Raidhu ( IAST: Raidhū; 1393–1489) was an Apabhramsha poet from

Gwalior Gwalior() is a major city in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh; it lies in northern part of Madhya Pradesh and is one of the Counter-magnet cities. Located south of Delhi, the capital city of India, from Agra and from Bhopal, the s ...

, and an important figure in the

Digambara ''Digambara'' (; "sky-clad") is one of the two major schools of Jainism, the other being '' Śvētāmbara'' (white-clad). The Sanskrit word ''Digambara'' means "sky-clad", referring to their traditional monastic practice of neither possessing ...

Jain Jainism ( ), also known as Jain Dharma, is an Indian religion. Jainism traces its spiritual ideas and history through the succession of twenty-four tirthankaras (supreme preachers of ''Dharma''), with the first in the current time cycle being ...

community. He supervised the pratishtha consecration ceremony of many—perhaps most—of the

idols carved on the hill side in the

Gwalior Fort The Gwalior Fort commonly known as the ''Gwāliiyar Qila'', is a hill fort near Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh, India. The fort has existed at least since the 10th century, and the inscriptions and monuments found within what is now the fort campus in ...

during the rule of Tomara rulers Dungarasimha and Kirtisimha.

Biography

Raidhu was born in the Padmavati Purval Jain community, as he himself acknowledged. His birthplace is uncertain, but he appears to have spent most of his life in or around Gwalior. He was a lay disciple of the Jain leader Bramha Shripal, who was a disciple of Bhattaraka Yashahkiriti of

Kashtha Sangha Kashtha Sangha (काष्ठा संघ) was a Digambar Jain monastic order once dominant in several regions of North and Western India. It is considered to be a branch of Mula Sangh itself. It is said to have originated from a town named K ...

. Raidhu was an important figure in the Gwalior court, where he stayed at the invitation of the Tomara king Dungarasimha. He was also a close associate of the Digambara ascetics ( Bhattarakas) who were influential in the Tomara court. Besides, Raidhu was patronized by several wealthy Jain merchants. Raidhu played a central role in connecting these different groups together: he authored religious books for the wealthy merchants, and encouraged them to donate money towards religious causes. Raidhu's powerful and wealthy sponsors helped disseminate his literary works, some of which are lavishly illustrated (e.g. ''Jasodharacariu''). These patrons included Kamalasimha, Yashahkirti, Khelha Brahmachari, Sanghadhipati Nemadasa and Asapati. Kamalasimha started the development of Gwalior as a Jain holy place, with support from the Tomara rulers Dungarasimha and Kirtisimha. The Digambara monk Yashahkirti and Khelha Brahmachari encouraged Raidhu to write ''Sammaijiṇacariu'', a biography of Mahavira. Khelha also commissioned the colossal image of Chandraprabha. Sanghadhipati Nemadasa was a patron of Raidhu's poem ''Puṇṇāsavakahākosa'', and also built a Jain shrine on his recommendation. Asapati was a minister of the Tomara king Dungarasimha.

Jain images

Raidhu was also responsible for consecrating many of the Jain rock carvings inside the fort, as attested by multiple inscriptions. These include the two colossal images of

Adinatha Rishabhanatha, also ( sa, ऋषभदेव), Rishabhadeva, or Ikshvaku is the first (Supreme preacher) of Jainism and establisher of Ikshvaku dynasty. He was the first of twenty-four teachers in the present half-cycle of time in Jain ...

(57 feet) and

Chandraprabha Chandraprabha () is the eighth Tirthankara of ''Avasarpini'' (present half cycle of time as per Jain cosmology). Chandraprabhu was born to King Mahasena and Queen Lakshmana Devi at Chandrapuri to the Ikshvaku dynasty. According to Jain tex ...

. Medieval Jain texts state that certain sacred mountains covered with images of

Jinas In Jainism, a ''Tirthankara'' (Sanskrit: '; English: literally a ' ford-maker') is a saviour and spiritual teacher of the ''dharma'' (righteous path). The word ''tirthankara'' signifies the founder of a '' tirtha'', which is a fordable passa ...

would survive the destruction of the world. Raidhu's poems often mention the

end times Eschatology (; ) concerns expectations of the end of the present age, human history, or of the world itself. The end of the world or end times is predicted by several world religions (both Abrahamic and non-Abrahamic), which teach that nega ...

, and several near-contemporary poets also allude to the end times amid the

Muslim conquests The early Muslim conquests or early Islamic conquests ( ar, الْفُتُوحَاتُ الإسْلَامِيَّة, ), also referred to as the Arab conquests, were initiated in the 7th century by Muhammad, the main Islamic prophet. He estab ...

. Therefore, it appears that the colossal Jain images were intended to ensure the survival of Gopalagiri (the Gwalior fort hill) in the end times.

Literary works

Raidhu composed several poems in Apabhramsha, many of which have survived. He composed many of these poems while living in the Jain temples of Gopalagiri. Raja Ram Jain translated Raidhu's poems into

Hindi Hindi ( Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been ...

language. Raidhu's known works include: * ''Anathmi Kaha'' * ''Appa Samboha Kavva'' ("Addressing myself") * ''Balahadda Chariu'', written at the request of Agrawal Sahu Harsi. * ''Bhadrabāhucariu'' ** An account of Bhadrabahu * ''Dashalakshana Jayamala'' * ''Dhanakumar Chariu'' * ''Jasodhara-Chariu'' * ''Jivandhar Chariu'' * ''Mesehar Chariu'' * ''Puṇṇāsavakahākosa'' (''Punnasava-kahakosa'') ** Composed at the request of Sanghadhipati Nemadasa * ''Ritthanemi Chariu'' * ''Sammaijiṇacariu'' or ''Sammai Jinachariu'' ** A biography of Mahavira, written on the request of Khelha Brahmachari, the son of Agrawal Sahu Tosau of Hisar. The book also gives a history of the family of Sahu Tosau since the time of Feroze Shah. * ''Sammat Gunanihana'' ** written on the request of Goel Agrawal Kamal Singh in sam 1492. * ''Savaya Chariu'' ** Written at the request of

Golalare Golalare (Sanskrit गोलाराडे, Hindi गोलालारे ) is a Jain community of Bhadawar and Bundelkhand region in India. Their original center is the Bhind-Etawah region on the banks of the Chambal river. Some of them have ...

Sandhadhip Kusharaj * ''Shodhashakarana Jayamala'' * ''Siddhantartha Sar'' * ''Siripal Chariu'' * ''Sukaushal Chariu'' * ''Vrattasar'' Some of his texts are still being discovered in Jain libraries. A Raidhu Award, named after him, of Rs. 21,000 is given every year by the Shyamlal Shastri Trust in Firozabad, Uttar Pradesh.

References

Bibliography

* Prof. Raja Ram Jain {{authority control 14th-century Indian poets Hindi-language poets Indian Jain poets 14th-century Indian Jains 15th-century Indian Jains 15th-century Indian poets Hindi-language writers Poets from Madhya Pradesh

Biography

Jain images

Literary works

See also

References

Bibliography