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OCTOBER, 1983
(verse 6, Granthakāra Prasasti, RM, PKK, 2nd. ed. 1978, p. 338). Late Dr. A. N. Upadhye, has very rightly pointed out in his useful introduction to PKK that:
1. "Vasunandi who was an expert in siddhantaśästra reminds us of Vasunandi Siddhanta, the author of the commentary on the Mūlācāra, who is more than once referred to by Asadhara (1243). But it is not safe to identify any of these authors merely from the similarity of names, because the same name was borne by a number of Jaina teachers at different times and even at the same time." (p. 31) and
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2. "If Vasunandi's identity proposed above turns out to be valid, then Ramacandra (RM) is earlier than Asadhara." (p. 32)
Fortunately we have strong authentic evidences to prove that Vasunandi is the same person whom PKK's author refers to. Camundaraya responsible for erecting 58 feet monolith colossal of Gommatesvara at Sravanabelgola, (Hassan District, Karnataka) was three in one; a minister, chief of the army and an author. He has completed his famous prose work Trişaşti-Lakṣaṇa-Mahāpurāṇa, which is popularly known as Camuṇḍarāyapurāṇa (CP) in the year 978. He has quoted the following gatha from Vasunandi's Srāvakācāra in his CP :
padigahamuccatthaṇam padedayamaccaṇamca paṇamam ca maṇavayaṇa kayasuddhi esaṇasuddhi ya danavihi
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This is a clear cut evidence, which is almost going to clinche the issue and solve the problem. Evidently the date of Vasunandi and the date of RM would be earlier than what is assigned to them now; Vasunandi's date would be either earlier or contemporary to 978, and as a consequence of this the date of RM would be the middle of 12th century or still earlier.
In addition to this, I can venture to make one more proposition. Vasunandi respectfully mentions the name of Nemicandra as his guru. One can easily equate this Nemicandra with that of Nemicandra Siddhanta Cakravarti, who was the philosopher and guide of Camundaraya (978), in which case Vasunandi and Camundaraya are contemporaries. Available evidences also go to prove this.
One more evidence is there in support of this conclusion. Vaddaradnane (VA), an anthology of 19 stories, is a popular Jaina prose work
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