Banarasidas ARDHAKATHANAK (A Half Story) Page 14
Jati A Jain ascetic
Janeu The sacred thread worn by brahmins
Jasu, Jasu Sahu Amarsi’s brother, an Oswal from Delhi
Jauna Shah According to Banarasi, the founder and first ruler of Jaunpur. Jauna Shah was the son of Gazi Tughlaq, the first Tughlaq emperor. His real name was Muhammad Fakhruddin Jauna. In 1325, he ascended the throne in Delhi as ‘Sultan Nasir Uldin Muhammad Shah’, becoming the second Tughlaq emperor. He is better known as Muhammad Bin Tughlaq. He was succeeded by his cousin Feroz Shah Tughlaq in 1351. According to Banarasi, Jauna Shah founded the city of Jaunpur, and named it after himself. In reality, the city was established by Feroz Shah Tughlaq in CE 1360. He named the new city ‘Jaunpur’ after his cousin Jauna Shah (see ‘Jaunpur’s nine rulers’).
Jaunpur A city on the banks of the Gomti River
Jaunpur’s nine rulers According to Banarasidas, Jaunpur had been ruled by nine independent sultans. He lists them in the following order: Jauna Shah, Bawakkar Shah, Surhar Sultan, Dost Muhammad, Shah Nizam, Shah Birahim, Shah Hussain, Gazi Sajjit Sain and Bakhiya Sultan.
Jaunpur’s true history is quite different from Banarasi’s version. Jaunpur was founded in CE 1360 by Feroz Shah Tughlaq. He appointed his vazir Malik Sarvar as governor of Jaunpur. Malik Sarvar continued in his post after the death of Feroz Shah in 1388, finally declaring independence from the Sultanate in Delhi in 1398. This was the beginning of the Sharqi dynasty. Malik Sarvar ruled till CE 1399. After him, the Sharqi sultans were: Malik Qaranful Mubarak Shah (1399–1401), Ibrahim Shams-ud-din (1401–40), Mahmud Shah (1440–58), Muhammad Shah Bikhan Khan (1458), and Hussain Shah (1458–83).
Husain Shah was the last of the Sharqi sultans. He lost the city to Sikandar Lodi, the Sultan of Delhi. Jaunpur became a part of the Lodi Sultanate. The Sharqi rulers attempted to take back Jaunpur for many years, but ultimately could not do so. The last Lodi ruler, Sultan Muhammad Lohani, was defeated by Babur in 1526. Jaunpur then became part of the Mughal Empire. For some time, Jaunpur was again under a Lodi king, when, in 1531, Sher Shah Suri helped Muhammad Lodi wrest it from Humayun and establish his rule there. Later Jaunpur once again became a part of the Mughal Empire and was ruled by governors appointed by the Mughal emperor.
Jethmal Banarasi’s ancestor, son of Bastapal
Jina Literally, a conqueror, that is, one who has conquered worldly passions and the cycle of birth and rebirth; also used to refer to the tirthankars (see ‘Tirthankar’)
Jindas Banarasi’s ancestor, Jethmal’s son
Jogi An ascetic
Jyeshth The third (lunar) month of the Hindu calendar, equivalent to May–June
Jyotish Astronomy and astrology
Jhulna A work by Banarasidas. Dr Mukund Lath identifies this with Parmarath Hindolna, a composition in six verses, that is found in the Banarasivilas. According to Ardhakathanak, Banarasidas composed this work sometime between Samvat 1680 and 1692 (CE 1623 and 1635).
Kachauri Bread made from unleavened flour, stuffed with lentils or vegetables, and deep fried in oil or ghee
Kachauriwala Seller of kachauris
Kalyanmal, Kalla Sahu The son of Khairabad resident Parbat Tambi, Banarasi’s father-in-law
Kara Manikpur A village close to the town of Shahazadpur, near Allahabad
Karamchand Mahur A merchant who lived in Shahzadpur, and who gave Kharagsen his house to live in when Kharagsen fled Jaunpur to escape the atrocities of Nawab Qilich
Karam Chhatisi Composed by Banarasidas, this work can be found in the Banarasivilas. Banarasidas, through thirty-seven dohas or couplets, explains the difference between living (with soul) and non-living (without soul) substances. According to Ardhakathanak, Banarasidas composed this work between Samvat 1680 and 1692 (CE1623 and 1635).
Kartik The eighth (lunar) month of the Hindu calendar, equivalent to October–November
Katla Marketplace
Kashi The city of Varanasi
Kasiwar The ancient kingdom of Kashi
Kevali One who has absolute, complete, pure and perfect knowledge, without the limitations of time and space
Khairabad Khairabad was important as the first city of the province of Avadh during Akbar’s reign. It is approximately 320 km from Jaunpur.
