Prof. Dr. Lawrence A. Babb
We normally think of hagiography as the portrayal of exemplary lives, and this is certainly true of the abundant Jain hagiography. These materials typically concern ascetics' lives that embody the tradition's central values and highest aspirations. But in some of the hagiography of the Khartar Gacch there is also a subtheme of great interest. The main dish is the ascetic's life, but also important is his death and its aftermath. As were the Tirthankars, these figures were ascetics - but of course they were in no sense at the same spiritual level. As did the Tirthankars, they departed this world - but of course in no sense was their departure as complete. And just as the Tirthankar left something behind, so did they. They left a continuing pattern of helpful response to the supplications of devotees.
To illustrate this principle I now present a highly abstracted version of a posthumously written biography (Jinharisagarsuri 1948) of a distinguished Khartar Gacch monk named Chagansagar. The biography was written by one of his disciples, Jinharisagarsuri,[1] and it shows us how in this tradition hagiography can become a charter for ritual.
