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JAINA GAZETTE.
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from other Jain works. It intercalates them in the Kathamukh or, introduction.
To a similar school of poets in the Vernacular belonged Vachhraj who wrote his Panchakhyanchaupai in Sam wat 1648 (or 1591-2 A.D.). He was a member of the Virudh Tapagachha and pupil to Ratansundara, (also Ratancharitra), who, as he expressly states, was spreading pare and beautiful songs.
Bachhraja used Ratansundara's text, with which he often agrees in the wording as well as in the rhymes ; but he has 16 stories more than his predecessor.
Bachbraja's chaupai met with the attention which it deseryed. It was translated into Sanskrit verse by some unknown author. Unfortunately I have not been able to discover this version ; but a fragment of it has been preserved in another Jain recension written in Sanskrit, viz., Meghavijaya's Panchakhyan Uddhar or, 'Epitome of the Panchakhyana.' Meghavijaya belonged to the Tapagachha and wrote his work in Samwat 1716 (or era 1659-60), for the instruction of boys, in the town Navarang. The stories contained in his recension are the same as those given by Bachhraja. Only Meghavijaya adds at the end of his book the tale of Ratanpala, other versions of which are to be found in Somamandana's Ratanpal-katha (about Sam wat 1503), and in Dharam Kalpadrama II. 4 and 5. Whether Meghavijaya found this story in the metrical Sanskrit version, from which he made his abstract, or whether he added it himself, this cannot be ascertained before we discover some mavascript of this version.
Another Jain recension is Nirmal Shravak's Panchakbyan, a Manuscript of which has been lent to me by a Jain friend. It contains the greater part of the first Tantra only ; but this part, too, is divided into five Tantras. The language of this version is not Gujarati, but Braj Bhasha, and the whole composition is a metrical one. But as the author not seldoın employs Gujarati expressions and Gujarati verb forms, it is clear that he too was a Gujarati.
Finally we possess a translation of the Panchakhyan in modern Gujarati by some unknown author. Three prints exist Shree Sudharmaswami Gyanbhandar-Umara, Surat
www.umaragyanbhandar.com
