Devindatthao Devendrastava

Author(s): D S Baya
Publisher: Agam Ahimsa Samta Evam Prakrit Samsthan

Page 34

PREFACE XXXIII
Ārya Indradinna
Šāntisena
Rsipālita
Rsipalita's Period -
According to the abovementioned lineage of masters and disciples, the position of Rsipālita is twelfth from that of Lord Mahāvīra. In other words there had been ten other Acāryās between Lord Mahāvīra and Ķsipālita. If we take the period of each Ācārya as thirty years on the average, the period of Ķsipālita is at the very least comes out to be around 300 years after the Lord. In this lineage Arya Suhasti is known to be a contemporary of King Samprati, the grandson of Emperor Aśoka the great. Rsipālita is fifth from Ārya Suhasti, hence we will have to agree that Ķsipālita must have been approximately 100 years after Arya Suhasti. King Samprati's reign is believed to be from 216–207 BC. By this consideration Rsipālita's period turns out to be around 107 BC. Thus, Ķsipalita must have lived in the 1st Century BC and hence, the period of composition of Devendrastava must be the 1st Century BC as well.
Here, it would be appropriate to consider the objections that might be there in believing the Devendrastava to be a composition of the 1st Century BC. To this end we will have to consider it from the points of view of its linguistic style as well as its subject-matter. As far as the question of the linguistic style of Devendrastava is concerned, it is true that there seems to be a considerable influence of the Mahārastrī Prākrta on it, but then such influence is also noticed on the linguistic styles of not only