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54.
**Mahapacc Kshanaparinnay**
All four similar verses are taken from the Agam literature itself, because these four verses are from the Uttaradhyayanasutra and there they are in their proper place and order. Also, the Uttaradhyayanasutra is older than the Mahapratyakhyan, so it is certain that these four verses have gone from the Uttaradhyayanasutra to the Mahapratyakhyan. Again, this text mentions the twelve-fold Shruta-skandha. This also makes it clear that the Anga Agam literature was composed before the Mahapratyakhyan.
As far as the Niyukti literature is concerned, it contains 8 verses of the Mahapratyakhyan. Of these eight verses, most are found only in the Oghanniyukti. We feel that these verses have gone from the Mahapratyakhyan to the Oghanniyukti, because the Oghanniyukti is not mentioned in the Nandi Sutra, while the Mahapratyakhyan is mentioned in the Nandi Sutra. Therefore, it must be assumed that the Oghanniyukti was composed after the Mahapratyakhyan. On this basis, it seems more reasonable to say that these verses have gone from the Mahapratyakhyan to the Oghanniyukti.
Regarding the Churni literature, we would only say that the Churnis were composed after the Prakirnak literature, because the Nandiini clearly mentions the Mahapratyakhyan by name. Again, the Churnis are originally written in prose, so if any verse of the Mahapratyakhyan is quoted in them, it must be assumed that these verses have gone from the Mahapratyakhyan to them, because chronologically, while the Churnis are from the 7th century, the Mahapratyakhyan is a composition from before the 5th century.
From the point of view of its subject matter, the Mahapratyakhyan is a Prakirnak text that is primarily focused on practice. It mainly provides instructions on Samadhimaran and its previous process. Samadhimaran can be considered an important part of Jain practice. In the Jain tradition, whether a sadhak is a muni or a householder, he is encouraged to take Samadhimaran. There are some verses in the Mahapratyakhyan that encourage the sadhak to take Samadhimaran, and there are some other verses that instruct on criticism, etc. In fact, they are in the form of the previous process of Samadhimaran.
1. Mahapratyakhyan, verse 102.
2. Nandi Churni, Sutra 81.