Essence Of Jaina Scriptures

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

Page 32

THE ESSENCE OF JAINA SCRIPTURES
Upadhye does not give any comparable reference to the subject in these additional 11 verses to any of the verses in the Pravachanasara of Amrtachandra recession or in any of the other significant works of Kundakunda mentioned above, and also these 11 verses could not be said to be an "amplification” or elucidation of other verses.
Another controversy between Shvetambaras and Digambaras relates to eating of food by the kevali (arihanta, the enlightened soul, who has gotten rid of the four ghatia (destructive) karmas, i.e. those karmas which obscure the four excellent attributes of the enlightened soul). This point has been raised and discussed in detail by Jayasena in his commentary on Pravachanasara verse 20. In fact, there does not seem to have been any particular need to introduce this topic at this point since the verse merely states that the kevali does not experience bodily pleasure or pain since he has transcended the realm of the senses. In his commentary, Amrtachandra reiterated this by arguing that just as fire, which has no contact with an iron ball, is not subjected to the heavy blows by a hammer, the pure soul, having transcended the senses does not experience either bodily pleasure or pain.
On the other hand, Jayasena discusses the sectarian issue of kevali at length in almost three pages. It seems that he dwells on this controversial topic in order to score a point against the rival sect by using Kundakunda’s “literary reputation” and seeks to display his own intellectual skills (panditya pradarshan). To that end, Jayasena tends to tarnish the image of a great thinker like Kundakunda whose works are the common heritage of all mankind. In fact, at a number of other places, Jayasena's commentary seems to be unnecessarily lengthy. For instance, while Amrtachandra's commentary of Pravachanasara verses 261 and 262 as well as verses 264 to 267 is provided in only one sentence, Jayasena's commentary runs to as many as 8 to 20 sentences.
Thus, the additional verses of Jayasena in Pravachanasara, especially the 11 verses of the third group, “appear to be a subsequent interpolation”. 1° (Besides Pravachanasara, additional verses also appear in Jaysena's recension of the text of two other works of Kundakunda, viz. Samayasara and Panchastikayasara). Jayasena has not given any explanation for the additional verses and the circumstances point to him being the author of the verses."
The additional interpolatory verses in all three works of