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THB ŚVBTĀMBARA LITERATURE
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Gunacandragani was another reputed author of the last quarter of the 11th century. His other name was Devabhadrasūri and he belonged to the famous Kharatara gaccha. His guru was Sumati Upādh payaso, who was a disciple of the famous Jineśvara 1.81 The names of four works of Guņacandra are known ; they are : Samvegarangasala, Pārsvanathacarita, Mahaviracarita and Kathāratnakośa. The first work is now not available, but is mentioned 82, in his two works viz. the Parsvanathacarita and the Kathāratnakośa. Padmaprabhasūri, one of his spiritual successors, has called him by the name 'Granthacatushţayisphutamati', which proves that he was indeed the author of these four works. 33 His second work, the Pārsvanāthacaritas, was composed, according to its Prašasti at Bhțgukaccha in V.S. 1168, corresponding to 1111 A.D. However, it appears that it was actually completed quite a few years before this date, as this work is mentioned in the author's Kathār atnakośass, which was completed in V.S. 1158. It appears, therefore that the Prasasti of the Pārsvanāthacarita was composed at a later date 36. So it appears that this work was composed even before the author's Mahaviracarita in the last quarter of the 11th century. The work is divided in five parts (prastāvas), and we get the stories of his three births. It is interesting to note that the kuladevata of the Vanga country, according to this work, was Kātyāyani, who according to the Matsya PurāņaS7, was a ten-armed goddess, and who is still widely popular in Bengal. This is probably the earliest literary reference to the worship of this ten-armed goddess in Bengal. This work also gives a faithful account of the last bhava of Pārsvanātha, when he was born at Vārāṇasi. A few of the details are taken from the Kalpasūtra of Bhadrabāhu. It appears that the author had in mind some of the tirthas, associated with Pārśva in the later period, including Ahicchatra. The story of Brahmin Somila is obviously taken from the Agamic texts, and that of Pārsva's visit to Amalakappa, from the same source. It is therefore certain that the author
