Book Title: Agam 05 Ang 05 Bhagvati Vyakhya Prajnapti Sutra
Author(s): Jozef Deleu
Publisher: DE Tempel Brugge

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Page 143
________________ VII 9 of the fighting men and animals the touch of a blade of grass, a leaf, a piece of wood or a pebble was as painful as a blow with a big stone. In that war 8.400.000 men were killed; being immoral (nissila), non-renunciant (nippaccakkhāna) etc. they were reborn as H and A. Cf. the comm. on below. 3a (319a) In the 'War of the Chariot with the Mace' (Rahamusala samgāma) king Kūņiya Videhaputta, sitting on his elephant Bhūyāṇanda, protected in front by Sakka in the same way as in 2 above and protected at the back (maggao) by Camara who has magically entered (viuvvittānam) a large metal [backplate] shaped like an ascetic's cup (āyasa khidina-padirūvaga), in the same way triumphs over the same tribal chiefs. This was called the 'War of the Chariot with the Mace' because a warchariot equipped with a mace moved about of itself (without a horse, a driver and a warrior), massacring the enemies. 9.600.000 men were killed, 10.000 of whom were reborn as the roe of a fish (macchie kucchimsi), one was reborn among the gods, one in a good family (see 3c-d below), the others among H and A. According to Abhay. the Mallakis belong to Kāśi (Benares) and the Lecchakis (Licchavis) to Kośala (Oudh). The comm. also relates the origin of this war. When Kūņika was king at Campā his two younger brothers Halla and Vihalla owned a scent-elephant named Secanaka. Knowing that Padmāvati, Kūņika's wife. wanted to have it, Halla and Vihalla fled with Secanaka to Cetaka, their maternal grand-father, the king of Vaiśālī. Cetaka refused to extradite them to Kūņika. In order to attack Cetaka Kūņika called up ten half-brothers (bhinna-matyka bhrāts). Cetaka, on his part, convoked eighteen tribal chiefs (gaņa-rāja). Each of the thirty chiefs (Kūņika + 10 half-brothers + Cetaka + 18 tribal chiefs) commanded an army of 3.000 elephants, war-chariots and horses, and 3 koţis of men. Kūņika's army draws up in the eagle array (garuda-vyuha), Cetaka's in the sāgara (for śākața or sakata 'waggon') array. At first the tide of battle favours Cetaka. On the eleventh day Kūņika propitiates the gods with an aştama-bhakta fast. Sakra, though refusing to fight against the śrāvaka Cetaka, protects Kūņika by making (krtavat) an impregnable vajra-shaped cuirass. And Camara magically enters (vikurvitavat) into two weapons (samgrāma!), the mahāśilā-kantaka and the ratha-musala. According to Monier-Williams mahā-silā is a sata-ghni, i.e. 'a stone or cylindrical piece of wood studded with iron pikes'; thence, probably, kantaka. For the elephant Secanaka (Sprinkler') and the War of the Big Stones see also Nir. (cf. par. 9 of my introduction to the edition of that text) and Avasyaka Cūrņi (Ratlam 1928) II pp. 164-174. According to Abhay, a gana-rāja is the leader of a coterie 141 Jain Education International For Private & Personal Use Only www.jainelibrary.org

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