Collected Research Papers in Prakrit and Jainology Vol 02

Author(s): Nalini Joshi
Publisher: University of Pune

Page 41

Though 12th century is the peak-point of Jaina literature, Sanskrit works pertaining to 10th century, attained an esteemed position in Indian literature. Allegoric narrative of Siddharsigani viz. Upamitibhavaprapancakathā, Dhanapāla's famous Tilakamañjari and Somadeva's often quoted
Yaśastilakacampū are the three Sanskrit works of Jaina authors produced in the 10th century,
Amitagati's Subhāşitaratnasamdoha (11" century) is strikingly different among the ample Sanskrit anthologies. Yasovijaya's mastery over traditional and Navya Nyāya is unforgettable in the field of logic.
These are some of the masterpieces in Jaina Sanskrit literature.
(e) Apabhramśa: Apabhramsa is a group of dialects developed from old MIA languages in various
regions during around 8th century A.D. Therefore uniformity is not found in various Apabhramsa dialects. Apa. works written by Jaina authors are ample. In comparison, the Apa. works written by non-Jaina writers are scanty. The most striking feature of Apa. literature is that the whole of it is written in verse and there hardly exists any prose in it, except a passage in the book called Kuvalayamāla, written by Uddyotanasūri. When we observe century-wise position of Apa. we
know that Svayambhu's epic and mythology are the first works of Apa. written in the 8th century.
During 9th up to 11th centuries, the number of Apa. works are increasing. Hemacandra wrote Apa. grammar as a part of his Prakrit grammar. Apa. gāthās of Hemacandra show traces of different dialects. The initial Apa. works are mostly biographical in nature and are written by Digambara
authors. Svetāmbaras started their Apa. writings from 11" century onwards. They are biographical, didactic and religious in nature. 15th century is the peak-point of Apa. literature. In the later centuries, Apa. works show decline serially and works composed in modern Indian languages are increasing. The language used by the Digambara writers appears to be fairly uniform and constitute the bulk of Apa. literature.
Modern Indian Literature
(i) The Adikavis of Kannad language, i.e. Pampa, Ponna and Ranna (10th 11th centuries) are prominent Jaina Ācāryas.
(ii) The history of modern Tamil literature starts with the literary pieces of Jaina authors.
(iii) Jaina writers have contributed a lot to old Rajasthani, Gujrati and Hindi literature.
(iv) The first Marāthi words are found in Kuvalayamālā of Uddyotana. (9th century)
(v) The first Marāthī epigraph is found at the foot of the huge idol of Bāhubali at Śravanabelagola (11th century).