Shrenik-Jain Tales

The two Jain tales in this Amar Chitra Katha deal with Shrenik and Jinadatta whose stories teach the importance of being astute and insightful without necessarily indulging in shrewdness or deceit. Jain monks took a keen interest in the spiritual emancipation of the common people. To make their terse philosophy intelligible and interesting to any ordinary individual, they used the medium of stories. Thousands of such didactic stories in Sanskrit and Prakrit have come down to us.?Shrenik? is retold from Harishena?s Bhrihat Katha Kosha (10th century) and ?The Hidden Truth? from Rajashekara?s Vinoda Katha Sangraha (14th century).