History of Canonical Literature of Jainas

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

Page 23

THE CANONICAL LITERATURE OF THE JAINAS
It appears that we have no means to know the number of niṣadyās pertaining to the remaining 10 Ganadharas but it is certain that at least one of them had a recourse to fifteen niṣadyās.1 This shows that this particular Gaṇadhara at least was rather backward in intelligence as compared with Indrabhūti; or else why should he have been obliged to put such a big number of questions as 15? Furthermore, we do not know the actual answers given by Lord Mahāvīra by way of replies to these 15 niṣadyās but it seems highly probable that tripadī might have played therein the main part, if not the sole part.
6
As already said on p. 3, on the whole 11 dvādaśāngīs were composed by 11 Gaṇadharas, one by each of them. It, however, so happened that the dvādaśāngis of the 8th and the 9th Gaṇadharas not only tallied in meaning but even in the compilation of words, and so did the dvādasangis of the 10th and the 11th Ganadharas.2 This is rather a curious coincidence;3 for, there is no wonder if the underlying spirit of one dvādaśāngī does not differ from that of another, when each has the same basis viz, tripadī to fall back upon.
A dvādaśāngī means no doubt a collection of 12 Angas. But it should be borne in mind that there is a difference of opinion regarding the order of these 12 Angas which constitute a dvādaśāngī. Some believe
1 The following lines from the Cunni (Pt. I, p. 337) on Avassaya may be here consulted :
जदा य गणहरा सव्वे पव्वजिता ताहे किर एगनिसेज्जाए एगारस अंगाणि चोद्दसहिं चोद्दस पुव्वाणि, एवं ता भगवतो अत्थो कहितो, ताहे भगवंतो एगपासे सुत्तं करेति, तं अक्खरेहिं पदेहिं वंजणेहिं समं”
2
"
Cf. Triṣasti (X, 5):
" एवं रचयतां तेषां सप्तानां गणधारिणाम् । परस्परमजायन्त विभिन्नाः सूत्रवाचनाः ।। १७३ ||
अकम्पिताऽचलभ्रात्रोः श्रीमेतार्य-प्रभासयोः । परस्परमजायन्त सदृक्षा एव वाचना: ॥ १७४॥
3 This coincidence led to the formation of 9 ganas (schools) instead of 11; for, otherwise there would have been 11 schools, one school for each Gaṇadhara out of 11. That only 9 schools came into existence is borne out by the following line occurring in the Cunni (Pt. I, P. 337) on the Avassaya : "अकंपिय-अयलभातीणं एगो गणो, मेयज- पभासाणं एगो गणो, एवं णव गणा होंति ।"