Asita Deval in Isibhasiyai

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

Page 11

Lallanji Gopal
of the earlier works belonging to different branches of learning. However, it must be remembered that it was not an invariate feature of Indian thought and texts, and, when compared with texts of a similar nature, the Devaladharmasütra has it in a very pronounced manner.
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A few other features of the passages attributed to Devala in our text may also be noted. We are conscious that they are found associated with many other carly texts and are not so characteristic of the passages surviving in the name of Devala to drive home the connection between the two only on the basis of these features,
The first is the metre floka employed in our text. Though the metre has been used in the Devaladharmasutra also, it is the most convenient and popular metre for this type of writings and occurs in Sanskrit, Pali and Prakrit texts alike.
The second pronounced feature noticeable in our text is the repetition of the same phrases in the fourth part of the verse as refrain. In verses 1 to 3 we find the words lippate pävakammuṇā being repeated thus. In verses 4 and 5 levo occurs seven times evidently for emphasising its importance. This feature can also be seen in many other texts with a religious, philosophical, diadectical, or ethical theme which resort to a similar style for creating greater effect.
Another significant feature of the style in our text is the use of homely simile and illustration for clarifying the point. In verses 7 to 10 the illustrations are derived from the phenomena of milk being destroyed as a result of contamination with poison, milk turning into curd, forest trees being burnt by jungle fire and fire being controlled with the help of water. This feature is characteristic of many early Indian texts, particularly those which have to explain a difficult philosophical idea in an easy manner or which seek to create greater impact in emphasising the importance of a religious or ethical precept.
Notes and References
1. Isibhasiyaim. A Jaina Text of Early Period. Ed. Walther Schubring. L. D. Series 45, Ahmedabad, 1974. It was originally published in Den Nachrichten der Wissenschaften zu Gottingen, 1942, pp. 489-576. The Sanskrit commentary was published in the same Akademie, 1951, pp. 21-52. The second edition of the text published from Hamburg in 1969 contains its German translation as well.
2. Sthana, 10, sutra 755.
Ion +
3.
4.
Samavāja 44.
According to Schubring, op. cit., p. 2, the difference in the number of sections is to be explained by the fact that section no. 20 of the text does not correspond to the pattern of other sections, each of which is associated with the utterence of a ṛşi. There is no such explanation of the Vihimaggapana (§ 1363-A. D. 1441) of Jinaprabha mentioning fifty as the number of sections in it.