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THB ŚVBTĀMBARA LITERATURE
227 (Tihuņavibara) and Kumāravihāra. We are also told that, like the Mauryan king Samprati, Kumārapāla popularised the Rathayātrā festival among the Jains and also visited various Tirthas of Gujarat, including Girnar and Palitana. We, therefore, do not completely agree with A.K. Majumdar199, when he says that its worth as history is insignificant”. Somaprabha belonged to the well-known Bịhad gaccha, and a pupil of Vijayasimhasūri and the grand-pupil of Ajitadeva. The work is written in simple Prakrit prose and verse and there are also a few stories in Sanskrit. It was written according to the Prasasti, in the vasati of the poet Siddha pāla, the son of the celebrated poet Śrīpāla at Gurjarendrapura (Anabilpura) in V.S. 1241, corresponding to 1185 A.D., some twelve years after the death of Kumārapāla, and apparently during the reign of Bhīma II,
Several other works on Kumāra pāla, written during the next 300 years, are known. We should, at first, mention the Kumārabhūpālacarital30, written by Jayasimha in V.S. 1422 in six thousand verses, in which we have both historical matters and legendary stories. The 1st canto gives some historical details and his statement that one Kāñcikavyāla was the grandfather of Mülarāja I, the founder of of the Caulukya house, is confirmed by the Varuņagarmaka grant of 977 A.D., a much earlier record 131. Several details about Jayasimha Siddharāja and Kumārapāla, given by this writer, of the 14th century, are also confirmed by contemporary records. The next work on Kumārapāla was written by Somatilakasūri entitled Kumarapālapratibodhacarita132, in V.S. 1424. He belonged to the Rudrapalliya gaccha and was the disciple of Sanghatilakasūri. Next we have two more important works on Kumāra viz., those written by Cāritrasundaragani and Jinamaņdanagani, both written in the 15th century. The work of Cāritrasundara is a poem of 10 cantos and it runs to 2032 verses, and this Kumārapalacarita188, was written in V.S. 1487 ; he was a disciple of Ratnasimbasūri. Although he gives some his
