Asita Deval in Isibhasiyai

Author(s): Lallan Gopal
Publisher: Z_Aspect_of_Jainology_Part_3_Pundit_Dalsukh_Malvaniya_012017.pdf

Page 10

Asita-Devala in Isibhāsiyai
83 Against the background of these indications of the original Brahmanical core of Devala surviving the Jaina revision, we may refer to certain features of style and structure, which, though not conclusive, are compatible with the known features of Devala's writings in the available excerpts.
First is the introductory prose passage. It is admitted that this portion of the text was intended to introduce the views of a rși and hence would appear to have been formulated mostly by the author of the text. As against the other sections in the text associated with other rşis, whose original writings are not available, the section under study is to be compared with the views of Devala as recorded in a dharmasutra named after him. This dharmasūtra was partly in prose sūtras and partly in verses. The surviving prose passages of the Devaladharmasātra show a peculiar style. We often find long sentences, wherein the details are in the form of adjectives qualifying the main noun.58 This is also a feature of the introductory prose passage in the section associated with Devala. In the partly damaged second sentence we have several words qualifying samsārasägaram and thānam. The style comes out beautifully in the third sentence which has a long string of adjectives describing the characteristic of a savvalavovarae person. We cannot argue, in the absence of the full text of the Devaladharmasūtra, that these expressions or sentences occurred in the original, but, we can suggest that the author of our text possibly tried to present the introduction, which purports to record the motive or resolve of Devala, in the peculiar style he noticed as characterising the prose passages in Devala's original work,
Another prominent feature of the style of the Devaladharmasütra is that it first enumerates all the important points or subdivisions in a summarised form and in subsequent verses, elaborates, explains, and illustrates them. Although the full text of the Devaladharmasūtra is unavailable, in all the cases where we are able to reconstruct a chapter, this style is evident. In our text the section on Devala also seems to possess this characteristic. This point is all the more significant because our author was not under any obligation to reproduce all the passages from Devala's original. He was presenting the views of Devala, within the frame work of his text and the task taken up by him. Verses 1-3 followed by the remark evam jāva micchädasaņasalle show that the author cut short the portions dealing with the enumeration of the factors causing pādas. Verses 4-5 retain the style of enumeration in a pronounced manner. The subsequent verses (6-11) are evidently in the nature of further explanation and elaboration of the points or factors listed in the earlier verses. To illustrate our point, we may refer to verses 8 and 9 which bring home the force of gehi and koha mentioned as factors causing pāva in verses 2 and 3. A comparison of the phrasing of verses 2 and 8 will show the intrinsic connection between the two.59 This similarity in the style suggests that our author had before him the original Devaladharmasūtra from which he drew. No doubt it may be argued that this characteristic is shared by early Indian thought as projected in some