Paumachariya: Ravana is a noble Jain king, and Lakshmana kills him

Variant

In the Jain telling the hero never kills the villain, and the villain is the 'great man'.

Vimalasuri's Prakrit Paumachariya (given as 3rd or 4th century CE in different pages) opens with Ravana, a learned king who worships the tirthankaras. Vanaras become Vidyadharas. Lakshmana, as the Vasudeva, kills Ravana, and both then go to hell, while Rama kills no one and later becomes a Jain monk. Kaikeyi is a loving mother who wanted Bharata king so he would not become a monk.

Who: Vimalasuri, Ravana, Lakshmana, Rama, Kaikeyi

Bound to

Jain Sita: the drawing of Ravana's feet and the deer's heart same-story-other-version

Dasaratha Jataka: Rama and Sita are brother and sister mirror

Places: Tungi Giri, Maharashtra (Rama's nirvana)

Where this comes from

regional-literary · Wikipedia: Rama in Jainism
commentary · Ramanujan summary

See it on the tree · All stories

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