Guys Who Bond

Abstract

This article investigates Ācārya Hemacandra‘s 12th-century Sanskrit Triṣaṣṭiśalākāpuruṣacarita (―The Lives of the Sixty-Three Illustrious Men,‖ TŚPC) to understand how Jain authors depict fraternal love as a durable and covert fetter to the world of transmigratory rebirth and re-death (saṃsāra). By examining the stories of the half-brother baladevas and vāsudevas in the TŚPC, the article identifies three consequentially negative characteristics of fraternal relationships: youthful intimacy, inseparability, and emotional turmoil resulting from the relationship‘s dissolution. Finally, the article examines how the figure of the dispassionate Jina in the TŚPC exemplifies the proper orientation towards brothers.