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Studies in Umāsvāti
Sanskrit commentaries. Therefore, this paper has focussed more on the Kannada works in their chronological order.
Two or three of the earliest commentaries of Karnataka are not traceable even to this day. An inscription of Hombuja, while recording the chronology of succession of Jaina monks mentions the name of Āryadeva who succeeded Sivakoi ācārya and Varadattācārya, the two disciples of Samantabhadrasvāmi [E.C.VIII-i (BLR). Nr. 35. 1077. line: 713. The charter states that Aryadeva authored a work Tattvārthasūtra and the adept Simhanandi ācārya who promoted the Ganga kingdom succeeded Āryadeva. It is well known that the nestor preceptor Simhanandi lived in the mid fourth century and blessed the Ksatriya brothers Dadiga and Mādhava, who founded Gangavādi - kingdom [EC. VII-i (old) sh-4.1121-22]. Therefore the date of Āryadeva who preceeded Simhanandi may be fixed at the beginning of fourth century C.E.
But fixing the date is not that simple, because Śivakoi-ācārya and Varadatta Ācārya who preceded Āryadeva, were disciples of Samantabhadra svāmi (c. 550). Therefore Āryadeva will be a later author of seventh century in which case it corroborates the probable date of Cūdāmaại the earliest of Karnataka commentaries.
1. Āryadeva may be the contemporary of Pūjyapāda. 2. Āryadeva may be the author of Cūdāmaņi. 3. Āryadeva has an access to Samantabhadradeva's
commentary and Pūjyapāda's commentary.
But again the identity of Aryadeva poses some problems, whether Aryadeva is one of the aliases of Umāsvāmi or altogether a different name, is to be decided. If he turns out to be not identical with Umāsvāmi, then according to the statement of Hombuja charter, Āryadeva has authored a work also called Tattvārthasūtra, totally a seperate text though the title is one and the same. Whether Āryadeva was the first name of the great apostle Umāsvāmi is to be examined.
