Jaina Exegetical Terminology Pk Vibhasa Detailed Exposition

Author(s): Nalini Balbir
Publisher: Nalini Balbir

Page 12

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Nalini Balbir
Thus, I would propose the following translation of Jacobi's Erzählungen 65.7-8: "It might be that he dreams this again. But (once deprived) from human birth...: [supply the] full sentence (on the basis of what precedes for other illustrations]."35
When this story is utilized in later books for other didactic purposes and thus is not a member of a chain, the conclusion is given in full. See, for instance:
kappadio suviņ'atthi puna puņa bhottūna gorasam sutto. avi so lahejja suviņam taha vi narattam puna vi du-laham.36 Wishing to have the same) dream the beggar took milk again and again and slept. He might get this dream. (To get] human birth again is however more difficult.
To trace the destiny of vibhāsā in later Prakrit is not an easy task. It is in fact unlikely that the word continued to be commonly used. Still; the two following instances, both found in Prakrit portions of Jinaprabhasūri's Vividhatīrthakalpa (14th cent.),37 may be mentioned. They are in perfect agreement with the traditional use of vibhāsā since they spare the repetition of what can be easily deduced from a given pattern:
Angakumāra-nāmenam Anga-deso jāo. Kuru-nāmenam Kuru-khettam pasiddham. evam Vanga-Kalinga-Süraseņa-Avanti-m-āisu vibhāsā. (27.6; No. 16 Hastināpura)
The second passage records various diverging interpretations of people about an image of the Jina Supārsva, which they do not recognize as such because they are non-Jainas: "Some say: 'It is the god Svayambhū with Vāsuki as his distinctive mark.' Others say: 'It is Nārāyana lying on Sesa'; evam Bambha-Dharaninda-Süra-Cand"āisu vibhāsā," (17.24; No. 9 Mathurā)
Thus, we see that the word vibhāsā which has been used as a technical term by the Jainas has to be rendered into English in a twofold way:
(1) A medium size exposition, compared to bhāsā (summary exposition) and vattiya (exhaustive exposition). This usage appears only in theoretical discussions. (2) A detailed exposition according to the context in order to fill in a gap. This usage is recorded over a long period of time.