Jain Journal 1968 04

Author(s): Jain Bhawan Publication
Publisher: Jain Bhawan Publication

Page 23

APRIL, 1968
171
The dates for the main events of Hemacandra's life are supplied by the Prabhavakacarita According to it, Hemacandra was born in the year V S 1145 (AD 1089), full-moon night of Kartika, he was initiated into the holy order in VS 1150 (AD 1094) and was made a Suri or Acarya in V.S 1166 (A D 1110)
On the date of Hemacandra's birth, there is unanimity in all works As to the date of his initiation, however, there is some discrepancy According to the injunction of the Jaina tastras, no person who has not completed his eighth year is legible for initiation into the Jaina holy order We find that the Prabandha-cintamani, the Purātana-prabandha-samgraha, the Prabandhakoşa and the Kumārapāla-prabandha say that when Hemacandra was initiated, he was about eight years old The Kumarapalaprabandha gives the date of initiation as V S 1154 (A D 1098) (p 12) This seems to be correct This discrepancy between the Prabhavakacarita and the later accounts is easily explicable, and the Kumārapālaprabandha in a sense has done this Devacandra Suri must have come to Dhandhuka in VS 1150 when his eyes were cast on the boy Cangadeva and his formal consent also must have been taken at that time Considerable time, however, must have elapsed before the necessary permission was obtained from his father Cacca We learn from the Prabandhacintamani that Cangadeva came with Devacandra to Karnavati and was brought up with the sons of the minister Udayana one of whom must be Bahada or Vagbhata After the father was appeased and satisfied, he gave his consent According to the Prabandha-cintamani it was Cacca
or Caciga, as it calls him, who performed the festival of initiation This should be taken to mean that he was satisfied and must have been present on the occasion It is likely that the invitations were also issued in his name Somaprabha does not give the name of Udayana as the person who was responsible for the festive occasion, but later works give his name This probably means that Udayana who in V S 1154 (A D 1098) must have been the officer-in-charge of Cambay must have paid all the expenses According to the Prabandha-cintamani Udayana had offered three lacs to Cacca, which, however, the latter had contemptuously refused to accept So Udayana must have spent on that festive occasion a part of the money he was ready to offer to Cacca
All these arrangements must have taken about three or four years to be completed However that may be, it is certain that Hemacandra could not have been ordained before he was eight years old So we may say that in VS 1150 (AD 1094), Cangadeva first came under the Influence of Devacandra and his virgin mind untouched by worldly