Indian Antiquary Vol 46

Author(s): Richard Carnac Temple, Devadatta Ramkrishna Bhandarkar
Publisher: Swati Publications

Page 290

276
THE INDIAN ANTIQUARY
(NOVEMBER, 1917
BOOK NOTICE.
VIJNAPTI-TRIVENI, A JAINA EPISTLE. chandra of the Somavamiá. The names of the capi. THE Jain community of the Hindu people is
tal and fortress are now combined in our presentshowing laudable activity in bringing to light pieces
day Kota Kangla. The old fortress has been of their hidden literature, which are ag valuable as
unfortunately destroyed within living memory,
by the dreadful earthquake of 1905. any other ancie it literature of the country. The Jaina- Åtmananda-Sabha of Bhavnagar has The time of Jinabhadra is fully ascertained. undertaken to publish on historical series (Itihasa. He is well-known for having built many Jain tem. máld) and the Vijnapti-crivent is its first number. ples and for having established a number of Jain The work is edited in Hindi, which the Jain com- libraries in Western India, one of which survives in munity has adopted as its common language. The the present library of Vadipura-Parsvanatha at text, however, is given in the original Sanskrit.
Pâtana, where the MS. of the Viñapti-triveri has The introduction in Hindi covers 96 pages contain- been discovered. The present number of the ing valuable information, and the text covers 70 volumes in the Påtan library is about 750. They are pages of octavo print.
written on paper-leaves of generally one size and The Vinapli-triveni is # Sanskrit epistle dated
also generally in letters of one and the same type. Mågha Sudi 8, 1484 V. S. and the text is edited from
This was done in the age when the Jain Achåryas the original MS. of the author. That manuscript is had old manuscripts on palm leaves transferred to at present in the Jain library of Vadipura-Para- paper. Jinabhadra took a leading part in that nátha at Patan in North Gujarat. It has been
movement. From the existing manuscripts of the brought to light and edited with care by Muni Jina. Patan Library it appears that Jinabhadra carried Vijayaji, pupil of Maharaja Pravartaka Muni Sri. on this mission of manuscript-making from 1475 KAnti-Vijayaji.
V. S. to 1515 V. S. This epistle is one of the many literary epistles The epistle is useful for tracing the route from called Vinaptis written by medieval Tains to Western India to the Punjab in the 15th century: their spiritual lenders on the last day of the Par. end the place names on that route may be consulted yushan a week. On that day the Jains are sup. for the purposes of comparison and identification. posed to forgive others and ask for others' forgive. The document, like the majority of the Jain records ness. The week falls in Bhadra (Vadi 12th to Sudi of the Middle Ages, is reliable for dates and other 4th) or in Bråvana according to local reckoningsmaterial data. A great contribution of the epistle After the week the Jains write letters between to the history of Kangra is that it settles the date themselves and also to their charyas asking for of King Narendrachandra whose coins we possos. forgiveness. Some of the letters written on the No date with certaintry could yet be given to him; occasion in the Middle Ages used to be profusely Mr. V. Smith tentatively placed him about 1465— illustrated with pictures of well-known buildings, 80 A.C. (Coins in the Indian Museum, p. 278 ). 6. 9., palaces, temples, mosques and various scenes, Now we know on contemporary evidence of the from still-life to acrobatics. One such letter covers epistle that he was reigning in 1427 A. c. and also a roll of nearly 60 feet ! Generally letters written by the fact that he was a Jain. This definite dato
Munis' to their Acharyas are so many attempts brings order at least on one point into the chaos of at artificial Sanskrit poetry. The Indu-data and the Kâugrå chronology. There are some further Cheto-data are such epistles written in imitation informations of historical value. The kingdom of of the Meghadata. Our present epistle, however, is Kashmir extended upto HariyâÞâ in those days. more sedato and contains more valuable materials. which also marked off the boundaries of JAlandhara, The author Jayaságara-Upadhyâya addressed
Madhya-desa and Jângala-desa (Kuru-Jangala ). this epistle from Malik-vahana in Sindh to Sri-Jina
Apparently to the east of Hariyana (modern Hari. bhadra Sari, Acharya of the Kharatara Gachchha yânâ) lay the Madh ya desa. Near Hariyânâ on at Anahilapurapatana in Gujarat. It describes & the Bias the pilgrims witnessed an engagement journey to Kangra. The description is divided into between the troops of "Sakander, King of Turushthree sections. The journey was undertaken bykas" and those of " Yaboratha, lord of Shoshara." a number of merchants at the invitation of Jaya
It seems that the Epistle's sapdda-laksha is our sågara, and the sangha on its way was protected
• Sewalik'. We are highly indebted to Muni by armed retainers. The object of the journey Vijayaji for bringing this unique kind of composi. was the worship of a Jain deity in the hill fortress
tion to the notice of scholars and for writing of Kangadaka (modern Kångra), situated by the valuable preface to it. capital called Nagara-kotta, which in those days was held by an independent Hindu King, Narendra
K. P.J.