History of Canonical Literature of Jainas

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

Page 20

GENESIS OF THE JAINA SCRIPTURES
clergy. Out of them, those who are going to be the greatest apostles. technically known as Ganadharas compose dvādaśangis, each of which forms a nucleus of the Jaina scriptures.
Lord Māhavīra had eleven Ganadharas Indrabhūti and others and each of them composed a dvādaśāngi. To enter into details, Indrabhūti after he had taken dīksā, bowed to Lord Mahāvīra and asked : "For Thi" (what is the essence underlying the animate and inanimate objects)? The Lord replied : "3097 91" (everything has a creation). Thereupon, once more, Indrabhūti asked the same question; or, he could not believe that there was nothing else but creation, when, with his own eyes he could see destruction and permanence as well. The Lord replied: "faths a" (everything perishes). This again led him to put the same question once more. This time the Lord replied: "yas al" (everything is permanent). This final answer solved his doubts, and he could catch the real spirit of Jainism. For, all this while the answers had set him thinking, and as if by way of sudden realization, the ideas had rushed past in his mind in the following vein :
"What can be the distinguishing feature of a substance (dravya)? Well, it must be sat, and what is sat ? It is nothing but a simultaneous possession of birth, decay and permanence. And what is permanence ? It means indestructibility of the essence or quality of the substance, though accidental qualities of this substance can and do undergo a modification."
1. By clergy, I here mean both monks and nuns. There together with the Jaina laity
comprising Srāvakas and Srāvikās form the fourfold church known as caturvidha
sangha to whom even the Tirthankara pays due respect. 2. Bhadrabāhusvāmin says in his Āvassayanijjutti :
"पढमित्थ इंदभूई विइओ उण होइ अग्गिभूइ त्ति । तइए ये वाउभूई तओ वियत्ते सुहम्मे य ॥५९३।। मंडिय मोरियपुत्ते अकंपिए चेव अयलभाया य ।
मेयज्जे य पभासे गणहरा होंति वीरस्स ॥५९४॥" 3. In this connection I may quote the following lines from Haribhadra Suri's
commentary (p. 277') on Avassaya and its Nijjutti (v. 735) "तत्र गौतमस्वामिना निषधात्रयेण चतुर्दश पूर्वाणि गृहीतानि । प्रणिपत्य पृच्छा निषद्योच्यते । भगवांश्चाचष्टे'उप्पण्णेइ वा विगमेई वा धुवेइ वा' । एता एव तिस्रो निषद्याः, आसामेव सकाशाद् गणभृताम् 'उत्पादव्ययध्रोव्ययुक्तं
सत्' इति प्रतीतिरुपजायते, अन्यथा सत्ताऽयोगात् । ततश्च ते पूर्वभवभावितमतयो द्वादशाङ्गमुपरचयन्ति ।" 4. Cf. "Brygopa " the 29th sūtra of Tattvārthādhigamaśāstra (adhyāya V)
composed by Umāsvāti Vācaka :5. "T o Fr " Tattvärtha (V. 30)