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ANCIENT JAINA HYMNS
a row of cities on the northern and southern slope respectively, directly below the cities of the Vyantara gods. Dharaṇa then installed Nami and Vinami as the rulers of the semi-divine “Vidyādharas”, by which name they and their followers became known, Nami ruling in the south, and Vinami in the north.
Each of these two rulers was the lord of 8 “Vidyādhara-nikāyas", to each of which a particular group of "vidyās” was apportioned. The 16 “Vidyadharanikāyas" were named after the countries from where the pertinent group of Vidyadharas had originally emigrated, and the several "vidyā" groups were named accordingly. Lists of the names of these 16 groups of "vidyās” are given in Prakrit in the “Vasudevahindi'' and the "Avasyaka-cūrņi”, and in Sanskrit in the “Trisasțisalākāpuruşa-carita”, all three deviating from one another in several items. According to the lastnamed text, these “vidyā''-groups were : 1. Gauri-, 2. Vanu-, 3. Gandhāri-, 4. Manavī., 5. Kausiki-, 6. Bhū-, mitundā-, 7. Múlavīryā-, 8. Sankukā-, 9. Pāņduki-, 10. Kali-, 11. Svapāki-, 12. Mātangi-, 13. Pārvati, 14. Vamsalavā-, 15. Pāmsumūlā-, and 16. Věkşamūlā-vidyās. Out of these names, the "Subodhikā” mentions only Nos. 1 and 3, as belonging to the southern, and 9 and 14, as belonging to the northern part of “Vidyadhara”.
land.
Besides these “vidyā"-groups, the "Avasyakacũrni” and the “Subodhikā" mention four individual "mahāvidyās”, viz., 1. Gauri, 2. Gandhārī,' 3. Rohiņi, and 4. Prajñapti. Haribhadra Sūri, obviously following
(1) These two vidyās are also mentioned in the Sätrakrtanya-Sutra (II, 2, Sūtra 30, p. 318).
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Shree Sudharmaswami Gyanbhandar-Umara, Surat
www.umaragyanbhandar.com
