Critical Survey of the Jaina Purāṇas

Summary

The Jaina Purāṇas are narrative texts that retell cosmological and historical stories from a Jain perspective. This survey provides an overview of their themes, structure and evolution. Beginning with the older Harivaṃśa‑Purāṇa of Jinasena, the paper traces how later works such as the Mahāpurāṇa and Triṣaṣṭi‑śalākā‑purāṇa incorporate Jain doctrines into popular mythic cycles. It compares Jain retellings of stories about Rāma and Kṛṣṇa with their Hindu counterparts, highlighting differences in ethical emphasis and cosmology. The author discusses the didactic function of these texts, which combine entertainment with instruction in non‑violence and karma theory. Manuscript traditions and regional variants are surveyed to show how the Purāṇas were adapted over time. The paper also touches on the importance of Jain Purāṇas for art history, noting that sculptural panels and temple murals often depict scenes from these texts. Overall, the survey demonstrates the rich narrative tradition preserved in Jain literature.