History of Canonical Literature of Jainas

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

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A HISTORY OF THE CANONICAL LITERATURE OF THE JAINAS
came across. The mention of 16 diseases ($ 22) viz. asthama, cough, fever, burning sensation in the body, pain in the stomach or belly, fistula, piles, indigestion, an eye-disease, head-ache, loss of appetite, pain in eyes and ears, itching, dropsy and leprosy and over and above this, that of aggiä ($ 27), a disease which rapidly consumed anything when eaten and which according to Abhayadeva Sūri, is known as bhasmaka, give us an idea of the diseases known in those days. The remedies in the case of the 1st 16 diseases ($ 23) such as various kinds of enema, purgatives, vomittings, medicated baths etc., show how far the medical science was then developed. So far as surgical science is concerned, cutting of veins and skin for making them bleed, deserves to be noted.
Propiation of deities for begetting progeny (8 138), fanciful longings of women when pregnant ($ 40, 68), throwing of a still-born child on a dunghill (8 47) or placing it under a cart (8 95) and then bringing it back with the belief that it may thereby live long ($ 47), human sacrifices (8 107) for winning the favour of deities, festivals in honour of Indra and others (8 11), extremely barbarous and cruel ways of inflicting punishments for theft and adultery ($ 37, 63) and the various instruments etc. used by jailors for inflicting corporal punishments upon prisoners ($ 120-121), proficiency of harlots (8 34), and various preparations of flesh etc. (8 66, 93, 135, 151) are some of the aspects of the society which are reflected in the narratives given in this Anga.
OVAVĀPYA
This work is considered as the 1st Uvanga.? Herein are described in full, the city of Campā, the sanctuary of Punnabhadda and the garden surrounding it, the Asoga tree therein, King Kūniya alias Bhimbhasāraputta, his queen Dhārini and Lord Mahāvīra, to name a few out of many. These
1. Some females are over-anxious to have a child. Sutta 137 describes their longings
which can be compared with Abhijñanaśākuntala (VII, 17). Further, the wording of this sutta is identical with s. 5 of the 8th Anga (III, 8). So the description given in s. 137, ought to have been abbreviated by using jāva, and, if, at all, it was to be given in full,
it ought to have been so done in s. 40. 2. Siddhasena Gani, too, believes so, in case such an inference can be drawn from the
following line occurring in his com. (p. 27) on Tattvārtha (VI, 14):
"उपाङ्गानि औपपातिकप्रभृतीन्यङ्गार्थानुवादीनि" 3. In Über ein Fragment der Bhagavati a similar description of Lord Buddha is given by
Dr. A. Weber.