Book Title: Jain Shwetambar Conference Herald 1915 Book 11 Jain Itihas Sahitya Ank
Author(s): Mohanlal Dalichand Desai
Publisher: Jain Shwetambar Conference
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Shri Jain Conferenco Herald.
400 years: after the lapse of so long a time reverence and veneration may assume & sublime ferm, but it needs loses every trace of personal character. In order to avoid the difficulties raised by the litaral adoption of the traditional date, I prefer to interpret the date 585 as a Gupta (or as a Chedi) date, whereby Haribhadra would become the older contemporary of Siddharshi. (or is placed two generations earlier).
Now I do not pretend that all I have said may be regarded as strict proof; I only claim some degree of probability for my opinion. You may say, it is only an opinion; but it is one to which I attach much weight; nor do I think that the interesting facts which you have brought to light and which you ought to publish in some scientific journal, prove that I am wrong. For according to the documents you have brought forward, there can be no doubt that already in the second half of the eleventh century of the Samvat Era Haribhadra was looked upon in the same light as by the Jainas of the present day, as purvu kavi, as paramarthajnanin as the author of 1414 works. You think this unlikely if Haribh. had been dead only one or two centuries before that time. Yet the rapid growth of legends rouud preeminent personages is well known, and seen e. y. also in the case of He macandra thougn in his case that growth of the legendary and mirarce. leres was checked by the extetence of early liographics and by numerous biographical notes in Hemacandra's works; but it was different with Ha ribhadra, who left very few remarks in his works which could be used for his liography, and indeed we have nothing like an autheritic biography, of Haribh adra It was therefore just the thing we should expect, that the veneration of his pious admirers should fix those epithets on him under which he is known even now.
It is not for any obstinacy of opinion, a rather too com. mon fault of the scholar, that I demur to your premiser and the conclusions you draw from them; but because I thom 34
117. E. g. The relation of contemparduty which you try to establish between देवार्धगणि and हरिभद्र, can on the same grounds be assumed between cha and Erh For both wrote
