Aesthetic Pleasure in the Worship of the Jina: Understanding Performance in Jain Devotional Culture

Abstract

Performance has long been recognized to be a meaningful component in the worship of the Jina. This paper will focus on a particular aspect of devotional performance and historicize the phenomenon of ritual re-enactment of the Jina's biography, a practice that remains significant to temple worship today. This paper will argue that the performance of the enlightened soul's biography was familiar to Jains already in the early centuries of the common era and was not confined to the five auspicious events (kalyān . akas). In aŚvetāmabara canonical text called the Rāyapasen . iyasutta, this re-enactment is part of a greater, highly pleasurable spectacle that evokes a variety of aesthetic emotions, including erotic emotion, in the audience of monks. Through this discussion I will question the dichotomies between aesthetic pleasure and ritual efficacy and between drama and meritorious conduct and show that aesthetic pleasure, which lies at the heart of Jina worship, defines its meritorious value in the eyes of the devotees. The more splendid and aesthetically pleasing one's expression of devotion, the more efficacious it is believed to be. I propose that the significance of the aesthetic element in devotional performance for laypeople stems from their temporary transformation into gods and goddesses. Celestial beings, as the paradigmatic enjoyers (bhoktr . ) of sensual pleasures, spend their life-spans relishing joy and rapture. As such, the pleasurable experiences of laypeople are essential for the veracity of their ritual transformation.This tension lies at the heart of Jain culture and often becomes a source of inspiration and ingenuity. One example of the conflation of these seemingly contradictory vectors is what Cort (2002b) called the "devotion of asceticism", where Jains reframe bhakti, commonly understood as devotional theism, as a non-theistic mode of devotion, aligned with the Jain ideals of austerity and abstinence. The entire fabric of Jainism is woven out of these two extremes of asceticism and opulence, symbolized, respectively, by mendicants, the objects of veneration, and deities, the paradigmatic devotees of the Jina. This paper focuses on an aspect of lay devotional culture that also appears paradoxical, but for different reasons. This is performance. Performance (nr . tta, nāt . ya) cannot be effectively separated from the other two aspects of what is collectively called saṅgīta: song (gīta) and instrumental music (vādya). While this paper is particularly concerned with the visual forms of dance and drama as part of the worship of the Jina, it is important to keep in mind that they are always understood to be accompanied by music. 1 The paradoxical nature of performance manifests in at least two ways. First, the Jina is not there to enjoy the performance, as after liberation Jinas are largely believed to reside at the very top of the universe in the unreachable realm of the Siddha Loka. Second, even if he were there, the Jina would not be able to enjoy it, as he has surpassed the emotional receptivit...