Disclaimer: This translation does not guarantee complete accuracy, please confirm with the original page text.
It holds a unique position. Its composition uses 108 prose sutras and 103 verse stanzas. It has one study, 20 prabhritas and the available original text is 2200 shlokas in size.
'Surya-Prajnapti' is a very ancient text, as it has been accepted by all three - Shvetambar, Digambar and Sthanakvasi. From this perspective, it can be said that its position was before the division of the three. Its time should be before Vikram.
From the point of view of the subject matter, the 20 prabhritas of this text present such subtle considerations of astronomy that they have not been presented together anywhere else. Its inception took place in Mithila city, in the reign of Jitashatru, after the sermon of Vardhaman Mahavira in the Manibhadra Chaitya outside the city, to solve the curiosity of Ganadhar Gautam. It includes - 'Mandlagatisankhya, Surya's transverse rotation, Prakasya Kshetra Parimana, Prakash Sansthan, Leshya Pratighāt, Ojaḥ Sansthiti, Suryavarak Uday Sansthiti, Pauraushi Chāyāpraman, Yoga Swaroop, Beginning and end of years, Differences in years, Increase and decrease of the moon, Jyotisna Praman, Shighragati Nirnay, Jyotisna Lakshana, Chyavan and Upapat, Height of the moon, sun etc., their size and the experiences of the moon etc.' There is a detailed discussion on these topics. Therefore, this text presents sufficient useful facts for thinkers of astronomy.
Upadhyay Shri Devendra Muni Shastri has given a detailed introduction of Surya Prajnapti in his great book 'Jain Agam Sahitya: Manan aur Meemamsa'. The summary is as follows -
In the first prabhrit - '30 Muhurtas in day and night, Nakshatra month, Surya month, Chandra month and Ritu month, increase in Muhurtas, the time of Surya's motion from the first to the last and from the last to the first mandala, Surya's motion once in the last mandala and twice in the remaining mandalas, Dakshinayan and Uttarayan of Aditya-Samvatsar, the least and the best Muhurtas of Aho-ratra and the reason for the increase and decrease of Aho-ratra Muhurtas, the area of sunrise of Surya in Bharat and Airavat region, the difference in the motion of one Surya from the first to the last and from the last to the first in both the ayanas of Aditya Samvatsar, six other beliefs related to the difference, the size of Surya's rotation in one Aho-ratra in relation to the crossing of islands and seas by Surya and the creation and expansion of mandalas are described.'
In the second prabhrit - 'After describing the rise and fall of the sun, the views of other Tirthankaras have been mentioned, which include -
1. The sun rising in the east and moving across the sky, 2. The sun being a group of circular rays and being destroyed in the evening, 3. The sun being a deity and its nature being sunrise and sunset, 4. The sun being a deity and its eternal state,
5. Rising in the east in the morning and reaching the west in the evening and from there illuminating the lower world and returning downwards etc. are prominent. Finally, the idea of the sun moving from one mandala to another and how much area it rotates in one muhurta is expressed, and the self-opinion is also presented. Other religious followers believe that the earth is round, but Jainism believes differently, which is also indicated by this.'
In the third prabhrit - there is a description of the islands and seas illuminated by the moon and the sun. In this context, twelve
[ 34 ]