Khand Sphut This text has not been identified
Kharagsen Muldas’s older son, Banarasi’s father
Khartargachhi A Svetambara Jain sect
Khobra A gotra
Kol The ancient name for the city of Aligarh, which is located some 140 km south-east of Delhi
Kolhuban According to Banarasi, a forest near Jaunpur. This forest does not exist any longer.
Korara A village near Ghatampur
Kos A distance of approximately three kilometres
Kotwal A person performing duties similar to that of a chief police officer in a district, town or village
Kshatriya The warrior caste, the second of the four castes of the Hindu caste system.
Kukri A gotra
Kunth, Kunthu, The seventeenth tirthankar of the Jains.
Kunthunath His father was Sursen, his mother was Shreerani. His special sign or symbol is the goat. He was born in Hastinapur, and attained moksha in Sammed Shikhar.
Kurari A waterbird whose call is likened to a woman weeping
Laghu Kok A treatise on the art of love, usually ascribed to a pandit named Kokkoka, who wrote a text on erotics called the Ratirahasya in the twelfth century CE. The Laghu Kok is perhaps a shortened version of this work or perhaps of another larger text by Kokkoka.
Lakhraun A town, according to Banarasi, about 6.5 kilometres from Fatehpur
Lakshmandas The headman of a village near the town of Lakshmanpura, who gave Kharagsen help and shelter when he fled the city of Jaunpur, expecting the city to be attacked
Lakshmanpura A town near Jaunpur
Lala Beg A high-ranking nobleman, and Prince Salim Shah’s envoy, whom he sent to Jaunpur
Lodi Khan According to Banarasidas, he was brother to the wife of Suleman Sultan, the ruler of Bengal
Madan Singh, Madan Singh Shrimal A jeweller, resident of Jaunpur. He was the older brother of Kharagsen’s maternal grandfather, and gave a home to Kharagsen and his widowed mother.
Madhumalati A mystical poem composed by the Sufi poet Manjhan, it tells the story of Prince Manohar and his love, the beautiful Princess Madhumalati. The work was written in Hindi, sometime around CE 1550.
Madhyadesh The term used to denote central India. It has been defined in the Manu Smriti (2, 21) as the region that is bounded by the Himalayas to the north, the Vindhyachal mountains to the south, the city of Prayag to the east, and the Sarhind desert (where it is believed the Sarasvati River vanished underground) to the west. Dr Hiralal Jain feels that Banarasidas used the term Madhyadesh to mean the region around and between Agra and Jaunpur. Dr Mukund Lath explains Madhyadesh to include the region around Mathura and Agra, as well as the area around Delhi–Karnal, and the land around Banaras and Jaunpur to Patna.
Magh The tenth (lunar) month in the Hindu calendar, equivalent to January–February
Maheshwari A merchant, belonging to the Shaivite Maheshwari sect, whom Banarasi met on his way from Jaunpur to Agra
Malwa Kingdom in western India, annexed by Akbar in 1562 and made a province of the Mughal Empire
Mandi Wholesale market
Mantra the Namokar mantra
Mathura An ancient city, on the banks of the Yamuna, approximately 150 km from Delhi. It is believed to be the birthplace of the god Krishna, and is thus an important pilgrimage centre for Hindus.
Banarasi meets two brahmins from Mathura on his way from Jaunpur to Agra.
Maund 40 sers, or approximately 36 kilograms
Meerut An ancient city, approximately 70 km from Delhi. The home of Banarasi’s maternal grandfather.
Mir A high-ranking nobleman
Mirgavati A mystical romance, written by the Sufi poet Kutuban in CE 1503. It tells the story of a prince, Rajkumar, and hi
s beloved, the princess Mirgavati.
Mothiya A gotra
Mukim Representative
Muldas Jindas’s elder son, Kharagsen’s father, Banarasi’s paternal grandfather.
Nagpur Another name for Hastinapur
Nakshatra Lunar asterism
Namamala
(by Dhananjaya) A lexicon or dictionary, which lists words of similar meanings. According to Dr Mukund Lath, Banarasi must have studied the Sanskrit Namamala by Dhananjaya with his teacher Pandit Devdutt. Dhananjaya was a Jain scholar who lived in the ninth century CE. His Namamala consists of 200 verses.
Namamala
(by Banarasidas) Written by Banarasidas, this lexicon is based on Dhananjaya’s Sanskrit Namamala and Anekarthakosha. In this Banarasi lists Sanskrit and Hindi words. The work is in 175 dohas or couplets. As Banarasidas himself tells us in his Namamala, this work was completed in the month of Ashvin in Samvat 1670 (CE 1613).
Namokar mantra The first and most important of Jain mantras. This is also called the ‘Panch Namaskar mantra’. The mantra salutes the great souls in the world—the arhats, the siddhas, the heads of congregations, the ascetic teachers, and all ascetic aspirants.
