________________ HARIBHADRASURI'S VIMSATIVIMSIKA! : AN APPROACH Haribhadrasuri (700-770 A. D.) is a very versatile and voluminous author. Tradition credits him with the authorship of 1400 Prakaranas. This number is an exaggeration. According to the latest list and classification of his works, the total number of his available works is 39; 8 more are mentioned against his name in other works, and the number of works attributed to him but which are not definitely known to be his, comes to 26.2 This list and classification shows how Haribhadrasuri has tried various branches of literature. In the galaxy of writers, especially Prakrit writers, he is a star of the first magnitude. An eminent logician and philosopher, a master satirist, a witty critic, a consummate artist, a profound psychologist', a learned commentator, a finished story-teller, a poet of no mean order--these are diverse facets of his versatile genius. He wields a facile pen and displays command of language, both Sanskrit and Prakrit. His fame as yuga-pradhana chiefly rests on his literary activity for the cause of the Jains and Jainism. With this introduction we now turn to his brief but comprehensive work Vimsati-Vimsika (WV). The title : It may be rendered in English as Score of Sets of Twenties. The title is thus explained : Vimsatih slokah parimanam yasyah sa vinsatih Vimsatinam vimsatih yasyam sa vinsati-vimsika || This work is also known Vimsati-Vimsatika. This title is thus explained : Vimsatih vimsatayah yasyam sa vissati-vimsatih 1 Vimsati-vimsatireva vimsati-vimsatika 11 It is not unlikely that Haribhadrasuri was influenced by the titles of Buddhist texts in choosing titles for a few of his works. His titles Saddarsana For Private & Personal Use Only www.jainelibrary.org Jain Education International
