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Three stages about the use of Āyarveda are seen in Jaina literature. In the canonical period, total negation is found. In the commentarial period it is noted that a monk can use pure and acceptable (prāsuka and esaniya) medicine in exceptional situation. The third stage is seen in the books like Kalyānakāraka. At this stage Jainas produce books dedicated to this subject. These types of modifications and flexibility really exhibit the wisdom of Jainas through ages.
(x) When we think of ancient Indian mathematics, the works of Aryabhatta (4h cen.A.D.), Brahmagupta and Bhaskarācārya are the most revered ones. Actually speaking, the Numbers and Measurements of Time and Space play important roles in the canonical descriptions of Jaina Cosmology, doctrine of Karman and the life-spans of living beings. Interested person may go through the appendices of Tattvārtha edited by Dr. Nathmal Tatia. Ganitānuyoga of Jainas includes the treatises describing geography, astronomy and astrology.
In Jaina tradition, independent book of mathematics is not found before Ganitasārasamgraha of Mahāvīrācārya. It is noted down by the concerned scholars that in many respects, this book surpasses Brahmagupta and Bhāskarācārya, still very few people know about it. One scholar named Dr. Shah is busy in writing a book on Jaina Mathematics utilizing the library of BORI. I think L.D.Institute is going to publish it.
Another remarkable work on Maths is Ganitasārakaumudi of Thakkura Pheru written in Jaina Māhārāstri Prakrit. Pheru, a Svetāmbara Jaina householder of fourteenth century was a treasurer at the court of Kutubuddin and Allauddin Khilji. He wrote small treatises on various scientific and technical subjects like metallurgy, numismatics, mathematics, gemology, architecture and astrology by using colloquial contemporary terminology. The book is published by Rajasthan Prachyavidya Pratishtan, Jodhpur. The name of the collection is Ratnaparīksādi-sapta-granthasamgraha. Thakkura Pheru's position is really really unique in the perspective of Lākşanika
literature.
(xi) Kautilya's Arthaśāstra, a proper combination of Politics. Economics and Ethics will remain always at the top in this particular field. Among the later versions of Arthaśārstra, Nītivākyāmrta of the Jaina author Somadevasūri holds higher position, because of its secular attitude and classical Sanskrit style. We cannot forget Yasastilakacampū of the same author which possesses a rich cultural data.
(xii) While considering the commentarial literature of Jainas, it will not be an exaggeration to say that one-third part of the whole bulk is merely commentarial. One thing is worth mentioning that these authors wrote commentaries on Jaina and non-Jaina works without any sectarian bias. Amitagati's Kavyaprakasakhandana, Siddhacandragani's solitary commentary on Bānabhatta's Kādambari and Cāritravardhana's commentaries on five famous Sanskrit epics - are some of the gems of the secular commentarial literature of Jainas. Namisādhu explains the word 'Sanskrit' and Prakrit' in a very naive manner in his commentary on Rudrata's Kāvyālamkāra (2.12)
Jainas' expertise in commentarial literature is in itself a subject of a big research project.
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