A History of Indian Literature v2.c20.s3.27

v2.c20.s3.27

Somewhat later than the last-named, and far more celebrated, is the great Hemacandra,¹ also called Hemācārya, the pupil of Devacandra. He was one of the most versatile and prolific of writers, and worked in the most varied domains, both as a poet and a scholar. It is due to him that Gujarat became a main stronghold of the Śvetāmbara Jainas and has remained so for centuries, and that Jaina literature flourished so exceedingly there in the 12th and 13th centuries. He was not, however, only the author of Jinistic works, but, in addition, he provided his co-religionists with important text-books on temporal branches of learning (grammar, lexicography, poetics and metrics), so that he was called “the Omniscient of the Kali Age” (Kalikālasarvajña). He was born at Dhundhūka, a town in the neighbourhood of Ahmedabad (Gujarat) in 1089 A.D. as the son of a merchant. His parents were pious Jainas, and in his early childhood he was already destined for the life of a monk. As a Jaina teacher he spent the greater part of his life in the capital of Gujarat. His patron was at first the Caulukya king Jayasiṁha Siddharāja (1094-1143). This king favoured literature and science, and was a devout worshipper of Śiva, but he was so much devoted to philosophy that he called teachers of various sects to his court. Among these teachers was Hemacandra, who, owing to his great erudition, not only attracted the attention of the king, but attempted to win the king’s sympathy for the Jaina religion; with a view to achieving this end, he made it his business to emphasize more specially the points of agreement between the Jaina religion and authoritative Brahmanical works. Jayasiṁha’s successor was Kumārapāla, who was originally also a devotee of Śiva, but was converted to Jinism by Hemacandra. After his conversion, which is said to have taken place in 1159 A.D., he endeavoured to make Gujarat a model Jaina state. He personally renounced the sport of hunting, and prohibited in his entire realm the slaughter of animals, the eating of meat and the drinking of intoxicants, dice-playing, animal fights and betting. In addition he erected Jaina temples, and favoured the literary and scientific efforts of the Jainas. During the reign of these two kings Jayasiṁha and Kumārapāla, Hemcandra enjoyed a period of intense literary productivity. He died in the year 1172 A.D. at the age of 83 years.