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10
Tarāyana
The Bappabhatti verses are distributed over some 36 to 39 groups : 31 groups in the extent portion and from 5 to 8 groups, guessed to have been contained in the lost portion. The number of verses within each group ranges from 1 to 10, but groups of 4, 2 or 3 are more frequent, as will be seen from the following. table :
4
one-verse groups 3 two-verse groups 7 three-verse groups 6 four-verse groups 9
five-verse groups seven - verse group ten-verse group
1
The grouping of the Gathās is broadly based on topical sameness or affinity, and some pattern is also evident in the sequence of the groups.
As a contemporary of Bappabhatti Sankuka is to be assigned. to the end of the eighth and the beginning of the ninth century. We know of the poetician Sankuka, who had commented on Bharata's Nātyaśāstra and who is said to have composed a poem called Bhuvanābhyudaya. He flourished during the reign of Ajitāpīda of Kashmere (814-851 A.D.). Thus he also belonged to the first half of the 9th century. But our Sankuka had the Pratihāra king Amma Nāgāvaloka or Nāgabhatta II as his patron and he seems to be adept in Prakrit literature. So the two Sankukas. were possibly different.
(d) The Sanskrit Commentary
The Sanskrit commentary on the Târyāaņa is anonymous. In the Mangala verse the commentator pays his homage to the Sarvajña, thereby clearly suggesting that he was a Jain. This is also born out by the Commentary on v. 13. In the opening verse the commentator states that his aim is to bring out the precise meaning and purport of the verses by giving lucid rendering of all the words, so that all the misinterpretations and misunder
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