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INTRODUCTION
of Jain Sādhus taking up residence in Caityas or temples of non-sain* deities before they commenced doing so in Jain Caityas. Srīgupta was an Upadhyāya and should not be confounded with a pupil of Arya Sūhasti bearing the same name. This Srigupta was versed in several Vidyās, and taught them to his pupil Rohagupta, who had accepted the open challenge of an ascetic for a religious controversy. The said pupil succeeded in the bout both intellectual as well as magical. He would not however admit at the instance of his said preceptor Srīgupta that Jains did not believe in the Trirāsika principles propounded by him as a stratagem to defeat his shrewd adversary and was driven out of the fold. We may, therefore, infer that sometime after expiry of Vajraswāmi in the 2nd century of Vikrama era Caityavāsa became common and continued to be more common until it gathered great strength about s. y. 412 as noted in Pattāvalis, and as noted in the biography of Sri Siddhasenācārya the latter accepted palanquin and elephant from king Devapāla.
SRI SIDDHASENA DIVĀKARA Sri Siddhasenācārya was a grand-pupil of Skandilācārya, famous for Mathurivācanā. He must be therefore taken to have flourished not earlier than the 5th century of Vikrama era. Some put him down even to the 5th or 6th century A. D. He wrote a Bhāsya or a versified commentary on Nisītha Sūtra. His name also occurs in Mahanisīthasūtra. He is referred to in Nisīthacūrni, which is a work of the 7th century of the Vikrama era, as Siddhasenakşamāsramana and Siddha
* See Jnātadharmakathänga P. 107 A for practice of Jain Sådhus taking up residence temporarily. The places mentioned include Devakulas i. e. Caityas which there mean non-Jain temples: "! T g Frug aasag nag aare gratis maaftale aug qifteifrei 9104.69 sutriera fiatforno faktifA Foggfagri II" i.e. Oh Suka! that is harmless (not involving injury to living beings) residence which is taken up by us in gardens, parks, temples, meeting-places and places for supplying drinking water, not frequented by women and eunuchs, where seats, sleeping boards and grass beds are only borrowed for use.
