Agam 05 Ang 05 Study Of Bhagvati Vyakhya Prajnapti Sutra

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

Page 201

they are destined to be released from samsara.
440
X VI.1.589 must have been composed in relation to the story of King Konika, about whom the Jainas talk eagerly with special favour in the age of story composition. VI.9.299-303 refer to the Aupapatika for varnaka. Sataka XV. 553 also records maha'sila kantaka sangrama as one of the eight carama vastus of Go'sala. The stories of Konika's wars which are entwined with mythological elements are said to differ from the commentaries on the Nandi and Uttara on the one hand, and the Nirayavalika on the other. There are no other literary or archaeological sources in both Jaina and non-Jaina traditions to check upon the historicity of these two wars, which therefore remain a complete mystery. We place both of the texts above in the fifth canonical stage.
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X 11.6.490-91 narrate that King Udayana (here already converted as so known from XI.2.440-41) was initiated by MV into the Jaina order of monks, upon having enthroned his nephew Kesi instead of his real son Abhici. He did this fearing that his son's worldly attachments might spoil his future life. King Udayana attained immediate liberation. Abhici, who cherished a grudge against his father and died without performing alocanã and pratikramana which he should have done as a lay Jaina, was born as an Asurakumara, and then attained emancipation from Mahavideha in the succeeding birth. This text again belongs to the fifth canonical stage. As to the uncertainty of its historicity, readers may be interested in the account offered by Deleu in his Viyahapannatti, p.44.
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S+
Stories and episodes collected in the Bhagavati are usually accompanied by distinct signs at their beginning and ending which take the form of a stereotyped prologue and epilogue, often involving the change of places and persons coming into the scene. These are largely dividable into two groups, i.e., one concerned with showing the theoretical discussions, and the other attempting to illustrate the future rebirth or liberation of the persons, which may or may not involve discussion of theoretical topics. In the case of conversion stories, theoretical topics are, as a rule, offered for debate, in order to prove that the heretics were converted due to their inferior positions concerning relevant problems. Both categories of stories are aimed at edifying laymen at large, and are in the majority composed in the late canonical age, as evident from the reciprocal references made between the Bhagavati stories and other canonical stories.
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Bhagavati stories belonging to the first group are as follows: (1) The cases in which heroes are on the side of MV's camp: 1.6.53 (Roha), I.3.149-53 (Manditaputra), V.4.188 (Gautama and two gods), V.8.220 (Naradaputra and Nirgranthiputra) and XVI.3.617-21 (Makandiputra); (2) The cases in which heroes are on the side of Parsva's camp: 1.5.106-11 (Par's van elders). For Private & Personal Use Only