Agam 33 Prakirnak 10 Viratthao Sutra

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

Page 37

XXXVI : VĪRASTAVA-PRAKĪRṆAKA
pure knowledge (omniscience), you simultaneously know all the general and particular modes of all the animate and inanimate matter, you are known as Buddha, the enlightened. (Verse-42) Development Of The Subject-matter Of Virastava In Other Canonical And Eulogistic Works -
From the descriptions available in the Vīrastava Prakīrṇaka, it is clear that in this eulogistic work Lord Mahāvīra has been praised through the etymological definitions of His twenty-six attributal names. In the time that followed, in the process of development of eulogistic literature the tradition of eulogising the objects of worship and veneration by the etymological definitions of their attributal names firmly established itself. This tradition was marked by the style of works such as Jinasahasranama, Visņusahasranama, Šivasahasranāma, etc. This work, Vīrastava Prakirṇaka, is one such work in the initial stages of development of this tradition and style.
The names that appear in the Virastava Prakīrṇaka are also available in the Jaina canonical works such as Acaranga, Sūtrakrtänga, Vyakhyāprajñapti, Jñātādharmakathānga, Upāsakadaśānga, Anuttaropapātikadaśānga; in the Jaina eulogistic works like the Jinasahasranama, Arhatsahasranāma, Lalitavistara, etc and with slight difference in the works of the faiths other than the Jaina faith such as Visnupurana, Śivapurana, Gaṇeśapurāṇa, etc.
Out of the twenty-six attributal names of Lord Mahāvīra, recounted in the Virastava, many are important from the point of view of their ancient origins.
Initially, the adjectives like Arahanta, Arhata, Buddha, Jina, Vīra, Mahāvīra, etc were employed to highlight the special accomplishments of great, enlightened and venerable personages but, later, these came to be identified with the Śramanic tradition.