Kavyanushasana Critical Study

SR No.: 001713
Original Sutra Author: N/A
Author: A N Upadhye
Publisher: A N Upadhye
Publication Year: 1987
Total Pages: 558
Language: English
Classification: Book_English, Literature, & Kavya
File Size: 10 MB

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and preacher, it is but natural for him to offer his obeisance, most fittingly, to the Speech or the language of the Jina i.e., the Ardhamāgadhi language, the language of the sacred literature of the Jainas. On both these counts, Hemchandra's attampt to praise and worship the Jaini language is fully justified. But, apart from the formal sense in which the praise of and salutation to the Jaini speech can be justified, there are more weighty reasons that impell the Jaina Āchārya to propitiate the Jaini language. According to the author, the Ardhamāgadhi language which became the language of the Jina, or the conqueror of the evil passions that assail the human mind, viz. attachment etc., and came to be regarded as the sacred language of the Jainas since their sacred books are contained in it, has three important qualifications which make it eminently suited for propitiation by a Jaina. These reasons are : (1) Every word of it is full of natural sweetness. It can also
be easily understood even by children, women and dull persons; that is to say the lofty ideais and profound religious and philosophical tenets of Jainism can be easily understood in this sweet, non-artificial and simple
language, (2) It leads to final emancipation or beautitude by imparting
knowledge of right conduct along with right knowledge and right faith; conveys the true nature of things with its three characteristics as well as the science of numbers: and contains the religious tales. In short, it contain's
all the four divisions of the sacred literature in it, (3) It was the only language at the start of creation, but,
subsequently it transformed itself ihto all the different languages of the gods, of the human beings, of the barbarians and the animals.
The author quotes two verses to substantiate the view that the Ardhamāgadhi language makes for easy reading by children
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