Bhaktamara Stotra

Bhaktamara Stotra is the most famous of the Jain sanskrit prayers. It was composed by Acharya Manatunga.

It starts with the word "Bhaktamar", hence its name:

भक्तामर-प्रणत-मौलिमणि-प्रभाणा-मुद्योतकं दलित-पाप-तमोवितानम्
सम्यक् प्रणम्य जिन पादयुगं युगादावालंबनं भवजले पततां जनानाम् || १|

यः संस्तुतः सकल-वांग्मय- तत्व-बोधाद्-उद्भूत- बुद्धिपटुभिः सुरलोकनाथैः
स्तोत्रैर्जगत्त्रितय चित्त-हरैरुदरैःस्तोष्ये किलाहमपि तं प्रथमं जिनेन्द्रम्||२|

As the second verse states, it is in the praise of the first Tirthankara, Lord Rishabha. There is some variation in the number of verses in the avaialble manuscripts, some have 48 verses while others have 44 verses. A few have 52 verses. The last verse gives the name of the author Manatunga.

The Bhaktamar Legend

According to legends that are given in several texts, the Jain monk Manatunga was chained and imprisoned by the local King Bhoja. Manatunga composed his stotra (hymn) in the prison. With the completion of each verse, a chain broke, or a door opened. Manatunga was free when all the verses were finished.

History

Legends associate Manatunga with a ruler named Bhoja. However Manatunga lived a few centuries before Raja Bhoja of Dhara (Dhar, MP). He is identified as Kshapanaka (the term implies a Jain monk), one of the Navaratnas in the court of legendary Vikramaditya by some scholars. An unidentified Sanskrit poet Matanga, composer of "Brahaddeshi" on music theory, may also have been the same person. The stotra mentions Shiva, Brahma, Buddha and Purushottam in verses 23-25, suggesting it was composed when the worship of puranic gods had become popular, but Brahma and Buddha were still worshipped. This would place the composition sometimes in the Gupta or the post-Gupta period, making him approximately contemporary with other nava-ratnas like Kalidasa and Varahamihira.

There are many legends associated by the Bhaktamar stotra. There are several spots near Bhopal and Dhar traditionally associated with Acharya Manatunga. [http://www.jainteerth.com/teerth/bhojpur.asp Shri Shantinath Atishaya Kshetra Bhojpur]

The Swetambara accounts claim that he was Digambara who had become a Swetambara, the Digambara accounts claim just the opposite. Thus the accounts acknowledge ambiguity about his sect. He may have belonged to an order that may have followed the undivided Jain tradition.

Art

Bhatkamar is widely illustrated in paintings. [http://www.indiangyan.com/mantra/ Bhaktamar Mantras] [http://www.greatindianarts.com/paintings.html Sumant Shah series of paintings] At the Sanghiji temple at Sanganer, there is a panel illustrating each verse.

The verses of Bhaktamar are thought to possess special properties according to mantra-shastra. There is a mystical diagram, called "yantra" associated with each verse. "Sadhak Shivaanand Saraswati" (Udayraj Gadnis)has painted a number of yantras associated with Bhaktamar stotra. In 2002 at an exhibition at the Nehru Centre in Mumbai, Chelsea Clinton visited the gallery and discussed spiritualism with the painter. [The Week, 20 April 2000]

There is a temple at Bharuch with a section dedicated to the Bhatamar and its author Manatunga Acharya. [http://www.jainjagat.com/viewtemple.php/21 Shri Bharuch Teerth]

Several recordings of the Bhaktamar exist including one by Anuradha Paudwal and a recent one by Gundecha Brothers.

External links

* [http://www.bhaktamar.com Official Site of Bhaktamar Stotra]
* [http://www.cs.colostate.edu/~malaiya/bhaktamar.html Bhaktamar Stotra of Acharya Manatunga]
* [http://www.jainworld.com/radio/jain_music2.asp Stotra in Audio]
* [http://www.jinalaya.com/bhaktamar/bhaktamar.htm Stotra in calligraphy]
* [http://www.jaina.org/educationcommittee/education_material/Q25%20Yantras%20of%20Bhaktambar%20Stotra/Bhaktamar%20Mantra%2001.jpgYantra for verse 1]
* [http://www.herenow4u.de/Pages/eng/Articles/PratishthaMahotsavAtLondo-6.htm Bhaktamar Stotra Puja, Pratishtha Mahotsav At London Oshwal Centre]

References

* "Bhaktamara Stotra" of Manatunga, Ed. HR Kapadia. Bombay, 1932; Ed. and trans. H. Jacobi.
* "Bhaktamara Stotra", edited and translated into Hindi by Nathuram Premi. Mumbai: Jain Granth Ratnakar, 1907.
* "Manatungacharya aur unake stotra", Dhaky and Shah, 1997.