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 44

Introduction
11
Dharasena; it was Dharasena who knew Mahākarma-prābhrta, a portion of Agrāyanīya-pūrva; knowing that his death was nearing and that there was the fear of texts falling into oblivion, he invited from Venākatatīpura two intelligent monks of comprehensive grasp, who later on came to be called Puşpadanta and Bhūtabali, to whom he explained the text. Puspadanta and Bhūtabali compressed the Karma-prābhịta and composed Satkhandāgama, which was consequently committed to writing. Another thread of the story says that the saint Gunadhara explained the Mūlasūtras and Vivaraņa-gäthās of Kaşāyaprābhịta to Nāgahasti and Aryamankşu. Yativrşabha studied the same from them and composed thereon Cūrņi-sūtras extending over six thousand granthas. Uccāraṇācārya studied the same from Yativịşabha and wrote a doubly great vịtti. Thus the Kaşāya-prābhịta came to be constituted of the labours of Guņadhara, Yativrşabha and Uccāraņa; and it was committed to writing. Now this Siddhānta, consisting of Karma-prābhyta and Kaşāya-prābhfta, was inherited by Padmanandi of Kundakundapura, and he wrote a commentary of twelve thousand slokas on the first three sections of Şatkhandāgama. From this it is clear that Kundakunda flourished later than 683 years after Vira. Pt. Premi, assigning tentative short periods to Dharasena and others down to Uccāraṇācārya, comes to the conclusion that Kundakunda might have flourished in the last qurter of the third century of Vikrama era. Another line of argument adopted by Premiji is based on the tradition that Kundakunda had a dispute with Svetāmbaras on Ujjayanta-giri. We know from Kundakunda's works, especially Sutta-pāhuda, that the Jaina church was already divided into Digambaras and Svetāmbaras by the time of Kundakunda. This division, according to Darsanasāra of Devasena, took place 136 years after the death of king Vikrama. Premi understood the date given by Darsanasāra as Salivāhana saka and placed the origin of Svetāmbara schism in (136+135) 271 Vikrama (p. 12:] samvat; he concluded that Kundakunda, therefore, must have flourished after that, i.e. in the last quarter of the 3rd century of V. samvat, which would be in agreement with the conclusion arrived at from the evidence of Srutāvatāra. At any rate, according to his view, Kundakunda cannot be earlier than 683 after Vira, i.e., 156 A.D.
DATE PROPOSED BY DR. PATHAK.—The next opinion is that of Pathak. He relies on two copper-plate inscriptions, one of Saka 719 (i.e.797 A.D.) and the other of Saka 724 (i.e.802 A.D.), belonging to the reign of Govindarāja III of the Rāştrakūta dynasty. The inscriptions have a reference to a contemporary teacher Prabhācandra, the pupil of Puspanandi, who was in turn the pupil of one Toranācārya of Kundakundānvaya (Kundakundānvayodbhavaḥ). K.B. Pathak argued that if Prabhācandra lived about Saka 719, his grand-teacher, Toraņācārya, might have flourished about Saka 600; and because Toraņācārya is placed about Saka 600, Kundakunda, to whose anvaya or lineage Toraņācārya belonged might be placed about 150 years earlier, i.e. about Saka 450 (i.e.528 A.D.). He supports this argument by another. The Cālukya king Kirtivarman Mahārāja, who was on the throne in Saka 500, subjugated Bādāmi and reduced the Kadamba dynasty; and thus, therefore, it is settled that Sivamrgesavarman of the Kadamba dynasty was ruling some 50 years before, i.e., about Saka 450. Bālacandra in his Kanarese commen
1 See the Introduction to the Ed. of Samayaprābhriam and that of Şat-prabhrtādisamgraha.
Vol. 17 of MDJG; I. A., XIV, p. 15 etc.