Jain Journal 1996 10

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

Page 16

JAIN JOURNAL: Vol-XXXI, No. 2 October 1996
stipulate, the authorship of the Tattvārtha-sūtra (i.e. the Tattvārthadhigama-sutra) to Umāsvāti.
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Before proceeding with that inquiry, it may at this juncture be mentioned that, besides the Tattvārthādhigama-sūtra, its Bhāṣya (which is the earliest available commentary on the text) is looked upon as Umāsvāti's auto-commentary in the Northern tradition. Also recognised as his works are the Prasamarati-prakarana and the Kṣētrasamāsa (alternative title, the Jambūdvipa-samāsa). Gandhahasti Siddhasēna, in his Tattvārthādhigama-vṛitti (c. 760-770 A.D.), refers to Umāsvāti's another work, the Sauca-prakarana,22 now unavailable. Also unavailable is his Śrāvaka-prajñapti. The Navāngavṛttikāra Abhayadeva Süri of Candra-gaccha ( active c. 1052-1083 A.D.), and before him the Vadivētāla Santi Sūri of Thārāpadra-gaccha (1040 A.D.) in his Uttaradhyayana-vṛtti, cite from Umāsvāti's other works, now unknown and indeed lost for the past several centuries.23
On the Sa-bhāṣya Tattvārthādhigama-sūtra of Umāsvāti, Yakinisūnu Haribhadra Sūri wrote his commentary up to about 61⁄2 chapters (c. 785 A.D.). His slightly senior contemporary, Gandhahasti Siddhasēna, earlier referred to, wrote a full commentary (c. 760-770 A.D.) on the selfsame work; and both of them regard the Sūtra as well as its Bhāṣya as of Umāsvāti. Haribhadra profusely quotes from the Tattvärthadhigama-sūtra in several of his other earlier commentarial works, particularly those on the agamas, all composed between c. 745 and 760 A.D. The commentators on other works whose writings predate Siddhasena's and Haribhadra's, such as Kōtyācārya (in his commentary, c. 700-725 A.D.) on the Viseṣa Avasyaka-bhāṣya of Jinabhadragani Kṣamāśramaņa, c. 585 A.D., also Koṭṭārya vādi gani (in his commentary, c. 700 A.D., which is a supplementary extension for completing the incomplete auto-commentary of Jinabhadra), and Simhasūra Kṣamāśramaņa (in his Dvādaśāra-naya-cakra-vṛtti, c. 680690 A.D.), also quote from the Tattvarthadhigama-sūtra. (The last noted author also cites from the Bhāṣya). Not only that, several cumicommentaries on the āgamas which were composed between c. 650700 A.D., quote from the Sutra. Among the still earlier such works, the Avasyaka-cūmi (c. 600-650 A.D.), which plausibly was composed a few decades before Devanandi's Sarvārthasiddhi, cites from the Tattvārthadhigama. The most important of them all are the four
22. Since the point is not very significant, I forego citation.
23. Kapadia collected several such quotations and grouped them into the Tattvärthadhigama-sutra, pt. I, chapts. I.V., Bombay 1926, "Introduction (in Sanskrit)", pp. 20-22. Some of these definitely reflect Umāsvāsti's style.