Ancient Jaina Hymns

Author(s): Charlotte Krause
Publisher: SCIndia Oriental Institute Ujain

Page 77

REMARKS ON THE TEXTS
“Vimaladharma", if at all meant as a "Sleṣa, may be'an allusion to a personality of that name to whom the poet felt bound in gratitude or admiration, perhaps some one under whom he studied. This is all the more likely since the same name occurs a second time in this hymn, in st. 19, though disguised in the form of "Vimalavabodha".
Contemporaneous literature does indeed know of a personality of the name of "Vimaladharma". An anonymous Gujarati poet refers to him as to his Guru in his "Jīrāülā Pārsvanātha Vinati”, and his “Mahāvīra Vinati", the latter composed in V. S. 1520, in the following words:1
"जय पंडितवर सिरि विमलधर्म, ते जाणइ आगम वेद मर्म । " and:
" राय राणा भूप अति घणाए, जिण रंजिय देस नयर तणाए, विमलधमें पंडित तणइए उपदेसिइ जीर्ण उधार करइए || १३ "
The colophon of an ancient MS. of the "Gautama Rasa" too mentions the name of Vimaladharma in the following way : " " पूज्याराध्य पंडित शिरोमणि पं. विमलधर्म गणि शिष्य पं. जिनशील गणि पं. श्रीविमल गणि शिष्य पं. माणिक्यविमल गणि."
This record is undated. It is, however, supplemented by another, dated one, viz., the colophon of a MS. of "Śrī Gurūṇām Svādhyāya”, of V.S. 1569, in which the same Manikyavimala, who wrote the above MS. of the "Gautama Rāsa", states his Guru "Śrivimala" to be a pupil of the "Laghu-Sallya Gacchanayaka ŚrīHemavimala Suri". Since, as we saw above, the "Laghu
(1) J. G. K., III, p. 552. (2) J. G. K. III, p. 553 f.
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