Essence Of Jaina Scriptures

Author(s): Jagdish Prasad Jain
Publisher: Kaveri Books

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THE ESSENCE OF JAINA SCRIPTURES
resultant influx of karmas, etc. modes or categories (padartha) in the transmigratory existence yet maintains its distinctness (vibhaktpana) from them. In Pravachanasara (PS), there is a systematic, philosophical, logical and scientific examination of the following issues - knowledge, the knowables, karmic bondage, auspicious (shubha), inauspicious (ashubha), pure (shuddha), psychic-attention, violence and nonviolence, and description of equanimity and conduct, etc.
Two Recensions of Pravachanasara (PS) Kundakunda did not divide Paravachanasara into books, chapters or sections. Amrtachandra has, however, divided it into three Books dealing with the principles of knowledge (jnana), the knowable (jneya) and conduct. Apart from the benedictory (PS 1-5) and preliminary verses relating to the nature of the self and its states-of-evolution (PS 7-12), Book 1 contains four chapters: Pure Psychic-attention (shuddhopayoga) (PS 13-20), Exposition of Knowledge (PS 21-52), Exposition of Joy (PS 53-68), and Good (shubha) Psychic-attention (PS 69-92). Book II has three chapters: Knowable (Substance) in General (dravya samanya) (PS 93-126), Substance in Particular (dravya vishesh) (PS 127-144), and Distinctive Characteristics of soul substance (jiva dravya) (PS 145-200). Book III has four sections, viz. Conduct including negligence (PS 201-231), Path of Liberation (PS 232-244), Good Psychic-attention (shubha upayoga) (PS 245-270), and the five jewels (PS 271-275) pertaining to principles of transmigration (sansara) (PS 271), liberation (PS 272), means of liberation (PS 273-274), and the benefits of understanding the treatise (PS 275).
Of the two recensions, Amrtachandra's recession of Pravachanasara contains 275 gathas (verses) divided into three Shrutaskandhas (Books) each dealing with the exposition of Jnana-tattva (knowledge principle), Jneya-tattva (knowable principle) and Charana-tattva (conduct principle) and containing 92, 108 and 75 gathas (verses) respectively. Jayasena's recension, however, adopts the three divisions and terms them adhikaras (Chapters), which deal with jnana (knowledge), darshan (intuition, view) and charitra (conduct). The number of gathas (verses) in Jayasena's recension are 311 with each adhikara having 101, 113 and 97 gathas (verses) respectively. Thus, the recension of Jayasena contains 36 additional verses (9 in Book I, 5 in Book II, and 22 in Book III).