Anandrushi Abhinandan Granth

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

Page 809

આવા श्री आनन्द आशाआनन्द अभिनंदन
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Dr. Ajay Mitra Shastri
tions are unanimous in representing Bhadrabahu of the fourth century B. C. as the possessor of the knowledge of the twelve Angas and fourteen Purvas, the Digambara Pattavalls alone clearly distinguish him from Bhadrabahu II who was separated from the former by an interval of about three centuries. Again, the Digambaras do not give either of these Bhadrabähus the credit of composing either the niryukris or the Bhadrabahavi Samhita. On the other hand, the Svetämbaras clearly mention only one Bhadrabahu, the sruta-kevalin one, who is said to have passed away 170 years after Mahavira's nirvana. But while the earlier tradition speaks of him as the author of the Cheda-sutras only, some late writers credit him with the authorship of the miryuktis, the Bhadrabahari Samita and the Uvasagga-hara Pasa also. The earliest writher to represent him as the author of the niryuktis is Silanka who lived in the eighth century A. D. and speaks of him both as niryukti-kara and caturdasa-purva-dhara in one and the same breath35. The same belief is re-iterated by some later writers like Säntisüri, Dronācārya, Maladhari Hemacandra, Malayagiri and Ksemakirti. But they do not utter a single word about Bhadrabahu's mastery over astrology. It was left to some late authors of the fourteenth and following centuries to lay stress on this aspect. Nay, we may even ever that an excessive emphasis on this aspect relegates all other religious and literary activities to background. Thus was brought into being the fully developed personality of Bhadrabahu which is an article of faith with the generality of the Svetämbaras today. But this belief involves serious anachronism. The overwhelming internal evidence of the niryuktis themselves leaves no room. for doubt that they were composed much later than the fourth century B. C. when the sruta-kevalin Bhadrabahu is reputed to have flourished. To cite only a few illustrations. The Avasyaka-niryukri refers to later Jaina acaryas like Bhadragupta, Arya Sithhagiri, Vajrasvamin, Tosaliputra, Aryarakṣita, Phalguraksita, Arya Suhastin, etc. by name and alludes to events connected with them.37 The Uttaradhyayana-sutra-niryukti not only mentions Sthulabhadra with respect (he is styled bhagavat) but also narrates the story of Kalakācārya who is well known in connection with the legends centring round Vikramaditya and thus assignable to the first century B. C. The Pinda-niryukti names Pädalipta and Vajrasvamin's maternal uncle Samita and relates the ordination of the Tapasas of Brahmadvipa and the origin of the Brahmadvipika sakha." And lastly, the Ogha-niryukti represents its author as paying obeisance not only to saints possessing the knowledge of the fourteen Pürvas but also to those versed in ten Purvas and eleven Angas, which can refer only to post-sruta-kevalin period and would be anachronistic if the niryuktis were to be regarded as camposed by caturdasa-purvin Bhadrabahu. Not that the commentators of the niryuktis were not aware of these anachronisms, but the pressure of tradition weighed so heavily that they attempted to explain away these
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