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GAINA SOTRAS.
to Silanka and the other commentators, it was the eighth lecture. It contained seven lessons, and treated of some details of ascetic life. The fact that the same subjects were treated in the second book probably occasioned the loss of the Mahaparinnå, 'because it was superfluous.'
The second book consists of four parts (Kula) or appendices. There were originally five Kulâs, but the fifth, the Nisîhiyagghana, is now reckoned as a separate work. The first and second parts lay down rules for conduct. Their style is very different from that of the first book, being rather cumbrous, and not at all aphoristical. The greatest difficulty in translating these parts is caused by the numerous technical terms, some of which remain obscure, notwithstanding the explanation of the commentary; others again are simply transcribed into Sanskrit by the scholiast, and seem to require no definition to be understood by the modern Gainas. But it is different with us, who are frequently reduced to guessing at the meaning of technicalities which a Yati could explain at once. It is therefore to be hoped that some scholars in India, who can avail themselves of the instruction of a Yati, will turn their attention to this subject, and get an authentic explanation of the many technical terms the meaning of which cannot be ascertained by a European scholar by the means of Gaina works only.
The third and fourth Kulâs have, according to the Parisishta Parvan IX, been revealed to the eldest sister of Sthulabhadra by Sîmandhara, a Gina living in Pûrvavideha, a mythical continent. This tradition is very remarkable, as it assigns what we should call the composition of the two last parts of the Akárånga Satra to the same time when the Kalpa Sútra, which treats of a similar subject, was composed.
The third part is of great interest, as it contains the materials from which the Life of Mahâvîra in the Kalpa Satra has been worked out. In fact most of the prose paragraphs occur with but small alterations in the Kalpa
1 See Calcutta edition, I, p. 435 seq., vv. 251-268. . Siisayattanena, Weber, I. c.
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| SR No. | 007677 |
| Book Title | Saddharma Pundarika |
| Original Sutra Author | N/A |
| Author | H Kern |
| Publisher | Oxford |
| Publication Year | 1884 |
| Total Pages | 2546 |
| Language | English |
| Classification | Book_English |
| File Size | 46 MB |