Agam 05 Ang 05 Study Of Bhagvati Vyakhya Prajnapti Sutra

Author(s): Suzuko Ohira
Publisher: Prakrit Text Society Ahmedabad

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I-XX. In Chapter I attempted is a general survey of the currents of thought running through the canonical period, which is divided into five stages in order to establish the criteria of thought content developed in each canonical stage, so that they might enable us to evaluate the age of the relevant material in the Bhagavati in the corresponding canonical stages. A Table of Synopsis of Satakas I-XX is made in Chapter II, which is classified according to subject from A to F. Our chronological analysis of the contents of the Bhagavati is conducted in Chapter III according to this sequence by subject. The data resulted therefrom are subjected to our final examination in the concluding Chapter IV, in order to ascertain the nature of the Bhagavati nucleus texts, the process of expansion to their present volume, and the position of the Bhagavati in Jaina canonical literature.
This survey is beset with numerous difficulties which shall become evident in the course of our study. The major difficulty here is that the criteria themselves for analyzing the layers of the Bhagavati into five canonical stages are on shaky ground, because none of the present canonical texts, which are all infested with later interpolations, has yet been stratified into its chronological layers. On the other hand, unless the meanings and values of the problems hidden in the Bhagavati key texts are elucidated in a historical context, it is difficult to stratify the layers of the other canonical texts. Such being the case, our survey amounts to a preparatory move towards later studies of the canonical literature in this direction, which is wide open for future improvement.
As we know, we have Prof. A. Weber, Prof. W. Schubring, Prof. J. Deleu and Dr. K.K. Dixit as our predecessors in the history of studying or stratifying the Bhagavati. Prof. Bruhn meanwhile reminded me to read Prof. B. Bhatt's "Stratification in Satakas 1-20 of the Vyahapannatti" (in Indologica Taurinensia, 11, 1983), and also kindly sent me a copy of Prof. J. Deleu's "A Further Inquiry into the Nucleus of the Viyahapannatti" (in Indologica Taurinensia, 14, 1987-88). All these studies are very helpful in furthering the task of its stratification.
It was right before I came back to Japan in April 1978 that I handed in the original work of this Bhagavati study to my guiding teacher, Pt. D.D. Malvania, First Director of the L.D. Institute of Indology, Ahmedabad. Its revision and publication have been overdue since then.
Despite a long lapse of time, the overall content of the work has remained nearly the same as in 1978, with the following improvements made. The study was originally. based on the Agamodaya Samiti edition which has long been out of print. In this revised work, sutra referencer is renumbered according to the Suttagame which is currently available in the market. Then, at the suggestion of Mr. Kenji Watanabe, a Lecturer at the Joshibi University and a colleague at the Shukutoku Junior College, a sutra index is now provided along with a general index. As to the origin of dharmastikaya and adharmastikaya, I corrected my old view and attached it here