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CHAPTER IX A SPECIAL RELEVANCE OF SUTTANIPATA FOR JAINA STUDIES
It is generally conceded that Suttanipāta contains the largest mass of the oldest pieces of Buddhist speculation. Not all passages collected in this text are equally old but a good many of them are certainly very old. In this connection three rather simple criteria should enable one to demarcate the relatively old passages from the relatively recent ones.
(1) The first of these criteria bases itself on the considerations of metre. For tristubh and anustubh are two metres mostly employed in this text but tristubh is an old Vedic metre that soon became obsolete in classical Sanskrit as well as Pāli. So the conclusion is legitinate that the passages here composed in triştubh are relatively old. As for anuştubh it too is an old vedic metre but far from becoming obsolete in classical Sanskrit and Pāli, it here became the standard metre for purposes of theoretical exposition. Hence in the case of a Suttanipāta passage composed in anustubh there is almost equal likelihood of its being relatively old and its being relatively recent-So far as the criterion in question is concerned.
(2) Our second criterion bases itself on the considerations of social outlook. For the earlier texts emanating from an ascetic sect like Buddh. ism are bound to be exclusively preoccupied with the problems of monastic life. Hence the Suttanipāta passages where the problems of thọ life of a pious house holder are touched upon are likely to be relatively recent.
(3) Our third criterion bases itself on the occurrence or otherwise of the standard technical concepts. For it is only natural to expect that in the course of the growth of an ideological tradition newer and newer technical concepts make their appearance with the passage of time. For example, it is easy to note that so many technical concepts appearing in Abhidhammapitaka are absent in Sūttapitaka or are present there in a rather rudimentary form; in a like maoner, so many technical concepts appearing in the other texts of Sutta pitaka are absent in Suttanipāta or are present there in a rather rudimentary form. Hence more Suttani päta passages which exhibit a greater acquintance with the relatively more advanced technical concepts of Buddhis: speculation are likely to be relatively recent.
Broadly the same position as is occupied by Suttanipāta in relation to the Buddhist canon is occupied in relation to the Jaina Canon by Acā. rānga I, Sūtrakrlänga I, Uttarādhyayana and Daśavaikälika. This means
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