Aspect of Jainology Part 2 Pandita Bechardas Doshi

Author(s): M A Dhaky, Sagarmal Jain
Publisher: Parshwanath Vidyapith

Page 434

Gatha-Muktavali: A Newly Discovered Recension of Sapta-Sataka
17
Accordingly, out of a total of 58 Paddhatis and 850 verses, we have in the preserved portion 14 Paddhatis (the 14th being incomplete) and 249 verses? (the last verse being incomplete).
The second extra folio has its portion at the right hand upper corner missing; hence the numbering on the back side is lost. On examination it turns out to be a folio belonging to another Ms. of GM. The obverse side begins with fala ang which exactly corresponds with the beginning of the 10th folio of our Ms., and the five letters are the final letters of verse no. 8 of the Varşa-paddhati. But in the stray folio the verse is numbered as the 14th. The remaining verses of the group in this folio, from the 15th to the 17th, exactly cor respond to the Varşapaddhati verses no. 16 to 28 in our Ms. This fact indicates that the different Mss. of the GM, recension varied in matter of the arrangement of verses within a group.
Although the number of Paddhatis contained in S and GM (60 and 58 respectively) is roughly the same, only 30 titles are common between the two recensions, our guide in drawing this conclusion is the GM list of contents. Also, the number of verses, their selection and ordering within the groups that are common, show so much variation between the two recensions (judging, of course, from the available portion of the GM) that we must recognise them as two distinct recensions. Although GM had s before it, it shows a high degree of independence in its classification as well as in its selection and ordering for each group. Of the 249 verses of the extant portion of GM, only 179 are common with S, and only the a, a, राजचाट, दान and parts of the पडऋतुवर्णन and स्त्रीरूपवर्णन Paddhatis of GM. have substantial correspondence insofar as the selection (but not the number and sequence) of the verses is concerned. For the rest of the groups there are many omissions and several additions. Regarding the new verses we find, GM is in substantial agreement with the R recension. Besides the numerous verses which are absent in the Vulgate but which GM commonly shares with S and R, there are 15 verses in GM which are absent in S but available in R. Moreover, there are 7 verses in GM which are exclusively found in the T recension, 3 verses which are not found in any recension, but which Weber has noted as citations in the Alamkāra literature, 2 verses which, although found in the Vulgate, are absent in S, and 15 which are not found in any recension and indeed not noted by Weber.
A most remarkable oddity to be noted about GM in this connection is that it has included several verses which are not in the Gathā metre. The prominently glaring case is that of 29 verses in Skandhaka metre, all borrowed from the tenth Asvāsaka of the Setubandha. The Süryaśtawana, sandhya, Timira and Candrodayapaddhatis are constituted exclusively with these verses (excepting the last verse in the Candrodaya-paddhati). Besides this, 1.2, 1.8, 11.6, III.14 are Skandhakas. Of these III.14 is the same as Setubandha II1.10. I.4 and X.ii.12 are Gitis, the former being