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The Author and the Commentator M ALLIŞEŅASŪRI is the author of Sri Bhairava Padmāvati Kalpa IV and Bandhusena is its commentator.
Mallişeņasūri a Digambara Jain Achārya of Sena-gana traces his descent in the colophon of the said work. He was the pupil of Kanakasenagani and the grand-pupil of Ajitasenagaņi to whom all the kings rendered obeisance. This Ajitasenācārya was none other then the famous Guru of King Rācamalla of Ganga dynasty and his minister and general Camundarai. In the colophons of his Nāgakumāra Kavya and wālinikalpa also he describes himself as the pupil of linasensūri. As Mallişeņasūri in the colophons of his work Mahāpurāna, and Bhāratīkalpa describes himself as the son of Sri Jinasena, one is inclined to think that Jinasena must have been his father also. One cannot, however, be certain about it as Gurus are even now regarded in India as spiritual fathers. We have no more information about his parentage.
Mallisena in the colophon of his said wark, Mahāpurāna gives its date as Jyestha Sukla 5th Saka 968 (1104 Vikrama era). As his other works do not bear any date we are unable to fix even the period of his literary activity with any more certainty. We can only say that he flourished about the beginning of the twelth century of Vikrama era.
From his titles* given in his various works, we can say that he was not only a great Mantrika but also a great poet of Sanskrit and Prākrit, a grammarian, a dialectecian and also versed in all the sacred scriptures and was favoured by Sarasvati with a boon. From his two Sanskrit poetical works, Mahāpurāṇa and Nagakumāra Kavya it appears that he wrote in a simple and lucid style. Mahāpurāna contains the biographies of 63 eminent men in 2000 verses and Nāga
*" Tartarad, 3439 ftat, qafael,
सकलागमलक्षणतर्कवेदो, सरस्वतीलब्धवरप्रसादः, योगीश्वर इत्यादि।"
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