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CHAPTER I INTRODUCTORY
Niśītha Sūtra and its Commentaries (Niryukti, Bhāşya and Cūrņi )
The Niśitha Sutra ( X'isīha Sutta )1 is unanimously supposed to be one of the most valuable Cheda Sutras of the Jaina canon. It not only deals with rules of the ethical life of monks but also prescribes atonements and expiations in the form of punishments for violating these rules. Initially the Nišitha Sura formed the fifth part (Cūla ) of the latter half of the Acāranga Sütra ( Āyaraṁga Sutta )2 and was known as Acara
1. Different views have been held regarding the authorship of the Nisitha
Sūtra. According to the NC. (1, p. 4), it was the composition of a Ganadhara, while according to Silānka (Commentary on Aca Niryukli, verse 287 ), it was composed by a Sthavira. The Pañcakalpa Bhās ya Cürni shows Bhadrabāhu as the author of the Nisitha Sutra (See-Malvania, D..D., Nišitho-Eka Adhyayanı, pp. 18-20). The three Prakrit verses concluding the NC. reveal Visakhācārya (Visāha Gani) to be the author of the Nišitha Sutra, and this view has been accepted by the editor of the NC. According to Kalyānavijaya Gani, these verses have been later interpolated and were not existing in any of the ancient MSS. of the NC. Considering various factors he regards Arya Raksit , the last Srutadhara, as the author of the Nisitha Sutra ( Pt. Kalyānavijaya Gani, Prabandha Parijāta, pp. 6-15 ).
2. Ayāra, the first Ang', is divided into two Suyakkhandhas. The first
which formerly had 9 ajjhayanas known as Banhha era has at present only 8. The second Suyakkhridha now consists of 4 Cūläs, viz. Pirndes mādi, Sattikkag, Blava. ā and Vimutti; initially it had one more, i.e. Nisīha (NC. 1, p. 2; see also Kapadia, H. R., A History of the Canonical Literature of the Jainas, p. 75).
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