Pravachanasara

SR No.: 003289
Original Sutra Author: N/A
Author: A N Upadhye
Publisher: Shrimad Rajchandra Ashram
Publication Year: 1964
Total Pages: 612
Language: Hindi, Sanskrit
Classification: Book_Devnagari
File Size: 16 MB

Page 137

104
Pravacanasāra
mentary we have only one gathā. It appears that Prabhācandra has somewhat different order of gāthăs here and there, especially in the III Book; but this might be due even to the defective character of MS. P; this change in the order does not materially affect the contents.
INFORMATION ABOUT PRABHĀCANDRA AND HIS DATE.-Prabhācandra gives no information about himself in his commentary on Pravacanasāra, so it is necessary to see whether we get any information about himn from other sources.1 Srutamuni, the author of Prakrit Bhāva-tribhangi, says in the prasasti of that work that Bālacandra was his anuvrata-guru, Abhayacandra Siddhānti his mahāvrata-guru and Abhayasūri and Prabhācandra were his śāstra-gurus. In the course of an eulogy of these different teachers he speaks about Prabhācandra that he was a saint skilled in Sāratraya (viz., Pañcâstikāya-, Pravacana-, and Samaya-sāra), devoted to his pure self, free from attitudes [p. 109:] of attachment for external objects and devoted to the enlightenment of liberable people.3 From this mention of Sāratraya it appears that Śrutamuni is referring to Prabhācandra, the commentator. If so, the date of Prabhācandra can be settled. Śrutamuni with his teacher Abhayacandra is mentioned in S. Be!goļa Inscr. No. 254 of 1398. A. D. which is written some generations after Srutamuni. Then taking into consideration the Hulluhalli inscription of 1371 A.D.,4 we find that it refers to the death of Abhinava Srutamuni who was the grand-disciple (prasişya) of Śrutamuni.5 So Srutamuni might have flourished in the middle of the 14th century A.D. Bālacandra who is the guru of Śrutamuni is different from our commentator Balacandra. This Balacandra, to whom Srutamuni refers appears to be the same as one referred to in Halebida Inscr. of 1275 A.D. which is the year of his death. I am aware that there was one other Bālacandra of Ingaleśvarabali, who was living in 1282 A. D.? At any rate these dates of Srutamuni and Bālacandra indicate that Prabhācandra flourished in the first quarter of the 14th century A.D. or so; thus his commentary comes later than that of Balacandra.
5. Mallisena and his Țikā THE MS. OF SO CALLED MALLISEŅA'S TĪKĀ.—It is reported that one Mallişeņa has written Sanskrit commentaries on Pañcāstikāya and Pravacanasāra; but unfortunately the Karanja MSS. could not be available to me. In the absence of definite information about him, it is of no avail to try to identify him with one or the
1 About various Prabhācandras and about this Prabhacandra see Pt. Jugalkishore's notes
p. 63 of the Intro. to Srāvakācāra, MDJG Vol. 24. 2 Introduction to MDJG Vol. 20, p. 4 etc. 3 The verse runs thus with my emendations in brackets;
vara-Sarattaya-niiino suddam parao (suddhappa-rao) virahiya-parabhão(vo) /
bhaviyānam padibohanakaro Pahācanda nama muni // 4 E. C. III Nanjanagud No. 64. 5 E. C. II 254. 6 E. C. V. Belur Nos. 13, 132; Karnāțaka Kavicarite Vol. I, p. 391. 7 E. C. II 334. 8 Catalogue of Sk. and Pk. MSS. in C. P. & Berar pp. 663, 671.