Studies in Jain Literature

SR No.: 001868
Original Sutra Author: N/A
Author: V M Kulkarni
Publisher: Shardaben Chimanbhai Educational Research Centre
Publication Year: 2001
Total Pages: 114
Language: English
Classification: Book_English, Literature, & Story
File Size: 14 MB

Page 332

314 STUDIES IN JAIN LITERATURE original contribution to the subjects."4 Finally, Keith remarks : "In the contemporary of Mammata, Hemacandra, we find a placid borrowing from Mammata, Abhinavagupta, Rajasekhara, the Vakroktijivita, and so on. His Kavyanusasana, with the Viveka by himself is destitute of originality, but contains a section on dramaturgy." I have quoted these three eminent scholars to draw your special attention to what they think of Hemacandra's work, perhaps the best among all the Jain works on poetics. And it follows that they regard other Jain works on poetics "even less valuable". The approach of these eminent scholars to the Jain works, especially to Acarya Hemacandra's Kavyanusasana, is wrong and their criticism unfair, unjust and unsympathetic. In my paper "The Sources of Hemacandra's Kavyanusasana."6 I have shown in detail how Hemacandra's work does not constitute an original contribution to the subject, and observed : "It is, however, not quite correct to describe the Kavyanusasana as a compilation exhibiting hardly any originality as Kane does or to charge Hemacandra of plagiarism as De does. Instead of briefly summarising or paraphrasing or describing in his own language the theories and doctrines of his predecessors too illustrious to be mentioned by name, if Hemacandra preferred to present them in their original form we need not find fault with him. Besides we cannot forget the fact that his writing was of a scientific nature and in such scientific books such quotations are justified. We will only be betraying poverty of our imagination and scant respect for Hemacandra's intelligence if we were to insinuate that Hemacandra pretended that all the passages and excerpts which he quoted would pass as his own. The truth of the matter is that Hemacandra regards the masterpieces of his predecessors as the property of the entire world. Hemacandra is a man of pratibha but his pratibha is more of the bhavayitri and less of the karayitri type. His capacity to select choicest excerpts from his authorities and to organise them into a homogeneous and organic whole is supreme. It would, therefore, seem that the criticism against Hemacandra's Kavyanusasana is not fair. It would be more correct to describe the Kas as a good text-book lucidly setting forth various topics of Alamkarasastra in the very words of the masters and serving as a good introduction to the study of the well-known authorities."? This approach and point of view adopted in the above-mentioned paper is, to my mind the right one8. We now briefly review the published Jain works relating to poetics. (1) The old passage in Prakrit in Anuyogadvarasutra' (third century A. D.