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 LITERATURE OF THE JAINAS
I may now turn to the Samskṛta language. We do not come across any Jaina canonical treatise which is written in Samskṛta; but, if we can believe that the Puvvas were composed in Samskṛta (vide p. 94), their bulk can speak volumes about the Jaina contributions in Samskṛta. But, as these Puvvas are now extinct, I may refer to the Cunnis1 and Samskṛta commentaries on the canonical treatises. Just as in the Vaidika mythology, we hear about the Nrsimha avatāra (the 4th incarnation) of Viṣṇu and about Ardhanarīśvara rūpa (form) of Mahadeva, so in the Cunnis almost in every sentence we come across a portion in Prakṛta,2 followed by a portion in Samskṛta. This hybrid as some might term it, is probably due to the transitional period when an attempt was slowly but surely being made to compose the Jaina exegetical canonical literature in Samskṛta and not in Prakṛta as before. Is there any parallel instance of this type anywhere else except perhapts in Gāthāsamskṛta literature?
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Samskṛta language has been freely and fairly resorted to by Haribhadra Sūri and other saints who followed him, while they were engaged in composing Samskṛta commentaries on the Jaina canon. These commentaries and the Samskṛta quotations occurring in Cunnis enrich the Samskṛta literature.
In the end I may say that the Gujarati commentaries on the Agamas are very helpful for the study of the old Gujarati language.
Intonation-It seems that most of the people are under the impression that intonation is associated with the Vedas only, so far as the Indian literature in concerned. But it is not so; for, in Anuogaddāra (s. 151) we find the word ghosa used while defining this sutta and while indicating as to how it should be pronounced. This word ghosa meaning udattādisvaraviśeșa occurs in Vavahara (X), too. In Tattvärtha which is a compendium of a portion of the preachings of Arhat as stated in its Bhāṣyakärikā (v. 22) we have in IX, 25, the word amnaya. It is explained as under in its Bhasya (p. 258) :
"आम्नायो घोषविशुद्धं परिवर्तनं गुणनं, रूपादानमित्यर्थः । "
These are useful even for etymological information. For instance Dasaveyāliyacunni (p. 11) supplies us with the etymologies of रुक्ख, दुम, तरव and वच्छ in a way which remind one of Nirukta by Yāska.
2.
At times this presents some features to be had in the Sauraseni language.
1.