The mantra is as follows: Namo Arihantaanam, Namo Siddhaanam, Namo Aairiyaanam, Namo Uvajjhaayaanam, Namo Loe Savva Saahuunam, Eso Pancha Namoyaaro, Savva Paavappa Naasano, Mangalaanam Cha Savvesim, Padhamam Havaii Mangalam. It is advocated that this be recited daily by a true Jain.
Nana Maternal grandfather
Nani Maternal grandmother
Narottam, Narottamdas Bainidas’s grandson, and Banarasi’s closest friend
Narwar An ancient city in the kingdom of Gwalior
Navkar The saluations of the Namokar mantra, chanted daily by a true Jain.
Navpad The Namokar mantra. Thus ‘Navpad meditation’ means meditating upon the Namokar mantra.
Nema, Nema Sahu, Nemidas Sahu Banarasi’s business partner, and father of Tarachand Mothiya and Sabal Singh Mothiya
Nihalchand Banarasi’s friend, whose wedding he goes to Amarsar to attend
Nine rasas The nine kinds of sentiments or emotional states (rasas): shringar or love; hasya or humour; karun or the ‘pathetic’ sentiment, compassion; vir or heroism; rudra or indignation, anger; bhayanak or terror; bibhatsa or disgust; adbhut or wonder, surprise; shant or tranquillity or contentment.
Nuram, Nuram Khan, Younger Qilich, Nuram Sultan Governor of Jaunpur
Nuruddin Jahangir The Mughal Emperor Jahangir (see ‘Jahangir’).
Oswal A class of Jains
Paan Betel leaf
Paidi A composition by Banarasidas, which is found in the Banarasivilas under the title of Moksha Paidi. It is a poem in twenty-four stanzas, and is written in Punjabi. According to Ardhakathanak, Banarasidas composed this poem between Samvat 1680 and 1692 (CE 1623 and 1635).
Pakhawaj A kind of drum
Panchasandhi A text on Sanskrit grammar by Banarasidas; this work of his is lost
Panchayat A council or arbitrating body, usually made up of five members
Parbat Tambi Resident of Khairabad, father of Kalyanmal and Tarachand Tambi, Banarasi’s first wife’s paternal grandfather
Pargana district
Parshva, Parshvanath (tirthankar) The twenty-third tirthankar of the Jains, in importance almost the same as Mahavir
Parshvanath (place
of pilgrimage) The most sacred of all Jain pilgrimage centres, it is also known as Sammed Shikhar or Sammedgiri. It is located 250 km from Patna (see ‘Sammed Shikhar’).
Pataliputra Ancient name for the city of Patna
Patna An ancient city on the southern banks of the Ganga, approximately 220 km from Varanasi. This city is also known as Pataliputra.
Pauni Shudra sub-castes, communities providing specific services or following specific crafts.
Phagu Dhamal By Banarasidas. According to Dr Mukund Lath, this probably refers to a small poem called Adhyatam Phag in the Banarasivilas. This composition on spiritual life consists of eighteen dohas or couplets. According to Ardhakathanak, this was written between Samvat 1680 and 1692 (between CE 1623 and 1635).
Phalgun The twelfth (lunar) month of the Hindu calendar, equivalent to February–March
Potdar Revenue collector
Pratikraman In Jain custom, the acknowledgement and self-confession of one’s errors in conduct, thought or feeling and the consequent freeing of oneself from those errors is pratikraman. It is a ritual to be practised twice daily by a householder.
Prayag, Prayagpur Another name for the city of Allahabad
Prosadh Jain ritual, according to which householders fast on the eighth and fourteenth day of every lunar fortnight.
Pujari Temple priest
Purnima Full moon
Purohit Family priest
Qilich, Chini See ‘Chini Qilich Khan’
Qilich Khan, Nawab Governor of Jaunpur, the ‘older’ Qilich, father of Chini Qilich
Qilich, Younger Nuram Khan, governor of Jaunpur (See ‘Nuram’)
Rai Dhanna Resident of Bengal, diwan to Lodi Khan
Rajmalla Sixteenth-century scholar, who wrote a commentary in Hindi on the second century Prakrit text the Samaysar Natak. See Samaysar Natak (Rajmalla’s commentary).
Ramchand Abhaydharam’s disciple
Ramdas A wealthy bania, an Agrawal, resident of Jaunpur, and Kharagsen’s business partner
Raunahi Also known as Ratnapuri, a small village near Ayodhya. It is believed to be the birthplace of the tirthankar Dharmanath, and therefore an important pilgrimage centre for Jains.
