Guys Who Bond
Fraternal Love in Hemacandra’s Triṣaṣṭiśalākāpuruṣacarita
Guys Who Bond
Fraternal Love in Hemacandra’s Triṣaṣṭiśalākāpuruṣacarita
Author(s): Gregory M. ClinesSubject(s): Other Language Literature, Cultural Anthropology / Ethnology, Sociology of Culture
Published by: KSIĘGARNIA AKADEMICKA Sp. z o.o.
Keywords: fraternal love; Jain mahāpurāṇa; Sanskrit narrative; baladeva and vāsudeva; Hemacandra; śalākāpuruṣa; saṃsāra;
Summary/Abstract: This article investigates Ācārya Hemacandra‘s 12th-century Sanskrit Triṣaṣṭiśalākāpuruṣacarita (―The Lives of the Sixty-Three Illus- trious Men,‖ TŚPC) to understand how Jain authors depict fraternal love as a durable and covert fetter to the world of transmigratory rebirth and re-death (saṃsāra). By examining the stories of the half-brother baladevas and vāsudevas in the TŚPC, the article identifies three consequentially negative characteristics of fraternal relationships: youthful intimacy, inseparability, and emotional turmoil resulting from the relationship‘s dissolution. Finally, the article examines how the figure of the dispassionate Jina in the TŚPC exemplifies the proper orientation towards brothers.
Journal: Cracow Indological Studies
- Issue Year: 25/2023
- Issue No: 1
- Page Range: 319-342
- Page Count: 24
- Language: English