History of Canonical Literature of Jainas

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

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THE CANONICAL EXEGETICAL LITERATURE
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commentator by Maladhārin Hemacandra Suri in his com. on Visesão. 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, Kusmandi and others are mentioned as vidyās and Vidyārāja Harinaikamişin' for mantra whereas Kotyācārya mentions only Kusmāndi vidyā and Harinaikamisi mantra, the latter must be a predecessor of the former. If this argument is correct, we must assign to Kotyācārya, a date2 prior to that of Haribhadra Sūri, and in that case there remains no possibility of identifying Kotyācārya with śīlānka Sūri, the commentator of Ayāra, though so done by Prof. H. D. Velankar in No. 1520.
As regards others who have written super-commentaries in Samskrta, Maladhārin Hemacandra Suri and Sricandra Suri 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 semihistorical traditions on the one hand, and of a great mass of popular narrative themes on the other."3
The word of in the 1st quotation seems to be added by the late Mr. C. D. Dalal, who probably thought af to be a misreading for atent. If so, it is wrong. Prof. Velankar seems to have taken this quotation as coming from the pen of Hemacandra. But, from p. 17 of A Des. Cat. of MSS. in the Jain Bhandaras at Pattan it appears that it occurs in a MS. of Kotyācārya's work. Whatever it may be, I am unable to accept his view unless I get a satisfactory reply to each of the following querries: (1) Does this quotation occur in other Mss ? And, if so, what are those Mss ? (ii) Who is the father of this quotation ? (iii) Does the word samarthita convey the idea of collaboration ? (iv) If Kotyācārya had helped Jinabhadra Gani as suggested by Prof. Velankar, they
would be contemporaries. And, in that case how can the inference drawn from
the line Yogu...be reconciled with this view ? 1. He is referred to as Harinegamesi in Țhāna (V, 1; s. 302), Viāhapannatti (V, 3;
s. 186), Antagadadasā (VII, 8; s. 38, 42) and Pajjusanākappa (s. 20), as Harinagamesi in Paumacariya (III, 104), and as Harinaigameşin in Trisasti (1, 2,338).
Anandasāgara Suri considers it to be the 10th century of Vira era. 3. See A History of Indian Literature (vol. II, p. 484).