Rohtak A town approximately 70 km from Delhi
Rupchand Pandit Rupchand, learned Jain scholar, and Banarasi’s guru, with whom Banarasi read the Gommatsar
Sabal Singh Mothiya, Sabal Singh, the Sahu Son of Nema Sahu, Tarachand Mothiya’s brother
Sahas Athotar Nam By Banarasidas, this poem is found in the Banarasivilas under the title of Jina Sahasra Nama. In Hindi, and consisting of 106 stanzas, it lists a thousand and eight names of the tirthankar. It was written in Samvat 1690 (CE 1633). In the Ardhakathanak, Banarasi says that it was composed sometime between Samvat 1680 and 1692 (CE 1623–35).
Sahib Shah Kiran Mughal Emperor Shahjahan, who took the title of ‘Abul Muzaffar Shahbuddin Muhammad Sahib-i Kiran-i Sani’ upon his ascension to the throne in 1628 (see ‘Shahjahan’)
Salim, Salim Shah Eldest son of Mughal Emperor Akbar, who succeeded Akbar as emperor. He is famous as the Mughal Emperor Jahangir (see ‘Jahangir’)
Samayik A form of meditation in which a householder is urged to withdraw completely from the world for a period of time set aside for the purpose. During this time the householder sheds all worldly thoughts and becomes for a while like a monk. Jain ritual recommends that this be done twice daily, at dawn and at dusk.
Samaysary Natak (by Acharya Kundkund) Samaysar, an Adhyatmik Jain text, written in Prakrit by Acharya Kundkund, sometime in the second century CE. This text is revered greatly by Digambar and Svetambara Jains alike. In CE 1000, Acharya Amritchand wrote a Sanskrit commentary on this text which he called Atmakhyati.
Samaysar Natak (Rajmalla’s commentary) Pande Rajmalla wrote a commentary in Bhasha on Acharya Kundkund’s Samaysar Natak, making the original text more accessible. According to Nathuram Premi, Rajmalla wrote his commentary sometime around Samvat 1644 (CE 1587).
Samaysar Natak (by Banarasidas) In Bhasha, an Adhyatmik text by Banarasidas. This is Banarasidas’s best known and most popular work.
Banarasidas based this work on three other texts—Acharya Kundkund’s Prakrit Samaysar, Acharya Amritchand’s Sanskrit commentary and Pande Rajmalla’s Bhasha commentary on the same.
Banarasidas’s Samaysar Natak has 627 stanzas. In the Samaysar Natak itself, Banarasidas says that he completed this work on ‘the thirteenth day of the bright half of the month of Ashwin, a Sunday, in Samvat 1693 (AD 1636), during the reign of Emperor Shahjahan’.
Sammed Shikhar The most important of all Ja
in pilgrimage centres. Here, twenty out of the twenty-four tirthankars attained moksha. This includes Lord Parshvanath, who attained salvation here in the eighth century CE.
The main shrine lies on the top of Mount Sammed. Jains believe that it is at this very spot that Lord Parshvanath attained moksha. It is about 250 km from Patna, and is also known as Sammedgiri, Parasnath or Parshvanath.
Samvat The Vikrami Samvat era, which begins in 57 BCE, founded by King Vikramaditya of Ujjain. This calendar system is still followed among Hindus.
Samyagdarshan Right belief. This concept is one of the most important in Jain thought. Together with ‘right knowledge’ and ‘right conduct’, the pursuit of ‘right belief’ constitutes the path to salvation.
Sanganer A town about 12 km from Jaipur
Sanyasi An ascetic
Sarai An inn
Sati, Sati Aut A Hindu widow who follows her husband in death by immolating herself on his funeral pyre. Such women were often venerated and raised to the status of a goddess. Sati Aut was probably one such local deity who had her shrine in Rohtak, and who was venerated by Kharagsen and his mother.
Sawan The fifth (lunar) month of the Hindu calendar, equivalent to July–August
Ser A measure of weight, a little less than a kilogram
Shah Birahim According to Banarasi, the sixth ruler of Jaunpur (See ‘Jaunpur’s nine rulers’)
Shah Hussain According to Banarasi, the seventh ruler of Jaunpur (See ‘Jaunpur’s nine rulers’)
Shah Nizam According to Banarasi, the fifth ruler of Jaunpur (See ‘Jaunpur’s nine rulers’)
Shahjahan Mughal emperor, from CE 1628 to 1658
Shahzadpur A town, on the banks of the Ganga, near Allahabad
Shanti, Shantinath The sixteenth tirthankar of the Jains. His father was Vishwasen, his mother was Achirarani. His special sign or symbol is the deer. He was born in Hastinapur, and attained moksha in Sammed Shikhar.
Shiva The Hindu god, Shiva the Destroyer; one of the supreme Hindu triad along with Brahma the Creator, and Vishnu the Preserver
Shivaram A brahmin in Jaunpur, to whom Banarasi entrusts his cloth business upon his departure for Agra
Shivpuri Another name for Varanasi
Shravak A Jain layman or householder, who still strives to attain all the virtues of a true Jain