Jain Journal 1968 04

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

Page 52

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JAIN JOURNAL
tradition till the reign of Bhima I who at the instance of his priest Somesvara agreed to allow the suvihita or vasativadı monks too to live in the capital This intercession acquired two celebrated monks (munis) for Anahıllapura named Jinesvara and Buddhisagara Their previous names were Sridhara and Sripati and both were Brahmins from the Middle Country (Madhaydesa) who were well-versed in the four Vedas, Smytis and Itzhasa On conversion they became known as Jinesvara and Buddhisagara When they arrived at Anahillapura, they could find no residence So they saw the royal priest Somesvara They recited from the Vedas and displayed their mastery over the Brahmanical learning They further proved that there was no basic difference between the Vedas and the Upanışads on the one hand and the philosophy of the Jainas on the other This impressed Somesvara who gave residence and food to the two monks But the cartyavasins were not ready to tolerate this and the matter was at last forced to the notice of the king who accepted their plea of course and at the same time he requested them to allow these two monks to stay in the capital, since he could not refuse residence to respectable people The case was further strengthened when Jnanadeva, the pontiff of the Saiva shrine, too, prevailed upon the king to grant a permanent residence to the suvihita monks At the suggestion of the pontiff that 'Siva is Jina', not only the two monks were given residence on land belonging to the Tripurusa, the Sıva temple built by Mularaja, but in future a series of residences sprang up for the suvihita monks in the capital city The barrier that prevented their stay here was thus permanently gone Jinesvara wrote a work on logic, Pramānalakșana, while Buddhisagara composed a Sanskrit grammar named after him
On this fascinating subject the source-book is Prabhavakacarita by Prabhacandra and Pradyumna Sury, though concession must be made to the fact that this being the Jaina source, it gave a little more focus to the Jaina savants