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________________ JAINA LITERATURE OF THE NORTH Among the works mentioned above, Taltvarthadhigama-Sutra is the one on which mostly rests his fame. Of the few priceless jewels that have been rescued from loss and oblivion this is about the most valuable. Umasvata is the first to put in the popular style of the plulosophical Sanskrit Sut as all the Jainistic principles that constitute the backbone of the Agamic literature of the Jainas. This is why it is virtually known as the Jaina Bible and is revered by all sections of the Jaina community. How great and authoritative it is recognised to be will be further evident from the fact that it has perhaps received the greatest attention from most Jaina commentators. No less than thirty-one commentaries are known to be extant now. There is no Jaina doctrine or dogma which is not expressed or implied in these aphorisms. Verily TattvarthaSutra is a sacred epitome of Jainism.1 With these few introductory notes on the great UmasvatiVacaka we shall pass on to the period of Vikramaditya, with Siddhasena Divakara and Padaliptacarya as the outstanding luminaries of the Jaina literazy history. With regard to the authenticity of the ancient and persistent Jaina tradition about the period of Siddhasena and his conversion of Vikrama we have already dealt, and hence we need not here enter into any further details about this moot question of the period of Divakara. However two facts may be adduced here in favour of this traditional date of Siddhasena. In the first place, like Vacaka-Sramana, he also is claimed by both the Digambaras and the Svetambaras, and secondly, references to him in the literature of both the sects are ancient. As to the literature left to us by the great Siddhasena, he is said to have written thirty-two independent works dealing with Jaina logic and philosophy. Leaving aside the minor question of the number of works composed by him he is precisely the first Svetambara author of Prakaranas in the technical meaning of the word. "A Prakarana is a systematic treatise in which the subject is exposed in a scientific form, unlike the unsystematic, ether diffuse or episodical, treatment of subjects in canonical books ; it may be in Prakrt, but as a rule it is in Sanskrit." 4. Such endeavours on the part of great teachers like Siddhasena and others 1 Jaini, op at, Int , p vur 9 Rice (EP), Kanarese Literature, p 41 Hiralal (Rar Bahadur), op cit, Int, p in Jacobi, Samaraneca Kaha, Int , p x 241
| SR No. | 011067 |
| Book Title | Jainism in North India |
| Original Sutra Author | N/A |
| Author | Chimanlal J Shah |
| Publisher | Longmans Green and Compny London |
| Publication Year | 1932 |
| Total Pages | 66 |
| Language | English |
| Classification | Book_English |
| File Size | 3 MB |