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COMPREHENSIVE HISTORY OF JAINISM
Hansoge. Another work of this author was Caturviríatitithankarapurāņa. 18 6
We have a beautiful poem called Sudarśanacarita197, written by one Vidyānandin, belonging to the Mülasangba, Bhārati gaccha, Balātkāra gana of the line of Kundakunda. He was the disciple of Devendrakirti, whose guru was Padmanandin, and the latter's guru was Prabhācandra.
A number of dated records mention this Vidyānandin and his guru Devendrakirti.188 Vidyānandin is mentioned, for the first time, on an icon, dated V.S. 1499 from Surat139, and his last known date is V.S. 1537. The earliest manuscript130 of this work is dated V.S. 1591. There is little doubt that the original work was written between V.S. 1499 and 1537 ; in other words, it is a work of the 15th century A.D. The story of Muni Sudarśana is treated, for the first time, in the Bhagavati Ārādhana131, and then by Harishena in his Brhatkathakośa182 ; the two Apabhramśa works, namely Nayanandin's Sudaṁsaņacari yu188 and Sricandra's Kathakośa 18. also deal with the life of Sudarśana. The present work, in Sanskrit verse, has altogether 12 cantos (Adhikaras), and is written in the easiest possible language. The poet has graphically described a Jain temple-complex in the 1st canto and in the third, there is a beautiful description of the marriage-ceremony. 188 The poet has also described the life of the Bhīlas of Vindhyagiri in the 8th canto of his poem. There is also a significant reference to a Jina-temple of Gandhāra puri in the last canto. 186
Raidbu was a remarkable Digambara poet of the 15th century. He was a resident of Gopagiri (Gwalior). His father's name was Harisimba. However, not much is known about the personal life of this great Apabhrathśa poet. According to his Balabhadracarita187, also called Padmapurāņa, he had two other brothers, named Bāhola and Māhapasimha, and the same book also informs us that his guru was Acārya Brahma Sripāla, who was the pupil of Yaśaḥkirti, Elsewhere in his Yasodharacarita188, he has
