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Problems of the Purva
SUZUKO OHIRA
What is the Purva? Did it ever exist, or is it a mere fictitious literature? These are the old problems that have been argued till today, however they have remained yet as the new problems to be tackled. The important position of the Purva in the Jaina canonical literature is beyond doubt, for it is held in tradition as the source of the Anga literature. The term pūrva, meaning "old" or "early”, and its derivatives such as Purvadhara and Purvavid make their appearance in the canonical texts belonging to the later Agamic stages. Also the contents of the Drsţivāda including the Purvagata enumerated in the present canonical texts evince that these are the important topics currently discussed in the later canonical stages. All these suggest that the Purya came into being involving itself with some serious problems arisen in the later canonical period. We would therefore like to know what were the problems directly involving the Purva and how these problems came into existence in the later canonical age, with a view to finding out what was meant by the Purva literature when it came into existence.
Major peculiar features involving the Purva known from its studies made until the present day are as follows:
(1) The Samavāya 211-226 and the Nandi 45-57 enumerate the contents
of 12 Angas including the Purvagata which is placed in the Drstivāda.
The references to the canonical texts are based on the Suttagame in two volumes unless specified. 1 For instance, H. Jacobi : Sacred Books of the East Series XXII, Introduction ;
W. Schubring : The Doctrine of the Jainas, 37-40. D.D. Malvania : Panna
vanasuttam, Pt.2, English Introduction. 2 'Puvvavi' appearing in the Acara 1.4.4.261, 5.4.307, 5.6.328 and 6.5.384 in the Suttagame is respectively expressed as 'veyavi' in the Agamodaya Samiti edition,
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