History of Canonical Literature of Jainas

Author(s): Hiralal R Kapadia
Publisher: Shardaben Chimanbhai Educational Research Centre

Page 100

THE EXTINCT ĀGAMAS OF THE JAINAS
83
(iii) Some of the Svetāmbaras of the present days state that the following 3 works written in Saṁskrt have been extracted from Puvvagaya :
(1) Namo'rhat, (2) Namo'stu Vardhamanaya and (3) Visalalocana.
While trying to verify this statement, I find that in Hirapraśna also called Praśnottarasamuccaya (prakāśa III, p. 286) it is stated that Namo'rhat is extracted from a Puvva.
It may be however noted that the quotations from the Puvvas given on pp. 86-87 suggest that the Puvvas were composed in Prākrt, in case these are reproductions ad verbatim.
The study of the Puvvas - A Caturdaśapūrvadhara can go through all the 14 Puvvas, both in word and meaning in a muhūrta, in case he has practised 'mahāprānadhyāna'. This is what is said in Parisistaparvan (IX, 623). Padmamandira Gani, however, in his com. (p. 1836)4 on Dharmaghosa Sūri's Rsimandalaprakarana (v. 181) observes that in virtue of this dhyāna having been practised, a Caturdaśapūrvadhara can in an antarmuhūrtas have the gunana of all the Puvvas from the beginning to the end and in the reverse order to boot.
Vatthus - The 14 Puvvas have sections known as Vatthus. Their numbers are respectively 10, 14, 8, 18, 12, 2, 16, 30, 20, 15, 12, 13, 30 and 25 (vide Nandi s. 576). In all, they come to 225. Nowhere I have come across the names of all these Vatthus. Only the name of the 3rd Vatthu of the 9th Puvva is mentioned as Sāmāyārī in Drona Sūri's com. (p. 1b) on Ohanijjutti and that of a Vatthu of the 10th as Neuniya in Visesă (v. 2390).
1. This is the 30th part of a day, and practically it equals 48 minutes. 2. This is alluded to in the following verse of Sirisirivālakaha :
"महपाणज्झायदुवालसंगसुत्तत्थतदुभयरहस्सो । सज्झायतप्परप्पा एसप्पा चेव उवज्झाओ ॥१३३०॥" 3. "Elgiut fe fight Affendi Hayaffor quent arterfezi gada: Ep11" 4. "qui af HEISTUT yaifu qurua fancti Bufaisai aagasi Elena: 113CCI." 5. This means a period which ranges from 9 samayas to a muhūrta less by one samaya,
as can be seen from the following verse of Lokaprakāśa (III) :
"समयेभ्यो नवभ्य: स्यात् प्रभृत्यन्तर्मुहूर्तकम् । समयोनमुहूर्तान्तमसङ्ख्यातविधं यतः ॥३४॥" 6. "दस चोदस अट्ठ(5)ट्ठारसेव बारस दुवे अ वत्थूणि । सोलस तीसा वीसा पन्नरस अणुप्पवायम्मि ।।
बारस इक्कारसमे बारसमे तेरसेव वत्थूणि । तीस पुण तेरसमे चोद्दसमे पण्णवीसाओ ॥" From this it follows that the 10th Puvva is here named as Anuppaväya instead of Vijjānuppavāya.