Jain Journal 1968 04

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

Page 49

APRIL 1968
195
of Anahıllapura At Anahıllapura, too, Dharma was defeated and he acknowledged Santi Suri as 'really a learned man'
Santi Suri was a great poet and dialectician whose intellectual and literary fame spread all over Gurjaradesa and Malava. He was born at Unattaya a village situated to the west of Sr Pattana His father was Dhanadeva and his mother Dhanasrı, the family being endowed with affluence to justify the name of the master of the household In his childhood the boy had demonstrated uncommon intelligence and was taught all arts and sciences (kalā and vidyā). The learned assembly of Bhima conferred on him the title of Kavindra (a king of poets) and Vādıcakrın (a leader of dialecticians) At the request of Dhanapala and with the permission of the king Santi Suri visited Dhara as a representative of Gurjaradesa and there he was well-received by Bhoja, himself a great lord of learning and the learned At Dhara his principal mission was to critically examine the Tilakamanjarikatha of Dhanapala which the latter was advised by his guru to get done by Santi Suri He wrote a commentary on this work Bhoja offered the great dialect cian a lac of rupees for each dialectician he would defeat and he defeated eightyfour, earning this sum and a title Vädıvetāla from the king Santi Sur was a caityavāsın and he spent this money in constructing temples Santi Surt ran an important academy where he had thirtytwo disciples studying pramānašāstra under him At his school even Buddhist logic was taught and was considered to be very difficult (dusparicchedra) There is an interesting story about how one Municandra, a suvihta monk, was accepted as disciple by Santı Suri and was permitted to reside behind the munt Municandra used to attend the lectures of the great master incognito This he did for a fort. night Then one day Santi Suri put some questions to his students, but they were unable to reply With the permission of the master Municandra then gave reply to all and the master being pleased, he was accepted as a student Santi Suri entered into a public debate with another scholar from the Dravida country who spoke a strange language and defeated him Santi Suri composed a commentary on the Uttarādhyyana Sutra which was made use of by Vadı Devasuri, a disciple of Municandra, in his famous debate with the Digambara dialectician Kumudacandra already cited Vadi Deva Suri composed a comprehensive work on logic called Pramāna-naya-tattvālokālamāra and its commentary Syädvāda-ratnākara and must have had his inspiration from his grand-preceptor Santi Suri who had perhaps started a school of logic Santi Suri died in 1040 AD
We have already made a reference to Abhayadeva Suri who was the preceptor of Santi Suri But we have another Abhayadeva Suri whose