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________________ Sindhu-desa Of Jaina Literature is Tirabhukti (North Bihar) YOGENDRA MISHRA IN 1936 the late Kamta Prasad Jain raised an important and pertinent problem relating to early Jaina literature and Indian political geography. He pointed out that some Digambara Jaina books placed Vardhamana Mahavira's birthplace Visala or Vaisali, whose chief was Cetaka, in Sindhu-desa or Sindhu-visaya, and furnished the following quotations in this connection: 1 Jaina-Siddhanta-Bhaskara, Vol. 3 (September, 1936), p. 50, foot-note. To these we may add the following from the Maha-Purana of Puspadanta, an Apabhramsa work completed in A.D. 965 (chapter 98, section 9, P. L. Vaidya's edition, Vol. III, Bombay, 1941, pp. 241-243) - "felaug agar grafi gharasiriohAmiyasuravaraghari // 2 // ceDau NAma garesaru Nivasai / devi akhudda suhadda mahAsaha // 3 // piyakAriNi varaNAhakulesahu / / siddhatthahu kuMDauraNaresahu // 10 // "
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________________ 222 : SHRI MAHAVIRA JAINA VIDYALAYA GOLDEN JUBILEE VOLUME (1) "sadyukte sindhudeze vai vizAlA nagarI matA / / ceTakAkhyaH patistasya subhadrA mahiSI matA // " -Vimala-Purana (2) "bhramansannekadAyAtaH sindhudeze manohare / sindhuvelA samudrAsikSetrazAlocaTTakapriye (1) // 7 // vizAlAkhyA purI tatra vartate zAlamaNDitA / dhanadhAnya nidhAnaizca devanAthasya pUriva // 8 // sAmantabhavasaMsenyazceTakaH patitAM purIm / tasyAgramahiSI ramyA subhadrA sukhakAriNI // 9 // " -Srenilca-Caritra (3) " sindhudeze vizAlAkhyapattane ceTako nRpaH / zrImajinendrapAdAbjasevanaikamadhruvataH // 4 // " -Aradhana-Katha-Kosa (4) " sindhvAkhye viSaye bhUbhRdvaizAlInagare'bhavat / ceTakAkhyo'tivikhyAto vinItaH paramArhataH // 3 // " -Uttara-Purana (75) He then raised the question as to what might have been the reasons of the Digambara Jaina scriptures saying that Visala or Vaisali was in Sindhu-desa, and made two suggestions : First, it might be that the authors had equated Sindhu-desa with Vrji-desa. Secondly, there might have been a confusion especially because Ujjayini in Avanti, too, was called Visala' and there was a Sindhu river in the adjoining territory for which reason it was called Sindhudesa in the middle ages (8th to 15th centuries A.D.). The Digambara writers, Kamta Prasad Jain adds, lived more in the Ujjayini side and hence they appear to have confused Ujjayini (which was also called Visala) for the real Visala, little knowing that another Visala, different from their own, existed in Eastern India; moreover, Vaisali lay in ruins as we know from the account of Hiuen Tsiang, and this factor might have easily led the Jaina writers to forget the real Vaisali. We are of the view that the Digambara Jaina authors knew the 2 Jaina-Siddhanta-Bhaslcara, 3, p. 51. 3 Jain does not offer any reason for the possible equation. 4 Cf. Kalidasa in Meghaduta (I. 30). 5 Jaina-Siddhanta-Bhaskara, 3, pp. 51-52.
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________________ SINDHU-DECA OF JAINA LITERATURE IS TIRABHUKTI : 223 geographical position of Vaisali and Kundapura correctly; they simply used Sindhu-desa or Sindhu-visaya as a synonym for Tirabhukti. Our explanation for this is as follows: The oldest term for North Bihar was Videha. From the Gupta period (fourth-fifth centuries A.D.) onwards it came to be known as Tirabhuktis, which literally means 'the Province or Country situated on the Banks (of Rivers)'. In poetry synonyms are freely used. Hence the Province or Country of Rivers' could also be called Sindhu-desa or Sindhu-visaya, because one of the words for river is sindhu.? A confirmation of the explanation offered above is available when we find that the Jaina Uttara-Purana (75) places the territory of Cetaka near Rajagsha, the capital of Magadha "kadAcicceTako gatvA sasainyo mAgadhaM puram / rAjadrAjagRhaM bAhyodyAne sthAnapurassaram // 20 // " This means that these were neighbouring states. Thus, in our opinion, the Digambara Jaina writers did not believe that Vaisali lay in Sind or the Indus valley or on sea-coast or in Central India. Its placing in Sindhu-desa or Sindhu-visaya instead of Tirabhukti was only a literary nicety.8 In our opinion Tirabhukti was transformed into Sindhu-desa or Sindhu-visaya in the following manner : tIrabhukti = (791) artefato = nadItIrabhukti = a(at)fto = a punti = fere or for at or feryfaqt. 6 Cf. the legends on the seals discovered at Vaisali (modern Basarh, Muzaffarpur District, Bihar State) which give this word, Archaeo logical Survey of India Annual Report, 1903-04, p. 109. 7 Vide V. S. Apte's Sanskrit-English Dictionary. 8 Elsewhere (An Early History of Vaisali, Delhi, 1962, pp. 228-237) we have discussed in detail as to how the Jainas forgot Vaisali and Kundapura (Kundagrama) completely and what measures have been taken by the Vaisali Sangha, a premier cultural organisation of Bihar, for the revival of this Jaina tirtha and centre.
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________________ 224 : SHRI MAHAVIRA JAINA VIDYALAYA GOLDEN JUBILEE VOLUME Incidentally, we may add that desa and visaya have been used synonymously as seen in early Jaina literature itself: 1. Jinasena of the 8th Vikrama century says in Harivamsa-Purana (1.2): "atha dezo'sti vistArI jambUdvIpasya bhArate / videha iti vikhyAtaH svargakhaNDasamaH zriyaH // 1 // tatrAkhaNDalanetrAlIpaminIkhaNDamaNDanam sukhAmbhaHkuNDamAbhAti nAmnA kuNDapuraM puram // 5 // " 2. Gunabhadra of the 10th Vikrama century says in his Uttara-Purana (74) : " tasminSaNmAsazeSAyuSyAnAkAdAgamiSyati / bharate'sminvidehAkhye viSaye bhavanAGgaNe // 251 / / rAjJaH kuNDapurezasya vasudhArApatatpRthuH saptakoTimaNiH sArdhA siddhArthasya dinamprati // 252 // " . - Page 460, Bharatiya Jnanapilha ed., The same writer says later in that book (75) : " videhaviSaye kuNDasajJAyAM puri bhUpatiH // 7 / / nAyo nAthakulasyaikaH siddhArthAkhyastrisiddhibhAk / tasya puNyAnubhAvena priyAsIspriyakAriNI // 8 // " --Page 482, Bharatiya Jnanapitha ed. 3. Sakalakirti (who died in A. D. 1464) says in his VardhamanaCaritra (VII): "atheha bhArate kSetre videhAbhidha UrjitaH dezaH saddharmasaGghAdyaiH videha iva rAjate // 2 // ityAdivarNanopetadezasyAbhyantare puram rAjate kuNDalAbhikhyaM......... // 10 // " 9 Of these, No.2 (second part) is quoted by Vijayendra Suri in his Vaisali, 2nd ed. (Bombay, 1958), p. 40 and Tirthankara Mahavira, Vol. 1 (Bombay, 1960), p. 81; the remaining quotations are collected by K. Bhujbali Sastri in Jaina-Siddhanta-Bhaskara, 10 (December, 1943), pp. 60-61, footnotes. -