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{{Short description|C. 5th-century CE Jain narrative}}
{{Infobox book
| name = Vasudeva-hindi
| author = Sangha-dasa ''Gani''
| title_orig = वसुदेव-हिण्डी
| country = India
| language = Archaic [[Maharashtri Prakrit]]
| subject = Adventures of Vasudeva
| genre =
| pub_date = possibly 473 CE
}}
'''''Vasudeva-hindi''''' ([[IAST]]: Vasudevahiṇḍī, "Vasudeva's wanderings") is a [[Jain literature|Jain text]] by Sangha-dasa, probably from 5th century India. The text narrates several stories in the form of nested narrative layers. The main story is borrowed from [[Gunadhya]]'s ''[[Brihatkatha|Brihat-katha]]'', with the original hero Nara-vahana-datta replaced by [[Krishna]]'s father [[Vasudeva]].

== Authorship and date ==

''Vasudeva-hindi'' is the oldest surviving text of the Jain narrative literature. The Jain monk Sangha-dasa wrote it in archaic [[Maharashtri Prakrit]] language.<ref name="AAE_2016">{{cite book |author=Anna Aurelia Esposito |chapter=Didactic dialogues: communication of doctrine and strategies of narrative in Jain literature |editor1=Brian Black |editor2=Laurie Patton |title=Dialogue in Early South Asian Religions |year=2016 |isbn=9781317151425 |pages=88–92 |publisher=Routledge |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Z7a1CwAAQBAJ }}</ref> The author claims that the legend of Vasudeva was first told by [[Mahavira]]'s pupil [[Sudharmaswami|Sudharman]] to his disciple [[Jambuswami|Jambu]], and since then, the story was transmitted to the author through a series of teachers and disciples.<ref name="AAE_2016"/>

The text was definitely composed before 610 CE, when Jina-bhadra-gani Kshama-shramana refers to it in his ''Visheshana Vati''. The author dates the text to the year 530 of an unspecified [[calendar era]]. Scholars K.R. Chandra and [[Madhusudan Dhaky|M.A. Dhaky]] believe that the era is the [[Vikrama Samvat]], and thus, date the text to 473 CE. Indologist [[Jagdish Chandra Jain|J.C. Jain]] writes that the date of ''Vasudeva-hindi'' has been "fixed" as the end of the 3rd century, but Indologist [[John E. Cort]] notes that there is no scholarly consensus on this, and Jain authors tend to date their texts as early as possible. [[Umakant Premanand Shah|U.P. Shah]] dates the text to early 5th century or a little earlier, while M.N.P. Tiwari dates it to mid-6th century.<ref>{{cite book |author=John Cort |title=Framing the Jina: Narratives of Icons and Idols in Jain History |year=2010 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=9780199739578 |page=313 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MDBpq23-0QoC }}</ref>

Some parts of the text, such as ''Dhammilla-hindi'', are a later addition to the original text.<ref name="JCJ_1975">{{cite journal |author=J.C. Jain |author-link=Jagdish Chandra Jain |title=Is Vasudevahiṇḍī a Jain version of the Bṛhatkathā ? |editor=B.J. Sandesara |editor-link=Bhogilal Sandesara |journal=Journal of the Oriental Institute |volume=23 |year=1975 |publisher=Oriental Institute, Baroda |pages=62–63 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KGBjAAAAMAAJ }}</ref>

The second layer of the frame story in the text names Mahavira as a narrator, which is a way of legitimizing the story as true. The naming of a king (instead of a Jain disciple) as the listener suggests that the text was aimed at an urban audience rather than monks.<ref name="AAE_2016"/>

== Contents ==

The text narrates the legend of [[Krishna]]'s father [[Vasudeva]].<ref>{{cite book |author=Anthony Kennedy Warder |title=Indian Kavya Literature |volume=4 |year=1994 |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |page=464 |isbn=9788120804494 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7WnWL5LtYfcC }}</ref> It is in form of multiple narrative layers, featuring several characters and stories from different times and places.<ref name="AAE_2016"/> The main story is borrowed from [[Gunadhya]]'s ''[[Brihatkatha|Brihat-katha]]'' tradition, in which the hero is Nara-vahana-datta instead of Vasudeva.<ref name="GPB_GVT_2013">{{cite book |editor1=G.P. Bhatt |editor2=G.V. Tagare |title=The Vayu Purana Part 2 |series=Ancient Indian Tradition and Mythology |year=2013 |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |isbn=9788120839052 |page=748 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9lzvDwAAQBAJ }}</ref> The text also includes materials from [[Vaishnavite]] texts such as ''[[Harivamsa]]'' and ''[[Vishnu Purana]]''. The author quotes long passages from Jain canonical texts such as ''[[Samavayanga Sutra]]'' and ''[[Sthananga Sutra]]''.<ref>{{cite book |author=Asim Kumar Chatterjee |title=A Comprehensive History of Jainism |volume=1 |edition=Second |year=2000 |publisher=Munshiram Manoharlal |isbn=81-215-0931-9 |pages=246–247 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IH7XAAAAMAAJ }}</ref>

