Book Title: Date of Kasyapahuda
Author(s): K R Chandra
Publisher: Z_Nirgranth_Aetihasik_Lekh_Samucchay_Part_1_002105.pdf and Nirgranth_Aetihasik_Lekh_Samucchay_Part_2
________________ 162 K. R. Chandra Jambu-jyoti 2. Date of Gunadharacarya A. J. C. Jain is of the opinion that Gunadharacarya belongs to the 2nd 3rd Century A. D. Vide Sant Hilary oplo, po 288. B. H. L. Jain is not sure about the date of Gunadharacarya. He is unable to say definitely whether Dharasenacarya connected with the Sarkhandagama was earlier or posterior to Gunadharacarya. He assigns 2nd cent. A. D. to theSarkhandagama. Accordingly, the date of Gunadharacarya would fall either in the 1st or the 3rd cent. A. D. See his 4613 eta 8., TOP. Shastri feels that the Kasayapahuda is a work of earlier date than the Sarkhandagama as well as the works of Kundakunda and, therefore, according to him, Gunadharacarya should be assigned the 1st cent. A. D.Vide ucma 997791 BTT HIERO dilo, 90783. Thus we find that the opinions of the above-cited scholars differ on the date of Gunadharacarya. None is positive regarding his date which ranges between the 1st to the 3rd century A. D. and the date of Kundakunda also differs according to different scholars. His date fluctuates between the 1st and the 8th century A. D. One fact is clear that all these scholars place Gunadharacarya anterior to Kundakundacarya but the features of the language of PS and KP clearly demonstrate that the Pavayanasara is a composition datable earlier than the Kasayapahuda. In conclusion, it is to be surmised that, if the editions of the texts studied herewith have been edited, linguistically, faithfully by their learned editors and there is no doubt about the authorship of these two works, then it may seem positive that Gunadharacarya is an author dated later than Kundakundacarya. (As for the date of Kundakundacarya, the linguistic analysis can be more trustworthily applied in date-determination after isolating on the one hand the earlier aryas / gathas etc. (most of these arguably incorporated by the author himself) and on the other hand by removing the later interpolations. The available historical evidence as well as the textual studies combined with style and content do not warrant anteriority of Kundakundacarya to either the Kasayapahuda or the Satkhandagama. Formally, and linguistically, too, there are several detectable/obvious modernisms, highly advanced ideas (totally unknown to the Jaina authors till the medieval times), as also the presence several uncharacteristic Prakrit words artificially created from Sanskrit. --Editors) 000 Jain Education International For Private & Personal Use Only www.jainelibrary.org
