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Introduction :
(7)
- 12
(e) Appended verses (e) Abstraction verses (Cūrni-sūtras) - 7009 (H.L. Shastri) (f) Short commentary verses - (Vrttis)
11
07
Table 3: Interrogative Verses S.No. No. of verses
Total 01. 21, 23, 41, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67
12 02. 68, 69, 81, 84, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 116, 117, 118, 13
119 120, 130, 151, 157, 162, 166, 182, 194, 199, 207,
213 04. 214, 218, 219, 220, 221, 229, 232
Total 43 The verse-based composition has an advantage of easy oral communication, retention and poetic preservation. One cannot say whether prosaic aphorism preceded versified aphorism. However, these categories of verses have been mentioned with respect to their nature also.
Vīrasena has also confirmed that the verses in addition to 180 are also composed by the author himself and not by Nāgahasti. However, his logic seems to be weak on this point.
It is also pointed that these verses contain the gist of 16000 Padas (medium), thus indicating the profundity and basic abstraction nature of KP.
These verses have one more characteristic. A large number of verses is in the form of questions through the words like how many (Kadi), what (kir) which or where (kasmin) and who (kati) etc. Some of these questions are attended through the verses, while other questions are answered in detail through Cūrņi or commentary. The number of questioning verses is 43 as given in Table-3. The questionanswer system has been there in Jaina canons and even Buddhist
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