Ādi purāṇa is a 9th-century CE Sanskrit poem composed by Jinasena, a

Digambara monk A Digambara monk or Digambara Sādhu (also ''muni'', ''sādhu'') is a Sādhu in the Digambar tradition of Jainism, and as such an occupant of the highest limb of the four-fold ''sangha''. Digambar Sādhus have 28 primary attributes which inc ...

. It deals with the life of

Rishabhanatha Rishabhanatha (Devanagari: ऋषभनाथ), also Rishabhadeva (Devanagari: ऋषभदेव, ), Rishabha (Devanagari: ऋषभ, ) or Ikshvaku (Devanagari: इक्ष्वाकु, ''Ikṣvāku''), is the first (Supreme preacher) ...

, the first ''

Tirthankara In Jainism, a ''Tirthankara'' (; ) is a saviour and supreme preacher of the ''Dharma (Jainism), dharma'' (righteous path). The word ''tirthankara'' signifies the founder of a ''Tirtha (Jainism), tirtha'', a fordable passage across ''Saṃsā ...

''.

History

Adi Purana was composed by Jinasena (a

) as a

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...

poem praising the life of first ''

'', Rishabhanatha. According to Jain tradition, it was composed in 9th century CE.

Content

The work focusses in his own unique style the pilgrimage of a soul to perfection and attainment of ''mukti''. In the work, the struggle for power and control over the entire world of two brothers Bharata and

Bahubali Bahubali (, ) was the son of Rishabhanatha (the first ''tirthankara'' of Jainism) and the brother of the ''Chakravarti (Sanskrit term), chakravartin'' Bharata (Jainism), Bharata. He is a revered figure in Jainism. He is said to have meditated ...

, sons of Rishabhadeva. While Bahubali wins, he renounces the worldly pursuits in favor of his brother. Many Jaina

Puranas Puranas (Merriam-Webster's Encyclopedia of Literature
(1995 Editio ...

of the Middle Ages found a role model in this work.

Famous quote

A famous quote from Adi Purana is-

Kannada version

A 10th-century

Kannada Kannada () is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly in the state of Karnataka in southwestern India, and spoken by a minority of the population in all neighbouring states. It has 44 million native speakers, and is additionally a ...

text written in ''

Champu Champu or Chapu-Kavya (Devanagari: चम्पू-काव्य) is a genre of literary composition in Indian literature. The word 'Champu' means a combination of poetry and prose. A ''champu-kavya'' consists of a mixture of prose (Gadya-Kav ...

'' style, a mix of prose and verse, dealing with the ten lives of the first

tirthankara In Jainism, a ''Tirthankara'' (; ) is a saviour and supreme preacher of the ''Dharma (Jainism), dharma'' (righteous path). The word ''tirthankara'' signifies the founder of a ''Tirtha (Jainism), tirtha'', a fordable passage across ''Saṃsā ...

, Adinatha in sixteen cantos. This work is known to be the first work of

poet

Adikavi Pampa Pampa (), also referred to by the honorific Ādikavi ("First Poet"), was a Kannada-language Jain poet whose works reflected his philosophical beliefs. He was a court poet of Vemulavada Chalukya king Arikesari II, who was a feudatory of the ...

(941 CE). It is based on the original Sanskrit version by Jinasena acharya. A court poet of

Chalukya The Chalukya dynasty () was a Classical Indian dynasty that ruled large parts of southern and central India between the 6th and the 12th centuries. During this period, they ruled as three related yet individual dynasties. The earliest dynas ...

king Arikesari II, a

Rashtrakuta The Rashtrakuta Empire was a royal Indian polity ruling large parts of the Indian subcontinent between the 6th and 10th centuries. The earliest known Rashtrakuta inscription is a 7th-century copper plate grant detailing their rule from Manapu ...

feudatory, he is most known for his epics, '' Vikramarjuna Vijaya'' (Pampa Bharata) and ''Adipurana'', both written in ''

'' style, which he created and served as the model for all future works in the Kannada. The works of Jain writers Adikavi Pampa, Sri Ponna and Ranna, collectively called the "three gems of

Kannada literature Kannada literature is the Text corpus, corpus of written forms of the Kannada language, which is spoken mainly in the Indian state of Karnataka and written in the Kannada script. Attestations in literature span one and a half millennia, R.S. ...

", heralded the age of classical Kannada in the 10th century, the Medieval Kannada literature.

Notes

References

* * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Adipurana Jain texts Epic poems in Sanskrit Kannada literature 10th-century books Indigenous Aryanism 9th-century Sanskrit literature