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THE JAINA GAZETTE
Deva-Suri is said to have established a holy place of pilgrimage in the village of Phala-vardhi in the year 1204 of the Vikrama Era (A. D. 1148) and a holy place, consecrated to Nemi-natha in Arasana.
He died in A. D. 1170.
Deva-Suri has left many writings e.g., Prabhata-smaranakulaka, Sri-munichandra-suri-stuti, Sravaka-dharma-kulaka etc. The most famous of his treatises are Pramana-naya-tattvalokalamkara and a voluminous exposition of it, called Syadvadaratnakara, consisting of 84000 Stanzas. This Syadvada-ratnakara is really a stupendous work of art. In it, the author while explaining the matters contained in Pramana-naya-tattvalokalamkara, introduces the theories of all the philosophical schools of India, explains and examines them and after criticising them fully, establishes his own theories, that is to say, the theories of the Jaina Svetambara school. The Syadvada ratnakara is highly praised in Ratnakaravatarika, Gurvavali, Ratnakaravatarika-panjika, Vijaya-prasasti-mahakavyam.
Ratna-prabha was a disciple of Deva-suri. He was a worthy disciple of a worthy master and was the author of many books e.g. Sri-Neminatha-charita, Upadesamala-tika, Mata-parikshapanchasat. Deva-suri himself has spoken very highly of Ratnaprabha in his Syadvada-ratnakara. He has written an excellent commentary on Pramana-naya-tattvalokalamkara. He calls it Ratnakaravatarika," an Introduction to Ratnakara". He says that Deva-suri's Syadvada-ratnakara, comprehensive as it is, is too difficult for ordinary people. His commentary is an epitomised form of that and is, meant as an Introduction to the study of Syadvada-ratnakara.
Ratna-prabha's Ratnakaravatarika is no doubt of easier approach than his master's Syadvada-ratnakara. Yet full of logical and metaphysical discourses and disputations, as it is, it is bound to be very stiff and at places almost 'impenetrable '. Accordingly, to make it intelligible to the learned world, Jnanachandra wrote Tippana and Raja-sekhara-suri, Panjika. both, commentaries upon Ratnaprabha's Ratnakaravatarika.
Harisatya Bhattacharyya.
www.umaragyanbhandar.com
Shree Sudharmaswami Gyanbhandar-Umara, Surat