The text progresses to the main story as follows:<ref name="AAE_2016"/>

{| class="wikitable"
! Layer !! Narrator !! Story
|-
| 1 || || Conversation between the Jain monk [[Sudharmaswami|Suhamma]] and King [[Ajatashatru|Konia]]
|-
| 2 || Suhamma || Conversation between Mahavira and Konia's father, King [[Shrenika|Senia]] of [[Rajgir|Raya-giha]]
|-
| 3 || Mahavira || Story of king Vasudeva's grandsons
|-
| 4 || Vasudeva || Vasudeva tells his grandsons about his adventures
|}

Layer 4 contains the main story of Vasudeva's adventures, which is interspersed with secondary stories that talk about the Jain faith and its [[Salakapurusa|63 illustrous persons]]. The narrative layers containing these secondary stories go still deeper. For example, in one of the narrative layers, Vasudeva refuses to marry the grand-daughter of an old woman because of her low social status. The old woman then talks about the origins of her family, narrating the story of her ancestor Usabha.<ref name="AAE_2016"/>

{| class="wikitable"
! Layer !! Narrator !! Story
|-
| 5 || The old woman || Story of ''[[Arihant (Jainism)|Jina]]'' Usabha.
|-
| 6 || Sijjamsa || Story of the previous births of Usabha and his donor Sijjamsa (Shreymsa) as twins in the [[Uttarakurus]].
|-
| 7 || The female twin || Story of the twins' previous births as the god Laliyamga and his wife Sayam-pabha.
|-
| 8 || Laliyamga || Story of Laliyamga's previous birth as King Mahabala.
|-
| 9 || Sayambuddha || Mahabala's friend Sayambuddha tells him a series of moral stories.
|}

The narrative then goes back to the main story as follows:<ref name="AAE_2016"/>

{| class="wikitable"
! Layer !! Narrator !! Story
|-
| 8 || Laliyamga || Story of Laliyamga's previous birth as King Mahabala, continued: Mahabala renounces the world, practices extreme austerity, and dies.
|-
| 7 || The female twin || Story of the twins' previous births, continued: Laliyamga and Sayam-pabha die and are reborn as prince Vairajamgha and princess Sirimai.
|-
| 8 || Sirimai || Sirimai remembers her previous birth as Sayam-pabha and her existence as Niāmiyā (Nirnāmikā, "a girl with no name").
|-
| 7 || The female twin || Story of the twins' previous births, continued: Vairajamgha and Sirimai marry and live happily before being poisoned by their son.
|-
| 6 || Sijjamsa || Stories of several previous births of the twins:
* Gods in Sohamma-heaven
* Physician Kesava and his friend Abhayaghosa
* Gods in Accua-heaven
* Prince Vairanabha and his friend Sujasa
* Gods in Savvattha-siddha-heaven
Sijjamsa recalls that after their birth as gods, they were born as Usabha and Sijjamsa.
|-
| 5 || The old woman || Story of Usabha, continued: Usabha preaches the ''[[dharma (Jainism)|dharma]]''.
|-
| 4 || Vasudeva || Vasudeva continues to narrate stories of his adventures, with each story containing multi-layer sub-stories.
|}

Unlike other texts, such as the ''[[Mahabharata]]'', ''Vasudeva-hindi'' does not remind the reader of the main frame story or any sub-frame story at any point. According to scholar Anna Aurelia Esposito, ''Vasudeva-hindi'' deliberately confuses the readers with such complex layers to cause them to "experience the sensation to be completely lost – lost not only in this thicket of stories, but also in the complex and incomprehensible nature of the world."<ref name="AAE_2016"/>

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== Further reading ==
* {{cite book |author=J.C. Jain |author-link=Jagdish Chandra Jain |title=The Vasudevahindi: an Authentic Jain Version of the Brhatkatha |year=1977 |publisher=L.D. Institute of Indology |location=Ahmedabad |oclc=469480884 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MnN_nQEACAAJ }}

== External links ==
* [https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.283966 Vasudeva-hindi] text in Devanagari script
* [https://jainqq.org/explore/002648/1 Dharmasenagani Mahattara's Vasudevahimdi Madhyama Khanda Part 1]

{{Brihatkatha}}

[[Category:Jain literature]]
[[Category:5th-century books]]
[[Category:Frame stories]]
[[Category:Prakrit Jain texts]]

Vasudeva-hindi - Revision history

Ajay Kumar: Created a new article