The Creation of Holy Places Based on the Muni Suvrata Story in Jaina Hagiographical Literature

Abstract

From around the 4th until the 12th century in the region centering on the states of Gujarat and Rajasthan in western North India, many biographies of the Jain saints were composed. The places where the Tīrthaṃkaras are said to have attained liberation are often regarded as holy places. However, the holy sites of Muni Suvrata, the 20th Tīrthaṃkara, differ from other holy sites.

The holy sites Aśvāvabodha and Śakunikā-vihāra, which are said to have been located in Bhṛgukaccha （Bharuch） in southern Gujarat, are not found in older hagiographies, and some works in later periods do not mention them. This paper aims to identify the references to Suvrata and the holy places in the hagiographical literature, and speculates on the reasons for the biased references to them.

The results show two strains of hagiographical literature: one that mainly uses the Jain Maharashtri language and tries to create a new Jain movement, and the other that mainly uses the Sanskrit and Apabhraṃśa languages in traditional style. This paper suggested that the former lineage led to the Old Gujarati literature from the 12th century onward.