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ARHAT VACANA Kundakunda Jñānapītha, Indorer
Vol. -23, Issue 3, July - September 2011, 55-65 ARE GRDDHAPICCHA, UMĀSVĀMĪ, AND UMĀSVĀTI ONE PERSON ?
R.S. Shah*
ABSTRACT Tattvārthasūtra, a greatly venerated scripture for Jainas, is comparable to Brahmasūtra of Hindus. However, great controversy rages over its authorship. Svetāmbara Jaina tradition proclaims that Umāsvāti of their order is the author of Tattvärthasūtra and he wrote a commentary called Tattvārthādhigama or Tattvārthabhāsya on it. Popular Digambara Jain belief is that it is the work of their celebrated saint Umāsvāmi who was also known as Umāsvāti or Grddhapiccha. This article tries to establish that Umāsvāmi, Grddhapiccha and Umāsvāti are three different persons and real author of Tattvārtahsūtra is Grddhapiccha, reverred by both sects. Umāsvāti of Svetāmbara tradition wrote only a commentary on it.
I. INTRODUCTION.
Digambara (Dig. hereafter) Jaina tradition believes that the author of the great aphoristic work Tattvārthasūtra (hereafter TS) is Umāsvāmi, also some places referred as Umāsvāti, and described as disciple of Kundakunda in some late (after 1-2 C. A.D.) inscriptions and Pattavalis or Gurvävalis. Svetāmbara (Šve. hereafter) Jaina tradition insists that Umāsvāti belonging to their tradition was the author of TS who also wrote commentary on it, popularly referred as Tattvārthabhāsya (hereafter TB) and thus they treat it as the oldest commentary of TS. Vīrasena (9th C. A.D.), the Dig. genius and celebrated author of encyclopedic commentary Dhavalā on Satkhandāgama, as well as Vidyānanda (10th C. A.D.), the writer of commentary Slokavārtika (hereafter SV) on TS, clearly mention Grddhapiccha as author of TS, and do not mention either Umāsvāmi or Umäsväti as his aliases. Many Dig. sources (e.g. Sravanabelgola (SB) insciptions no. 105 and 108 of 14h C. A.D.) say that Gțddhapiccha is alias of Umāsvāti or Umāsvāmī. But the same sources proclaim Grddhapiccha as alias of Kundakunda also and thus reliability of this source is questionable. Some Dig.Jain historians (e.g. Nathuramji Premi and Jugalkishorji Mukhtar) are firmly of opinion that Umāsvāmī was neither the direct disciple of Kundakunda nor his other name was Grddhapiccha. There is great embranglement due to similarity in the names of Umāsvāmi and Umāsvāti which is compounded by sectarian views of the scholars from both camps.
*
Ex. Lecturer in Mathematics, Fergusson College, Pune; (Retd.) Executive Director, L.I.C. of India; Res. : 301 Matruchhaya, 40 Jeevanchhaya Society, Paud Road, Pune-411038.
