Agam 05 Ang 05 Bhagvati Vyakhya Prajnapti Sutra Part 03

Author(s): Bechardas Doshi, Amrutlal Bhojak
Publisher: Mahavir Jain Vidyalay

Page 24

INTRODUCTION
Pt. Bechardasji, editor of the present work, deems it not necessary to write 'Editor's Note to this third part. He requests readers to read his Editor's Note' to parts I and II of the volume. He is 92 and even at this age he guides scholars.
The Viyahapannattisutta, edited in three parts, is a veritable treasure of data and informations related to many fields. Hence to give a full and critical account of its subject-matter from various standpoints will require, composition of several works.
Mainly it is fraught with innumerable facts pertaining to Jaina Philosophy. Moreover, it mentions some śramaņas belonging to the tradition of Lord Pārsva and contains discussions that they had with Lord Mahāvīra and his chief disciple Gautama. It refers to non-Jaina religious teachers, viz. Ājivaka, Anyayüthika, Vānaprastha and Tāpasas like Hotrika-Potika-Diśáprokşi etc., expounds their tenets, describes their daily religious activities, gives an account of their practices of penance and mentions their paraphernalia. One can write an interesting article on this aspect. This constitutes the salient feature of this work. This feature makes the work an important source-book for historical studies. Limitations of my advancing age and declining energy do not permit me to go beyond this act of making suggestion. For details one may refer to the Appendix II (pp. 1193-1546) and consult the text on the pages noted against the terms pasāvaccijja, ajīviya, annautthiya (or annautthiya), vännapattha, hottiya, pottiya, disāņokkhiya, tävasa, parivvāyaga, tavasabhamdaya, tāvasāvasaha and parivvāyagāvasaha.
Again, references to vana, vehicles, lamps, dress, ornaments and other household paraphernalia used in those days furnish us with rich and interesting cultural data.
Principal Commentaries on the Viyahapannattisutta :
The extent of the text of the Viyahapannattisutta is 15600 or 15752 anuştup ślokas. Many commentaries on this voluminous work are available. Among them two are principal — 1. the Bhagavati
1 For detailed note one may refer to Tippaņi 1-2 on p. 517.
2 The measure of one anuştup śloka is 32 letters. And in measuring the extent of a particular text this anuştup śloka is taken as a unit of measurement.
3 The Jaina-Granthāvali and following it the Jinaratnakośa mention ĀC. Malayagiri's Vrtti on sataka II of the Bhagavatīsūtra. But this entry in the Jaina-Granthāvali seems to be based on some defective list inadvertently prepared.