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2 THE COMMENTATOR ABHAYADEVA
109
evidence that Abbayadeva is identical with the present commentator of Sanmati, for, if this Abhaya-Deva was a great scholar of logic and if he was the person who was worthy of being the preceptor of the great scholar Śānti-Sūri, he was nobody else than our present Abbayadeva, for no other mighty personality is known to have existed in the first half of the 17th century. of Vikrama Era.
Abhayadeva, mentioned in his Prasasti by Manikya Candra, as well as in the Praśastis of Siddhasena and Prabha-Candra, is undoubtedly our present commentator of Sanmati, for in all these three Pragastis, Abhayadeva is mentioned as the disciple of Pradyumna Sūri and as a very great logician who wrote the famons work. Vāda-Mahāraṇava. Now there is no independent work: known as Väda-Mahārņava 1 but it is only another fitting title of the present commentary, Tattva-BodhaVidhāyini on Sanmati. According to the geneology as given by Siddhasena, he is the 10th person from. Abhayadeva. According to the geneology of MāņikyaCandra, he is the 10th person from Abhayadeva. Siddbasera refers to one Dhaneśvara a disciple of Abbayadeva, whom the King Muñja regarded very highly. Māņikya-Candra, again refers to one Jineśvara, the disciple of Abhayadeva, who was highly respected by King Muñja. Prabhā-Candra, again refers to one. Dhaneśvara, the disciple of Abhayadeva, who was a very
1 See Sanmati-Tika p. 308 note 2.
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