Banarasidas ARDHAKATHANAK (A Half Story) Page 15

  Shrimal Banarasi’s family, family name, lineage

  Shrutabodh A Sanskrit text, which Banarasi studied with Bhanchand. The text explains the conventions of Sanskrit verse composition.

  Shudra The lowest of the four Hindu castes.

  Sindhu Chaturdasi By Banarasidas, this is found in the Banarasivilas under the title of Bhavsindhu Chaturdasi. In this work Banarasi discusses the path to salvation.

  Singhad A gotra

  Sirpao The literal meaning is ‘from head to foot.’ It consists of a complete set of clothing, from head to foot, given by a king or a ruler as a sign of honour.

  Sivamandir By Banarasidas, this work is found in the Banarasivilas under the title of Kalyanmandirstotra. It consists of forty-four stanzas, and is Banarasidas’s Hindi translation of Acharya Kumudachandra’s Sanskrit Kalyanmandirstotra in praise of Lord Parshvanath.

  Sivapachisi Bhavna By Banarasidas, this work is found in the Banarasivilas. In twenty-six (not twenty-five, as the name suggests) stanzas, Banarasidas praises Shiva, and, taking the other meaning of the word ‘shiva’ as ‘the good, the right’, has also discussed the path to moksha. According to the Ardhakathanak, this work was composed between Samvat 1680 and 1692 (CE 1623 and 1635).

  Stavan A Svetambara Jain ritual associated with the ritual bathing of the image of a deity

  Suktimuktavali By Banarasidas and his friend Kunwarpal, this work is found in the Banarasivilas, and is a translation into Hindi of the Sanskrit text Sindhuprarak by Somprabhacharya. Banarasidas and Kunwarpal completed this work in Samvat 1692 (CE 1635).

  Suleman Sultan Ruler of Bengal

  Suli Impaling stake

  Sundardas Kharagsen’s chacha, his father’s younger brother

  Suparshva, Suparshvanath The seventh tirthankar of the Jains

  Surdas Dhor A Shrimal, and resident of Meerut; Kharagsen’s father-in-law

  Surhar Sultan According to Banarasi, the third ruler of Jaunpur (See ‘Jaunpur’s nine rulers’)

  Surharpur A town

  Syadvad The Jain doctrine of Relativism, which states that since Reality is complex, it cannot be understood or explained through any one simple statement, but must be considered through various points of view. Jain philosophers therefore add the term ‘syat’ (‘in some respect’) to the various propositions regarding Reality. No statement is absolute, but is valid only from some points of view and is made with certain reservations. Syadvad goes hand in hand with the philosophical concept of Anekantvad or ‘many-sided viewpoint’ (which Banarasi mentions in stanza 639).

  Tarachand Mothiya Son of Nema, Banarasi’s friend

  Tarachand Tambi, Tara Sahu A Shrimal, son of Parbat Tambi, younger brother to Banarasi’s father-in-law Kalyanmal

  Than, Thanmal Badaliya Banarasi’s close friend

  Tihuna Sahu A rich merchant of Agra

  Tirthankar Literally ‘ford-maker’. Jainism has twenty-four great teachers, great arhats or saints, who attained salvation and freedom from the cycle of birth and rebirth. They are the twenty-four tirthankars, so called because they tell us how to ford the river of existence (see also ‘Jina’).

  Tripurdas Banarasi’s friend. Banarasi goes to Sanganer as a member of his marriage party.

  Triveni The confluence of the Ganga, the Yamuna and the Sarasvati in Allahabad. According to Hindu belief, the Sarasvati River disappears into the desert to flow underground till, together with the Yamuna, it meets the Ganga in Allahabad (see ‘Allahabad’).

  Udaykaran Banarasi’s friend. Banarasi wrote his Gyanpachisi for him.

  Upashraya A place where visiting Jain scholars, ascetics and teachers could stay

  Umrao Nobleman of the Mughal court

  Uttamchand Jeweller, Dulah Sahu’s younger son, and Banarasi’s older sister’s husband

  Vaishya The merchant caste, the third of the four castes of the Hindu caste system

  Vardhaman Kunwarji A rich merchant, who gathered a company of pilgrims for pilgrimage to Ahichhatra and Hastinapur.

  Vachanika Short prose piece

  Vata The windy humour. In traditional Indian medicine, wind is regarded as one of the humours of the body. An imbalance in any of the humours can cause disease and illness.

  Vikramajit The name Banarasi is given at birth

  Vindhya Mountain range in central India

  Yaksha A kind of demi-god. Jains believe that every tirthankar has a yaksha to serve him. The devotee’s prayer can reach the tirthankar through the yaksha, who also informs the devotee whether his prayer has been accepted or not. Lord Parshvanath’s yaksha is called Matang.

  Younger Qilich Nuram Khan, governor of Jaunpur (See ‘Nuram’)