History of Canonical Literature of Jainas

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

Page 201

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A HISTORY OF THE CANONICAL LITERATURE OF THE JAINAS
commentator by Maladhārin Hemacandra Sūri in his commentary on Višeśão. So he must be a senior to him at least by about 300 years or so. Anandasāgara Sūri says that since in the time of Haribhadra Sūri Ambā, Kusmāndi and others are mentioned as vidyās and Vidyārāja Harinaikamişin* for mantra whereas Kotyācārya mentions only Kusmāndi vidyā and Hariņaikamiși mantra, the latter must be a predecessor of the former. If this argument is correct, we must assign to Kotyācārya, a datel prior to that of Haribhadra Súri, and in that case there remains no possibility of identifying Kotyācārya with Śīlānka Sūri, the commentator of Āyāra, though so done by Prof. H. D. Velankar in No. 1520.
As regards others who have written super-commentaries in Samskrta, Maladhārin Hemacandra Sūri and Sricandra Sūri may be here mentioned.
Now we may take up the question about the date of Samskrta commentaries of the Jaina canon. But, before doing so we may mention the fact that though it is difficult to exactly define the periods of the various strata underlying the four types of commentaries on the Agamas two of which are often much intermingled, yet it should not be forgotten that they serve “as a' depository of very many ancient, historical or semi-historical traditions on the one hand, and of a great mass of popular narrative themes of the other."2
About the date of the Saṁskṛta commentaries pertaining to Jaina canonical literature it may be safely asserted that they had been composed even before the time of Haribhadra Sūri. If we do not confine ourselves to this Āgamika literature, we can very well point out Vācakavarya Umāsvāti's Bhāsya on his excellent work Tattvārtha as the oldest Jaina Saṁskrta commentary, that has come to our hands. Besides, this Bhasya stands first amongst the Jaina Samskrta svopajña commentaries available at present. Several Jaina authors have written svopajña commentaries to their works written in Prākrta and Samskrta, and so far as the Agamas are concerned only two names viz. those of Bhadrabāhusvāmin and Jinabhadra Gani Ksamāśramana may be mentioned.
The exegetical literature of the Āgamas is not only in Samskrta and Prākrta; for, it is in Gujarātī, too. The Gujarātī commentaries are given
1. Anandasāgara Suri considers it to be the 10th century of Vira era. 2. See A His. of Ind. Lit. (vol. II, p. 484). 3. (1) Candrarsi Mahattara, (2) Haribhadra Sūri, (3) the celebrated polygrapher,
Hemacandra Sūri, (4) Munisundara Sūri, the sahasrāvadhānin and (5) Nyāyaviśärada Nyāyācārya Yaśovijaya Gani may be cited as the Svetambara authors, and Akalanka
and Vidyānandin as Digambara ones. * See page 213 of addition.