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Ancient Jaina Hymns
363
Sūri (born V.S. 1430, ordained 1437, became Vācaka 1450, Ācārya 1457, died 1499 ) consecrated various temples and images there. After having, become a Vācaka, he was honoured there by a grand celebration, and it was this place again which he selected as the venue for the celebration of the investiture of his grand-pupil ('praśisya' ) Ratnasekhara with the Vācaka title in V.S. 1493. There, his disciple Munisundara Sūri, recipient of the proud title of "Kālīsarasvatī', (born V.S. 1436, ordained 1443, became Vācaka 1466, Ācārya 1478, died 1503 ), composed his well-known
Santikaraṁ Stotra'76, which still forms part of the Tapā Gaccha liturgy. In his ‘Yugādideva-stava', the poet Subhasundara, obviously a 'pra-praśisya' of Munisundara Sūri, calls the Ādinātha of Devakula 'Munisundara-stuta'77, which reference clearly points at the 'Deulavāda-Rşabha-stotra', a hymn in 26 Samskệta stanzas composed by Munisundara?8.
The mentioning of these two names, Somasundara and Munisundara, in our hymn, indicates that the poet must have belonged to their circle, and probably floursihed in the last part of the 15th or 1st part of the 16th century ( V.S. ). The colophon states 'Sārodaya Gani' as the poet's name, which is confirmed by the last word of the hymn itself. The word immediately preceding the latter, ‘Praśamamadhura', possibly points to Santicandra”, that ascetic disciple of Somasundara, as the poet's Guru. The colophon moreover states that the hymn was composed at 'Ardraja'80.
So far, a Sādhu bearing the name of 'Sārodaya Gani' is not known in Jaina ecclesiastical history. Only this much is certain from the title 'Gaņi”, that our poet did belong to the religious order. As he professes himself to be one of the followers of Somasundara and Munisundara, and the retinue of pupils, grand-pupils and greatgrand-pupils of those distinguished Ācāryas was remarkable by number and brilliancy, it is quite probable that a personality of the obvious erudition and poetic gift of this Sărodaya may have remained unnoticed and unknown, especially in case of a promising
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