History of Canonical Literature of Jainas

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

Page 223

206
A HISTORY OF THE CANONICAL LITERATURE OF THE JAINAS
may be that the examples given here may have something to do with the Āgamas and their exegis.
Alchemy - The first verse of Dasaveyaliya mentions the process of preparing gold.2 Verse 336 of Avassayanijjuti does the same.
The science of medicine - Some topics dealing with this subject have been already dealt with (vide pp. 136-137). So it now remains to add that Thāna (VIII; S. 611) gives us names of the 8 kinds of Ayurveda, and Viāhapannatti deals with the medicinal proporties of certain articles of food.
Modern branches of knowledge - Pannavanā provides us with information pertaining to metaphysics and Physics, and Nandi regarding psychology and logic. Jivājīvābhigama gives us some information about geology. Jambūddīvapannatti gives us an idea about cosmology, in its own way. Elements of chemistry can be gleaned from Pannavaņā which deals with ontology, too. As regards biology, at least some information can be gathered from Panhāvāgarana (s. 3), and Dasaveyāliya (II, 64; IV; V, 1, 70, and 73; V, 2, 14, 16, 18 and 20-24; VI, 64; IX, 1, 4; IX, 2, 1; and IX, 1)s. In Anga V. (s. 324) names of certain trees are given, and in s. 274, food of trees is discussed. In Pannavanā (I, s. 19-26) several items pertaining to vanaspati are mentioned. In Āyāra (s. 47) it is stated that the organism of vanaspati is akin to that of humanity. Its s. 54 mentions a number of motives which lead to the destruction of the trasa and its s. 49 the 8 varieties of trasa
Palaeography - It was in 1936 that I was given a Research grant for Jaina Palaeography. The results arrived at by me in this connection have been embodied in two papers“ : (i) Outlines of Palaeography with special reference to Jaina Palaeographical data and their evaluation and (ii) The Jaina manuscripts.
1. See my intro. (p. x) to Ganitatilaka. 2. See Appendix III of my translation of Caturvimsatiprabandha. In Appendix I
Gāhājuyalathui of Padalipta Sūri is given along with its avacūri. The latter interprets
this hymn whereby a base metal can be turned into gold. 3. See pp. 107, 125, 126. 4. This notes two types of serpents Gandhana and Agandhana. In the 5th Anga (XV; S.
547) there is a reference to a kind of serpent known as Drstivisasarpa. He is alluded
to in Kumāravālapadiboha, Abhayakumaracaritra and Seübandha (IV, 50). 5. For details see my article "sigura
c a faraght T 376 31TH 3Tach" published in Citramayajagat (p. 248, Dec. 1932). 6. Both of these papers are published in "The Journal of the University of Bombay, the
corresponding numbers being vol. VI, pt. 6, May 1938 and vol. VII, pt. 2, September 1938.