Kṣṇa and his rivals in the Hindu and Jaina traditions

Abstract

Abstract This paper compares the relationship between thevāsudevaK r̥ ṣṇa and hisprativāsudevarival Jarāsandha in the Jaina tradition (primarily in Hemacandra'sTriṣaṣṭiśalākāpuruṣacarita) with K r̥ ṣṇa Vāsudeva's rivalries with Jarāsandha, Śiśupāla and Pauṇḍraka in theMahābhārataand Hindupurāṇas. Three main points arising from this comparison are proposed. First, the Jainas conflated characteristics of the Hindu figures Jarāsandha, Śiśupāla and Pauṇḍraka in order to create a new Jarāsandha, who was now a single powerful nemesis for K r̥ ṣṇa. Second, this new relationship between K r̥ ṣṇa and Jarāsandha provided the template for a new class of Illustrious Beings (śalākāpuruṣas) in the Jaina Universal History: the recurring and paradigmaticvāsudevasandprativāsudevas. And third, this evolution of K r̥ ṣṇa mythology in the Jaina tradition may have influenced the parallel development in the Hindu tradition, including the creation of thevaiṣṇavatenavatārasdoctrine, and the expansion of the purāṇic mythology surrounding both Jarāsandha and Śiśupāla.

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