Jain Journal 2000 04

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

Page 35

HAMPANA : THE RĀȘTRAKŪTAS AND JAINISM
191 Kaviparamēşthi completed his magnum opus called Vagartha-Samgrana or Gadya-kathā, the earliest Mahāpurāņa in Sanskrit.
Subhatunga Indra, father of Dantidurga, governor of Lāța, constructed śubhatunga-Vasati, a Jaina temple in Vāțagrāmapura (Vāțana-gara, Vādnēr in Nasik Dt). Two of the greatest Jaina savants of the Rāştrakūța age, Svāmi Virasēnācārya of Pañcastūpānvaya and his adroit pupil Jinasenācarya lived at this Vāțanagara monastery.
Puspadanta and Bhūtabali (circa 5th cent. A.D.) had compiled the traditional canonical and primordial Prakrit text Satkhandāgama. Scriptures require the skills of interpreters. Virasenācārya, proficient in agamas launched his voluminous commentary of 72,000 verses on the Satkhandāgama during the rule of Jagattunga-Govinda-III. Though, Virasēna could not complete his work, and wrote 20,000 verses, it did cover an important section of the vast lore of Jaina āgama. He completed this Dhavalā in 816-17 A.D. when Amõghavarşa-I (C.E. 814-77) was on the Rāștrakūta throne. Because he commenced the commentary during the reign of Govinda, who had the title of Tribhuvana-Dhavala, Virasena christened it as Dhavalā.
Jinasenācārya-II, scholar pupil of Virasēna, and a grand disciple of Āryanandi, continued the commentary from where his guru had left incomplete and merrily completed it in A.D. 837-38. He named it after his king disciple Nypatunga Amõghavarsa who had the title of Atisaya-Dhavala.
Jinasenācārya-I belonged to Punnāța-samgha, an ancient Jina congregation in Karnataka. He wrote his mahā-kāvya Harivamsapurana and completed it in A.D. 784. It is one of the early Jaina creative works in Sanskrit that inspired the later Jaina writers to compose in Sanskrit also, in addition to Prakrit. Jinasena-II, versatile in Prakrit and Sanskrit, wrote Pārsvābhyudaya-kāvya, much earlier in A.D. 782, completed Jaya-Davalā in A.D. 837-38 composing 40,000 verses to his preceptor's 20,000. By far the most widely and the most influential of his works in Adipurāņa. Dexterous Jinasenācārya started composing Adipurāņa, but when the work had progressed to 10,380 verses, he passed away.
Ācārya Guņabhadra, poet-scholar and pupil of Jinasena, continued, in all earnestness, the incomplete work of his preceptor and added, 1,620 ślākas to Adipurāņa (Pūrvapurāna), first part of Mahāpurāņa Guņabhadrācārya successfully completed the second part of Mahāpurāna called Uttarapurāņa by composing another 9,500 verses (C. 850 A.D.) Thus, Mahāpurana, containing 20,000 verses, is a