lion being sprinkled by Laksmi, the sea, the sun and a wheel decked with jewels. Puspadanta mentions one object only, i. e. a lion while in the case of Trprstha Vasudeva⁹ two objects viz. the moon and the sun are mentioned. 1. 1. p. 9. 2. Kalpa Su 4, & 32-47 or 4. 66-87 ? 3. Vol I, p. 100 & 148 of Trishashti Shalaka Purusha-caritra 4, Adipurana, 12. 103f; See also Mahapurana, 3. 6, for Rsabha and 38. 12 for Ajita. 5. Trishashti Shalaka Purusha-caritra, IV. p, 193. 6. Gunabhadra, 67. 151. 7. Paumacariya, 25. 13. 8. Mahapurana 69. 12. 9. Ibid. 50. 12, 9. & for Dviprstha-54. 8. 7. 25

386 A CRITICAL STUDY OF PAUMACARIYAM According to the Paumacariya the mother of Baladeva (Rama) Padma saw four objects viz. a flower, a lion, the sun and the moon. The number of objects agree with the Bhagavatisutra¹ and the Nayadhammakahao, but the flower is not mentioned in those works. Hemacandra³ mentions an elephant in place of the flower. The Digambara author Ravisena agrees with the Paumacariyam as regards the number of the objects, but mentions an elephant in place of the flower. Puspadanta refers to three objects only, viz. the sun and the moon wtih the birth of other Baladevas namely, Vijaya and Acala". 5 As regards the dream-visions of the mother of a Prativasudeva, the Paumacariyam has mentioned three objects, viz. a lion, the moon, and the sun. These objects also indicated that two more sons would be born, besides Ravana. Hemacandra mentions a lion in the dream-vision of Mandodari. Ravisena¹ agrees with the Paumacariyam while Puspadanta¹¹ refers to Laksmi and the sun. 8} The above evidences prove that the Svetambara and the Digambara works differ as regards the number and the name of the objects of dream-visions. But it can be strongly maintained that the ancient people had their implicit faith in the dream-visions which were believed to be associated with the sixty-three illustrious persons of the Jaina mythology. Besides the illustrious persons the birth of some other great persons was also indicated by some dreams. Thus it is said in the Paumacariyam that the birth of Kumbhakarna and Vibhisana was indicated by the vision of the moon and the sun to Kekasi (7.78f). Sita's beholding of two Sarabhas in her dream indicated that she would give birth to two great handsom sons (92.2). That some dream was associated with the birth of a great person can be corroborated by the Bhagavatisutra¹² 1. Bhagavati-sutra, 16. 6. 579. 2. Naja, I. p. 9. 3. Trishashti Shalaka Purusha-caritra, Vol. IV. p. 193. 4. 25. 3. 5. Mahapurana, 69, 12. 6. Ibid. 50. 12. 9. 7. Ibid. 54. 8. 7. 8, 7.81. 9. Trishashti Shalaka Purusha-caritra, IV. 10. Paumacariya, 7.80. 11. Mahapurana, 70. 4. 6. 12. 16, 6. 579.

SOCIAL CONDITIONS 387 and the Nayadhammakahao¹ also which state that the mothers of Mandalikas see one of the fourteen great dreams. ' The dream-visions of Marudevi, Padmavati, Aparajita and Kekasi are called auspicious (pasattha 3.61; pavarasumine 25.1) because they signified the birth of illustrious persons. There were dreams which depicted evil consequences also. For example the dream-objects observed by Kekasi signified that her first son would be a cruel one (kurakammakari 7.83). In the case of Sita the falling of the Sarabhas from the heavely abode was interpreted to be not well and agreeable (na ya sundaram 92.5). The traditional belief of the people in the dreams can be corroborated by some non-Jaina works also. The Buddhist Jatakatthakatha (Nidana) reveals that Maya saw in her dream a white elephant entering her womb on the occasion of conceiving the embryo of Lord Buddha. The Mahasupina (No. 77) Jataka records that king Pasenadi propitiated to do away with the evil consequences of dream depicting a great danger. The The Hindu Padmapurana³ refers to the dreams of the queens of Dasaratha. After taking the 'payasa' they saw Hari in their dream (Janardana pitavasa) which indicated the birth of great sons. Raghuvamsa mentions that the queens of Dasaratha on the occasion of the birth of the parts of Visnu in the form of embryos in their wombs dreamt that a dwarf holding a lotus, a sword, a mace, a bow and a discus was guarding them; that they were being dragged away in the sky by an eagle, that Laksmi was serving them with a fan made of lotuses and the Saptarsis were attending upon them. All these visions signified that Visnu would be born in the form of four sons of Dasaratha. Other Beliefs :-Some other beliefs which were in vogue at that time can be mentioned as follows: The placing of a lamp, the bull and the elephant on the occasion of marriage was believed to be supremly auspicious (10.8). Catching hold of the ancestral magic necklace by a new-born child was considered to be auspicious and it indicated that the child would become a great man (7.194). 1. I. p. 9. 2. I. p. 50ff. See Buddhacarita, 1.4. also. 3. Uttarakhanda Ch. 269, 4. Raghu, X. 60--63.

388 A CRITICAL STUDY OF PAUMACARIYAM Mustard seeds were thrown in the four quarters to offset the effect of evil spirits for the protection of the new-born children (97.10). For the same purpose a string of the nails of tigers was worn by the children (97.10). Jaina worship was performed to avert the conseque nces of a bad augury (93.6). Deities were invoked for the safety of life (63.1). It was a general belief that some deities spread epidemic (63.68) and it could subside by the mere arrival of pious monks (89.40) in the affected area. The poisonous effect of a snake-bite could be nullified by touching the feet of a pious monk possessing some supernatural powers (77.93). Bath water of a woman born with some divine qualities could cure diseases (63.29-31). Fever could be cured by the mere sprinkling of water by a chaste woman (22. 67). It is stated that the effects of snake bite, evil spirits and diseases (gahabhuyoragapisayavahio nasei 48. 85) could be cured by a medicinal bracelet (vejjakadaya). The (mantras) chants were also used as a means of treating the ailing persons (22. 64; 81. 12; 110. 27). It was believed that one possessed some superhuman power on account of the penances performed in his previous life (64.31, 49). Deeds of the past life were considered to be responsible for the consequences of the present life and even the deities could not undo them (45.35). D. Lucky Physical Characteristics In the Paumacariya (2. 15-18) some lucky physical characteristics of king Srenika are given. It was believed that great men possessed these characteristics. Ravana is also said to have 32 such characteristics (battisasulakkhanasamaggo Paumacariya, 11. 105-6). Further the residents of Bhogabhumis are mentioned to be possessing 64 auspicions physical characteristics (Causatthilakkhanadhara Paumacariya, 102.130). The Jambudivapannatti (Su. 29) also corroborates it. In the Fivajivabhigama (Su. 111, 147) one can find details about these characteristics.