History of Canonical Literature of Jainas

Author(s): Hiralal R Kapadia, Nagin J Shah
Publisher: Prakrit Text Society Ahmedabad

Page 142

THE EXTANT ĀGAMAS OF THE JAINAS
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from Vācaspatimiśra's com. on Nyāyasūtra (IV, 1, 54). He has concluded: "This meaning of the passage is therefore that a monk should not accept as alms any substance of which only a part can be eaten and a great part must be rejected.”
(iv) The date of the composition of Ayara can be settled from the metres used in it. An attempt in this direction was made by the late Prof. H. Jacobi in S. B. E. (vol, XXII, intro. XLI-XLII). There he has said :
"Again, ancient Pāli works seem to contain no verses in the Āryā metre; at least there is none in the Dhammapadam, nor have I found one in other works. But both the Ācārānga and Sūtrakrtānga contain each a whole lecture in Āryā verses of a form which is decidedly older than, and probably the parent of the common āryā... From all these facts we must conclude that the chronological position of the oldest parts of the Jaina literature is intermediate between the Pali literature and the composition of the Lalita Vistara.”
In this connection the late K. H. Dhruva has observed in his Evolution of Gujarati Verse2 (p. 171) that the German scholar Jacobi believes that the composition of Suttanipāta is followed by that of Dhammapada, and those of Āyāra and Süyagada are even later than those of these Bauddha works. Further, on p. 173 Dhruva says that there is a slip on the part of Jacobi in naming Gathānustubhi saṁsrsti? as the olden āryā and in assigning to Ayāra and Sūyagada a date later than that of Dhammapada, on the ground that this metre is used in these two Jaina works. For, this metre is used even in Suttanipāta 1 "तस्मान्मांसा व कण्टकानुद्धत्य मांसमश्नन्नान) कण्टकजन्यमाप्नोतीत्येवं प्रज्ञावान् दुःखमुद्धृत्येन्द्रियादिसाधनंसुखं भोक्ष्यते।" 2 This work is written in Gujarāti and is named as under:
"ELR16 Alasul BULALLAL." This metre is used for Thiparinnā and Uvahānasuya. The latter is edited as it is and also as it should be from the metrical view-point by K. H. Dhruva in Evolution of Gujarati Verse (pp. 185-196). In this connection K. H. Dhruva has observed on p. 174 as under: “લુપ્ત થયેલા શબ્દો જૂના પ્રયોગો અને ભિખની સાદી અસલી રહેણીકરણીને આધારે ઠરી ચૂક્યું છે કે સુત્તનિપાત જૂનામાં જૂનો બૌદ્ધ પદ્યાત્મક સંગ્રહ છે. બૌદ્ધ સંઘની સ્થાપના તે એનો પૂર્વ અવધિ મનાય છે. આયાર અને સૂયગડ અંગ એક જ જૈન મુનિની કૃતિ છે, જ્યારે સુત્તનિપાત અનેક ભિન્નકાળના બૌદ્ધ 1945 with Ri 29."
[Tra : "It has already been proved, on the basis of obsolete words, old usages and simple-natural life-style of the Buddhist monks, that Suttanipāta is the oldest Buddhist collection of verses. Foundation of the Buddhist Order is regarded as its upper limit. Āyara Anga and Süyagada Anga are works of one Jaina monk. But Suttanipata is a collection of suttas composed by different Buddhist monks at different times"]