Ancient Jaina Hymns

Author(s): Charlotte Krause
Publisher: Oriental Institute

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REMARKS ON THE TEXTS
re both need not be reiterated here. For the present purpose, it will be sufficient to know that he was born inV. S. 1694, ordained by his Guru Dhiravimala Gaại in 1702 under adoption of the monk's name of "Nayavia mala", invested with the title of “Acārya" under adoption of the name of "Jñanavimala Sūri" in 1748 or(1749) by orders of the head of the Gaccha, and died in 1782 at the ripe age of 89 years. He was a prolific writer. His creations comprise a number of Rāsas, Stutis, Sta. vanas, Sajjhāyas, and Bālāvabodhas in Gujarati, while his Sanskrit works are commentaries on texts like the Prašnavyākaraṇa-sútra and the Dāvānala-stuti, as well as an orginal "Sripāla-caritra" in prose, and a "Prasna-dvātrimsikā-stotra.
The "Sarkhesvara-Pārsvanātha-stavana", publi. shed here for the first time, thus brings the number of his Sanskrit hymns up to two. The fact that this hymn opens with the word "aindra", naturally makes the reader think of Yasovijaya,' the famous author and reformer, senior to our poet by a few decades, who had such a predilection for this word that he began many ci nis Sanskrit works with it. For, according to his own testimonial, it was by repeating the first syllable of this word, “aim”, the “mantra-bīja” of Sarasvatī, that this goddess bestowed her favour on him, on the bank of the Ganges, during his 12 years' stay at Benares as a student. The mystic meaning of the whole word "aindra”, which, in Tantra-Sāstra, is an equivalent of "mati”, "buddhi", may also partially be responsible for Yasovijaya's predilection for the same. One could therefore think of Yasovijaya as the
(1) He was ordain:d in 1689 and died in 1743 (J. G. K., II, p. 20 ff). (2) Vide J. St. Sand., I, Introduction, p. 4. (3) Vide "Tantrabbid.apa", ed. A. Avalon, p. 60.
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