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SVETAMBARA CANONICAL LITERATURE
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good deal of information. The story of the conversion of Brāhmana Somilla by Pārsva is told in the third chapter. From the fourth adhyayana of this text we learn that cousin-marriage was not unpopular in those days. Here the goddess Bahuputrikā is described as the goddess looking after the welfare of children. It therefore appears that the Bahuputta shrine of Vaiśālī, mentioned in the Bhagavatī and the Buddhist canon, was dedicated to this goddess. The fourth varga entitled Puspacūlikā describes the conversion of an old spinster (buddhakumārī) called Bhūtā by Pārsva's principal lady-disciple Pupphacúlā. The fifth varga entitled Vrşņidaśā, as the name indicates, describes the story of the Vrsnis, but adds nothing new. There is also a reference to the Maạidatta yakşa shrine of Rohitaka.
Let us now turn our attention to the Mülasútra texts, which are actually three235 in number. They are: Uttarādhyayana, Āvašyaka and
ot that all these three are works of hoary antiquity and were probably composed in the pre-Mauryan period. For the historian, however, the most important is the Uttarādhyayanasūtra.236 The first commentary on this important work is ascribed to Bhadrabāhu and is known as the Uttarādhyayananiryukti. 237 It was followed by the curni written by Jinadāsagani Mahattara in the seventh century AD. There are also a number of later commentaries238 which testify that it was always regarded as one of the most important Agamic works.
The work is divided into 36 adhyayanas. The first is entitled Vinayaśruta. It deals with the everyday conduct of a Jaina ascetic. The very character of this chapter shows, that it incorporates the personal teachings of Mahāvīra and was probably composed in the fifth century BC. 'Better', says Mahāvīra 'I should subdue myself by self-control than be subdued by others with fetters and corporal punishment.' Some of the finest teachings of Lord Mahāvīra are incorporated in this poem, which does not compare unfavourably with the Dhammapada of the Buddhists. A few of the references in it are quite valuable as they throw light on the social, cultural, and political history of the earlier period. It further appears that the author of this sūtra was quite at home with Vaisnava literature and had perhaps some reverence for Vāsudeva and Visņu. I quote here a passage239 from the eleventh chapter. 'As Vasudeva, the god with conch, discus, who fights with an irresistible strength (has no equal], neither has a very learned monk.' This shows that at the time this
