Bhaktāmara Stotra

Bhaktāmara Stotra
Illustration of Rishabhanatha in a manuscript of Bhaktāmara Stotra
Information
Religion	Jainism
Author	Acharya Manatunga
Language	Sanskrit
Period	7th century CE
Verses	48 (originally 52) Verses as per the Digambara Sect and 44 Verses (Originally as per ancient scriptures) as per the Shwetambara Sect

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The Bhaktāmara Stotra (Sanskrit: भक्तामरस्तोत्र, romanized: bhaktāmara-stotra, lit. 'Hymn of an immortal devotee') is a Jain religious hymn (stotra) written in Sanskrit. Composed of 48 verses, it was authored by Manatunga (7th century CE).^[1]

The hymn praises Rishabhanatha, the first Tirthankara of Jainism in this time cycle.

Authorship

Bhaktāmara Stotra was composed by Manatunga in 6th century CE.^[2] Legends associate Manatunga with a ruler named Mihira Bhoja. However, Manatunga probably lived a few centuries before Bhoja. He is identified by some scholars as Kshapanaka, one of the Navaratnas in the court of legendary Vikramaditya. An unidentified Sanskrit poet Matanga, composer of Brahaddeśī on music theory, may also have been the same person.

Bhaktāmara Stotra was composed sometime in the Gupta or the post-Gupta period, making Manatunga approximately contemporary with other navaratnas like Kalidasa and Varahamihira. Several spots near Bhopal and Dhar are traditionally associated with Manatunga.^{[citation needed]}

According to a legend, Manatunga composed this hymn while chained and imprisoned by king Bhoja. As he completed each verse, he was getting closer to liberation, such as the chain breaking or the prison door miraculously opening. Manatunga was free when all the verses were finished.

The hymn is recognised by both Digambara and Śvetāmbara sects of Jainism. The Digambaras recite all its 48 verses, while the Śvetāmbaras only recite 44 verses.

Structure

Bhaktāmara Stotra has 44 stanzas. Every stanza has four parts. Every part has 14 letters. The complete panegyric is formed by 2688 letters.

The Bhaktāmara Stotra is composed in the meter vasantatilaka. All the fourteen syllables of this meter are equally divided between short and long syllables i.e. seven laghu and seven gurus and this belongs to sakvari group of meters.^[3]

Bhaktāmara Stotra is recited as a stotra (prayer) or sung as a hymn, somewhat interchangeably.

Influence

Bhaktāmara Stotra has influenced other Jain prayers, such as the Kalyānamandira Stotra, devoted to the twenty-third tirthankara, and the Svayambhu Stotra, devoted to all the twenty-four Tirthankaras. Additional verses here praise the omniscience of Adinatha.^[4][5]

Bhaktāmara Stotra is widely illustrated in paintings.^[6][7] At the Sanghiji temple at Sanganer, there is a panel illustrating each verse. There is a temple at Bharuch with a section dedicated to the Bhaktāmara Stotra and its author Manatunga.^[8]

Devotees believe that the verses of Bhaktāmara Stotra possess magical properties, and associate a mystical diagram (yantra) with each verse.

References

Further reading

• Dundas, Paul (2002) [1992], The Jains (Second ed.), Routledge, ISBN 0-415-26605-X
• Jain, Vijay K. (2012), Acharya Amritchandra's Purushartha Siddhyupaya, Vikalp Printers, ISBN 9788190363945
• Orsini, Francesca; Schofield, Katherine Butler, eds. (1981), Tellings and Texts: Music, Literature and Performance in North India, Open Book Publishers, ISBN 978-1-78374-105-2