Devindatthao Devendrastava

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

Page 39

XXXVIII : DEVENDRASTAVA motions of the Jyotiska gods and their corresponding heavenly bodies have also been discussed, which is in accordance with that contained in the canonical work Sūrya-prajñapti. According to the astronomical beliefs contained in the Sūrya-prajñapti, the scholars have decided that its period of composition must have been around the 3rd Century BC. As the same beliefs have been expressed in the present work, it ought to be a contemporary of the Sūrya-prajñapti or of a period somewhat later than that. We have found that most of Devendrastava's verses, i.e. nearly half of its 300 odd verses, are found in the canonical works such as Sūryaprajĩapti, the Sthānānga, the Samavāyānga, the Prajñāpanā, etc either verbatim or with slight changes. We have given a detailed comparative statement of this aspect at the end of this preface.
This similarity of verses in Devendrastva and the canonical works, referred to earlier, presents two propositions in front of us. Either these verses have gone from Devendrastava into these canonical works or that they have been taken by its author from these other agamic works. Although this can be a difficult and controversial question, in our view, there are some overweighing considerations, which go to prove that these common verses have gone from Devendrastava into these other canonical works. We expect the scholars to give this proposition a serious thought and if they are able to produce some evidence to the contrary, we may not have any objection in agreeing to their theory as well. However, our belief that these verses have gone into the other canonical works from Devendrastava is not unfounded and the scholars must reflect upon these bases before deciding to the contrary. These considerations are as follows: -
Firstly, all the canonical works referred to - Sūryaprajñapti, Sthānānga, Samavāyānga and Prajñāpanā – are all in