Chanakya Explored in Jaina Literature

Author(s): Nalini Joshi
Publisher: Firodaya Prakashan

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told that in the reign of Candragupta, ‘ājñābhanga' is the most serious offence. It is mentioned that Cāņakya punished the whole village by putting fire to them because they didn't follow the written order of the king.
The whole story is given at length in the Niśītha-cūrņi. Thus there are total seven gāthās in the Niśītha-bhāsya which are connected to the rules of the Jaina monastic conduct. All of them reflect the high appreciation of the strict law-code laid down by Cāņakya. [14] The Āvaśyaka-cūrņi of Jinadāsagani-mahattara carries a special position when we ponder over the Cāņakya-references found in the Svetāmbara Jaina literature. Traditionally the authorship of almost all the cūrņis is given to Jinadāsagani and it is told that he belongs to the 6th - 7th century A.D. The Āvaśyaka-cūrņi and the Niśītha-višeşa-cūrņi written in mixed Prakrit are highly praised by the scholars of Indology. These two treatises are literally a rich mine of minute details encompassing all the contemporary cultural features of India.
At three places, Jinadāsa has mentioned Cāņakya in the cūrņi. (i) Āv Cū (Part I) p.156 : Passing reference of the Kauțilya's Arthaśāstra and its origin. (ii) Āv Cū (Part II) p.281 : Praise of the heretics by Cāņakya and its after-effects described in a small narrative. (iii) Āv Cũ (Part II) pp.563-566 : Except two major incidents describing the last lapse of Cāņakya's life, the whole biography of Cāņakya is noted down here in a brief manner. All the happenings are dpicted as the examples of ‘pāriņāmiki-buddhi.' (i) Āv Cū (Part I) p.156 presents the whole biography of Rșabhadeva. It is described that how the first Tīrthankara introduced 72 arts for