The ''Nivvāṇalīlāvaīkahā'' (Nivvāṇa-līlāvaī-kahā) 'Story of the Final Emancipation of Līlāvatī' composed in 1036 by Jineshvarasuri, a

Śvetāmbara The Śvetāmbara (; also spelled Shwetambara, Shvetambara, Svetambara or Swetambara) is one of the two main branches of Jainism, the other being the Digambara. ''Śvetāmbara'' in Sanskrit means "white-clad", and refers to its ascetics' practi ...

Jain monk of

Kharatara Gaccha Kharatara Gaccha is one of Śvetāmbara Murtipujaka Gacchas. It is also called the Vidhisangha (the Assembly) or Vidhimarga (Path of Proper Conduct), as they regard their practices as scripturally correct. History Kharatara Gaccha was founde ...

. The work was composed in Jain Maharashtri, a

Prakrit Prakrit ( ) is a group of vernacular classical Middle Indo-Aryan languages that were used in the Indian subcontinent from around the 5th century BCE to the 12th century CE. The term Prakrit is usually applied to the middle period of Middle Ind ...

language. Jineshvarasuri was a reformist of lax monasticism, and his work was considered highly conducive to liberation.
The primary purpose of Jain narrative literature was to edify lay people through amusement; consequently the stories are racy, and in some cases the moralising element is rather tenuous. The main feature of Jain narrative literature is its concern with past and future lives. There developed a genre of soul biography, the histories, over a succession of rebirths, of a group of characters who exemplified the vices of anger, pride, deceit, greed and delusion.
A Sanskrit abridgement of ''Nivvāṇalīlāvaīkahā'' was made by Jinaratnasuri, pupil of Jineshvarasuri, by the title '' Līlāvatīsāra''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nivvanalilavaikaha Jain texts

See also

References