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The Evolution of Sanatkumara-carita
ngenter
श्रीचन्द्र
देवेन्द्र
उत्तराध्ययन-वृत्ति आख्यानक-मणि-कोशवृत्ति आम्रदेव
हरिभद्र
हरिभद्र
ब्रिषष्टि- शलाका पुरुष - चरित हेमचन्द्र
fg-aft
fig-afta
1070 A.D.
1073 A.D.
1134 A.D.
ante 1160 A.D.
1160 A.D.
c. 1165 A.D.
231
KK
UVD
AKV
MC
NC
TS
Broadly speaking, the Digambara versions of the Sc. as we find in UP, MP, BK and KK constitute a sub-group and along with VH version they form a group set apart from rest of the Sc. Versions by the fact that their account is confined to Sanatkumara's renunciation and philosophical suffering of diseases. In the fully developed version that we find, say, for example, in TŚ, this part of Sanatkumara's life-story forms the third section. We may call it section C.C seems to be the earliest part of the Sc, because the earliest works like VH and UP know only that much of the legend. The fact that in BK, DV, UVD and AKV the Sc. is given to illustrate how one should suffer with equanimity the consequences of the past deeds also supports such a conclusion. The account in the UP is the shortest, and the MP version is based theron. The VH and UP versions differ in a few details, and so far as we can judge from the outline given in DV, UV appears indebted to VH for this part of its Sanatkumara-carita. The same remark applies to the Sanatkumara-carita in CM except that we have now a systematized list of diseases that afflicted Sanatkumāra as a monk. But BK develops for the first time some points of the narrative (e.g. the incident at the court of Saudharmendra which occasioned the visit from two gods; Sanatkumara's perceiving of the decaying character of his bodily lustre, the particular incident that was the direct cause of the diseases; the second visit from the same two gods to test Sanatkumāra etc.). KK mostly follows BK. The new elements that we find for the first time in BK are incorported in all the subsequent Sanatkumara-caritas of the Svetambara tradition also (e.g. UVD, MC, NC and TS). But otherwise the Sc. in UVD is just lifted from CM. AKV seems to be fami
