Jain Journal 1974 07

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

Page 49

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present author's "The Jaina Sources of the Life-story of Candragupta & Canakya' (Jain Siddhanta Bhaskar, Vol. XV No. 1, July 1948, pp. 17-24) and 'Candragupta and Canakya' (Jain Siddhanta Bhaskar, Vol. XVII No. 1, June 1950, pp. 1-16), also his book 'Bharatiya Itihās: Ek Drşti' (published by Bharatiya Jnanpith, 1st ed. 1961, 2nd ed. 1966, pp. 76-90) and B. Kamta Prasad Jain's book 'The Religion of Tirthankaras' (published by World Jain Mission, Aliganj, 1964, p. 133), have dealt at length with this topic and clearly established that Canakya was born of Jaina parents, remained throughout his life a Jaina by faith, and ended his days as a Jaina ascetic. Both the Digambara and Svetambara traditions are unanimous on this point.
JAIN JOURNAL
Recently Muni Mahendra Kumar 'Pratham' has in his own way established the same fact on the basis of almost the same source material, in his learned article which has simultaneously appeared in several periodicals. Some ten years ago, Dr. Satyaketu Vidyalankar, intending to publish a revised second edition of his History of the Mauryas, approached the present author, discussed among others, this point, and took away with him the offprints of the author's articles published in the Jain Siddhanta Bhaskar. We should hope that historians will seriously go into this question and recognise the fact of Canakya's being a Jaina, as established in the writings detailed above.