Anandrushi Abhinandan Granth

Author(s): Vijaymuni Shastri, Devendramuni
Publisher: Maharashtra Sthanakwasi Jain Sangh Puna

Page 805

आयार्यप्रवर अभिनंदन आआनन्द สมยอม 38:21 श्री आनन्द
54 Dr. Ajay Mitra Shastri
rated in the above story from the Prabandha-cintamani and thereby attained great celebrity. Pleased with his learning. Satrujit, king of Pratisthānpura, appointed him his priest. Varaha hurled abuses on the Svetambaras who were upset and sent for Bhadrabahu. In the meantime Varähmihira was blessed with a son for whom he predicted a full 100 years' life, and the occasion was fittingly celebrated. Varahamihira complained that Bhadrabähu, albeit his couterine brother, did not participate in the festivities. On hearing it, Bhadrabahu explained away his action by predicting the child's death from a cat on the seventh day. The incident took place and Bhadrabahu consoled his brother exactly as narrated in the Prabandha-cintāmaņi. But a Jaina layman, reminded of the earlier insult of his faith by Varahamihira, condemmed the letter in the harshest possible words. On knowing the whole episode and being introduced to Bhadrabahu, the king, who had come to console Varahamihira, embraced Jainism. Thereupon Varähamihira began to hate Jainism and caused a lot of trouble to the Jaina laity. To avert this calamity Bhadrabahu compiled a prayer entitled Uvasaggahara Pasa comprising five stanzas. The story ends with the statement that Bhadrabahu's successor, Sthulabhadra, who also had the knowledge of the fourteen Purvas, destroyed other faiths."
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This story with minor changes is narrated in some other works also. Thus, in the Sukha-bodhini commentary on the Kalpa-sutra the same anecdote as found in the Prabandha-cintamani is related with the only difference that here the eipsode centres round the son of Varähamihira's royal patron, and not round Varähamihira's own son."
A comparative analysis will reveal that there are some minor differences between the versions of the story as found in the Prabandha-cintamani and the Prabandha-kośa. In the former the venue of the episode is located at Pataliputra, while the letter places it at Pratisthäna. While the former makes out the episode as occuring during the reign of king Nanda, the latter gives the name of the king as Satrujit. Merutunga does not mention, like Rajasekharasüri, the anecdote of Varahamihira's first becoming a Jaina ascetic and then reverting to the life of a Brahmana out of jealousy of his brother Bhadrabahu and leaves the impression that while Bhadrabahu became a Jaina monk Varähamihira throughout led the life of a Brahmana astrologer. Again, whereas the Prabandha-kola speaks of Bhadrabahu as a pupil of Yasobhadra, a contemporary of Sambhütivijaya and as the teacher of Sthülabhadra, no such statement is found in the Prabandha-cintamani. Likewise, while the Prabandha-kosa describes Yasobhadra, Bhadrabahu, Sambhütivijaya and Sthalabhadra as possessing the knowledge of the fourteen Purvas (caturdala-pürvin), the Prabandha-cintamani does not make any such explicit statement. And lastly, the death of Varáhamihira's son according to Bhadrabahu's prediction took place on the