Jain Journal 1980 10

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

Page 16

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14 Purvas in complete form are possessed by 14 Purvadharas. Mahavira's 11 Ganadharas and several sages up to Bhadrabahu are upheld as 14 Purvadharas and 12 Angis in both traditions. Also the Kalpasutra 138, for instance, counts that there were 300 Purvadharas in Mahavira's disciples.
JAIN JOURNAL
Since Mahavira reformed Parsva's doctrine, founded his independent sect and devoted his life to the propagation of his tenet by way of fighting against his rivals, there must have been lots of theoretical views expressed by Mahavira inside and outside the church but did not get recorded in the canonical literature. But from the fact that many of Mahavira's disciples and his 11 Ganadharas are said to be 14 Purvadharas, and from the fact that Bhadrabahu, the last 14 Purvadhara, is known as the author of the Daśāśrutaskandha, Bṛhatkalpa and Vyavahāra which now form the class of Chedasutras, it seems that the Purva literature must have been understood as Mahavira's personal views and instructions expressed in day to day life in organizing his Ganas, handling his students' disciplinery problems including Jamali's nihnava case, handling delicate problems occurring between the Jaina monks and the lay society, between the Jaina monks and the followers of the rival schools, and so on. These problems relevant to monastic disciplinery rules and jurisprudence must have been occurring constantly in his life time as well as after his death. Mahavira's case by case instructions and views on such problems expressed in his life time must have been known to those who worked closely with him including his Ganadharas and his intimate disciples. And Mahavira's instructions and opinions involving these disciplinery problems must have been the authoritative source in dealing with the similar problems for the leaders of the Jaina church after Mahavira's demise until Bhadrabahu finally compiled some Chedasutras. And once the Chedasutras were authorized by the church, these naturally came to supersede the old sayings of Mahavira. Bhadrabahu was thus placed as the final 14 Purvadhara in Mahavira's Tirtha.
Other sayings of Mahavira in the other fields of knowledge which were not expressed in the Jaina canon might have been also assumed to be included in the content of the Purva literature. But the church authorities at the later canonical period must have primarily understood the Purva in terms of the old sayings of Mahavira which became the source of Chedasutras compiled by Bhadrabahu. In that sense, it is quite logical to maintain that the Purva had existed once but came to be lost in due course. The Purva was established in relation to 14 purvadharatva, a rddhi entrusted with a task of eradicating jñānā varaṇa and darśanavaraṇa karmas. But once the processes of sukla dhyana came to be systematized