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Book Review
MUNI SUVRATASVĀMICARITA of Sri Capdrasari-a. Prakrit text edited by Pt Rupendra Kumar Pagariya, L. D. Institute of Indology, Abmedabad, 1989, Price Rs. 70.00
The Prakrit literature is enriched by the addition of a Prakrit Mahākävyā, viz., Muni Suvratas vámicarita of Sri Candrasuri edited by Pandit Rupendra Kumar Pagariya. The L. D. Institute of Indology is to be congratulated for publishing such a work for the benefit of the Prakrit world. It is a narrative tale in Prakrit, and the Jaina narrative literature is very rich and extensive even when compared with the extent and wealth of the narrative tales in Sanskrit. With regard to the plots and contents, the Jaina narrative tales have a dignity of their own. In the matter of fine descriptions and the art of narration the Muni Suvrataswāmicarita possesses all the good qualities of a Mahākávya, though not divided by cantos. From a perusal of this Mahakāvya, it appears that Sri Candrasûri is a very good poet and a master of narration
The Muni Suvrataswāmicarita of Sri Candrasuri writteni n the twelftb century (to be exact in 1193 v.s=1137 A.D.) with some 10,995 Prakrit gathas gives the account of the life of Muni Suvrata, the 20th Tirthankara in the line of Jaina bagiology. It narrates the story of nine great births of Muni Suvratasvāmi. In his life as a householder Suyrata was a finance minister under Calukya king Jayasimha of Gujarat, and it was at that time he had composed this extensive literary work. This Kavya shows his knowledge of Prakrit grammar, metres, rhetoric, diction and description. It has a foreword by Dr H. C. Bhayani.
The life of this twentieth Tirthaökara is terribly shrouded in darkness. As far as it is known to us, for the life of Muni Suvrata we have access to the other two works. In the eighth book of the Trisasti-salaka-puruşa-caritra of Hemacandra (1088-1172 A. D), we have the life-story of this sage. In a similar way, the Muni Suvrata. caritra of Arbaddasa is a separate book altogether on his life. The work contains 10 cantos and is also called Kävyaratna It was published with a commentary in 1929 A.D. by the Jaina Siddhānta Bhavana, Arrab. There are other works lying in manuscripts (for which sec Jinaratnakoşa).
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