Aspect of Jainology Part 3 Pandita Dalsukh Malvaniya

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

Page 366

Tirthamkaras of the Future
41
1.1.4. About the Digambara lists of F. Ts.
They are included in a general picture of the utsarpiņi-mythology. The texts referred to are :
(i) Yativșşabha, Tiloyapannatti, and old Prakrit cosmological treatise "to
be assigned to some period between 473 A. D. and 609 A. D."98. : IV,
v. 1579-81; 1584cd-158737. (ii) Gunabhadra, Uttarapurāņa LXXVI, v. 471-475; 476-80, in Sanskrit38,
and (iii) Puşpadanta, Mahāpurāņa CII, 6-7, in Apabhramsa, both go back to the
9th-10th centuries A. D. All three composition list both the F. Ts' names and those of their former births in independent lists.
In contrast, only their names appear in : (iv) Jinasena, Harivamsapurāņa40 : LX, v. 558-562, in Sanskrit. (v) Nemicandra, Trilokasära+1, gā. 873-875, in Prakrit.
(vi) Sricandra, Kahakosu43 : XV, 11, 1-11, in Apabhramsa. As a fairly convenient synoptical table collecting the data from these works has been drawn up in the Jainendrasiddhantakosa+8, I shall restrict myself to a few observations and only append Gunabhadra's lists which have not been taken into account there44 (cf. 4).
As far as the lists of avasarpiņi-Ts, are concerned, the Svet. and Dig. traditions agree on the whole (but cf. fn. 45). The situation seems more blurred in the case of the F. Ts. What can be observed is: a perfect correspondence between the two traditions from. F. T. 1 to 4; then, in spite of slight variants regarding the forms of the names, a fairly good correspondence for the F. Ts, names; but considerable discrepancies regarding their previous existences; this is partly due to the fact that Tirthamnkarahood is strictly out of question for a woman according to the Dig45, whereas at least three of them are definite in the Svet, sources : Rohini, Sulasă, Revati48. Anyway, the Uttarapurāņa stands closer to the Sam av than to the other Svet. lists.
On the other hand, new information is brought by the Dig. texts. For instance the size and life-span of the first and last T. to-be are sometimes added : respectively they are of 7 cubits and more than 116 years+7; 1000000 pūrva and 500 dhanus. Care for throughness occasionally leads to the statement that “there is no teaching concerning the heights and life-spans of the others":
e. g. uccheh'ääpahudisu sesänam n'atthi amha uvaeso (Tiloyap. IV. 1583)48. A special position is assigned to F. T. I, Śreņika-Mahāpadma, who is said to have been the son of the last kulagara, according to Tiloyap. IV. 1578 :