A History of Sanskrit Literature c22.s2.7

c22.s2.7

To a Jain of the same century, a contemporary of the Rāṣṭrakūṭa Kṛṣṇa and protégé of his feudatory, a son of the Cālukya Arikesarin II, we owe the much more important work, *Yaçastilaka*,¹ written in 959. Somadeva was a Digambara Jain and he wrote, as did all Jains, with an eye to the salvation of mankind by means of the Jain faith, and in fact the last three sections of his book serve as a manual of lessons for laymen. The tale itself, however, is not at all dull. In the rich Yodheya country there was a city Rājapura ruled by Māridatta, a sensualist, who has decided on the advice of his family priest to offer to the goddess of the family, Caṇḍamāri-devatā, a pair of all living things, including human beings. He is ready to sacrifice when there come before him an ascetic pair, boy and girl, who have been induced to come to the place of sacrifice; at the sight of them the darkness passes away from his mind. At this point the author, with an awkward transition, explains their presence; an ascetic, Sudatta, has just arrived at the outskirts of the town, and rejecting a garden for its excitements to love, and a burning place as needlessly repulsive, has taken up his abode on a small hill. In his train are two young people, the children of Māridatta’s own sister by Yaçomati, son of king Yaçodhara, and the sage, knowing the future, sends them where he knows the royal guards will accost them and take them to the king for sacrifice.