Agam 30 Prakirnak 07 Gacchachar Sutra

Author(s): D S Baya
Publisher: Agam Ahimsa Samta Evam Prakrit Samsthan

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XXXIV : GACCHĀCĀRA PRAKIRNAKA
Prakirnaka is not a composition of a period prior to the gth century. Again, in this Prakīrnaka, the lax and comfort-loving monastic groups have been criticised. It is well known that the tendency towards laxity and love for comfort found its way into the Nirgrantha Sramanic orders with the advent of the Caityavāsi tradition sometime in the 4th century and their first ever opposition was voiced by Acārya Kunda Kunda, of the Digambara tradition, in his works Sūtrapāhuda, Bodhapāhuda and Lingapāhuda in the 6 century.27 In the Svetāmbara tradition the opposition to such tendencies came from Ācārya Haribhadrasūri, in the gth century, in his work Sambodha PrakaranaMany verses of the Gacchācāra Prakirnaka are identically found in the Sambodha Prakarana, which shows that these two works must be almost contemporary. Although this possibility can also not be ruled out that such identical verses were taken by the author of Gacchācāra Prakīrnaka from the Sambodha Prakarana If we subscribe to this argument, we will have to admit that the Gacchacāra Prakirnaka is of a later origin than the Sambodh Prakarana After Haribhadra, the most vocal opposition of the laxity and love for comfort in the Svetāmbara tradition came from Ācārya Jineśvarasūri of the Khartara Gaccha. His period is around the 10th century. Therefore, it is also possible that the Gacchācāra Prakirnakawas composed sometime towards the end of the 10" century or the beginning of the 11" century. Again, if we believe that this work is a composition by Acārya Virabhadra, its period of composition comes out to be the end of the 10"h century as Vīrabhadra's time is around the 10th century AD.
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For details refer to - A. Sūtrapāhuda, verses 9–15. B. Bodhapāhuda, verses 17-20 and 45–60. C. Lingapaāhuda verses 1-20. Sambodhaprakarana, Kuguru adhyāya, verses 40–50.
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