Brief Survey of Jaina Prakrit and Sanskrit Literature Part 4

Author(s): Nalini Joshi
Publisher: Sanmati Tirth Prakashan Pune

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Siddharsigani viz. Upamitibhavaprapancakathā, Dhanapāla's famous Tilakamañjari and Śomadeva's often quoted Yaśastilakacampū are the three Sanskrit works of Jaina authors produced in the 10th century. Amitagati's Subhāṣitaratnasamdoha (11th century) is strikingly different among the ample Sanskrit anthologies. Yaśovijaya's mastery over traditional and Navya Nyāya is unforgettable in the field of logic.
These are some of the masterpieces in Jaina Sanskrit literature.
Expertise of Jaina authors as commentators:
It will not be an exaggeration if we say that 1/4 of the Jaina literature is commentarial literature. These authors wrote commentaries on Jaina as well as non-Jaina works, without any sectarian bias. Amitagati's Kāvyaprakāšakhandana, Mānikyacandra's commentary on Kāvyaprakāśa, Siddhicandragani's commentary on Bāṇabhatta's Kādambarī, Asadhas commentary on Meghadūta, Cāritravardhanagani's commentaries on five famous Skt. epics are some of glimpses of commentarial literature of Jainas. These Jaina authors were mostly wandering ascetics and resting at a place during rainy season, delivering religious preaching. Naturally they developed an art of explaining a particular point by giving suitable examples and illustrations. During the religious tours they got opportunities to observe the society and nature minutely. The inherent model of Anekāntavāda and Niksepa helped them a lot in understanding and expressing the matter from various viewpoints. As a result of all these factors, they might have acquired expertise in commentarial work.
Repetitive and Imitative Works of Jaina Authors:
Up to the 5th century of Christian Era, the Jaina authors were engaged in philosophical, ethical and religious reflections. If we cast a glance at the Sanskrit literature up to 5th century, we realise that all the monumental works in the fields of contemporary human endeavor were produced by creative authors of Brahmanic tradition, viz. four Vedas, Brahmaņas, Āranyakas, old Upanişdas, Vālmīki's Rāmāyana, Vyāsa's Mahābhārata, ancient Puranas like Agnipurana and Bhāgavata purana, six Darśanas, Patanjali's Mahābhāsya, Kautilyā's Arthasatra, Bharata's Nātyaśastra, Bhāsa's dramas, Caraka and Suśệta-samhitas of Ayurveda, Smrtigranthas of Manu and Yajñavalkya.
It was a great challenge for Jaina authors to study this huge literature before producing anything new in these fields. They studied these varied branches according to their interest thoroughly but due to the lack of first grade originality and talent, they produce a lot of repetitive and imitative literature. The first Jaina Mahārāştri Carita, the first Sanskrit Carita and the first Apabhramsa Carita are the Jaina versions of Rāmāyaṇa. Though the Jaina authors tried to bring variety in the biographies, the long and boring lists of biographies in every century are eloquent of the second or third grade genius of the authors. Pārsvābhudaya presented Samasyāpūrti of Meghadūta at first and Jaina authors produced ample Samasyāpūrti Kāvyas and Anekarthika Kāvyas during a long span of time. The same thing is true about dramas and Sattakas. The epics and mythologies were popular among Jainas but they proved to be least attractive in non-Jaina field.