Jaina Philosophy Historical Outline

Author(s): Narendra Nath Bhattacharya
Publisher: Munshiram Manoharlal Publisher's Pvt Ltd New Delhi

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12 Jain Philosophy in Historical Outline Libraries were deposited in the Deccan College of Poona. The Jains had preserved large number of books written on paper or on plam leaves in their Grantha Bhāņdāras or book houses. Of the important Jain Grantha Bhāņdāras reference must be made to those at Mudabidri in South Kanara District, at Karanja in Vidarbha, at Patana in Gujarat and at Jaisalmer in Rajasthan. In Gujarat alone there are fifiy-six Grantha Bhāndāras of the Svetämbara Jains and in the whole of India their number must be sufficiently large because practically every big Jain temple possesses a Grantha Bhāndāra. The orthodox section of the Jains were opposed to the idea of getting the manuscripts published. It was not earlier than the twenties of this century that scholarly examination of the Bhāņdāra manuscripts became feasi. ble, thanks to the efforts of Muni Punyavijaya. The Āgamodaya Samiti, founded at Mehsana in 1915, had published some works of the Svetāmbara Siddhānta and also a good number of non-canonical texts. The same task was also undertaken by Devchand Lalbhāi Pustakoddhāra Fund. Likewise institutions such as Sri Kharatara Gaccha Granthamālā Samiti, Manikacandra Digambara Jaina Granthamālā Samiti, Oriental Institute of Baroda, etc. published many Jain texts.3
Since 1920, researches on Jainism had taken a manifold course but the main emphasis was on literary studies. Besides critical editions and translations of the canonical and non-canonical texts, compre
It had published Ayāra, Aupapätia, Uvaväiya and Avasyoka (Sūtra, Vrtti and Niryukti) in 1916, Suyagada in 1917, Samavāya in 1918, Thana, Bhagavati, Viāhyapannatti, Pannavaņā, Nāyādhammakahão, Uvāsagadasão, Antagadadasão, Jivābhigama and Surapannatri between 1918 and 1921, Candapannatti and Nirayāvalião in 1922, Stuti-Caturvimśatika in 1926, and many other texts in course of time.
Its important publications are Pravacanasäroddhāra (1915), Pindaniryukti (1918), Jambudvípaprajñapti (1920), Kalpasūtra (1923), Siri Sirivāla-kahā (1923) Pañcavastu-prakarana (1927), etc.
Mention should also be made in this connection of the Sacred Books of the Jains series in which were published between 1920 and 1931, Nemicandra's Dravyasamgraha (ed. S.C. Ghosal), Gommatasara Jivakanda and Gommatasăra Karmakānda (ed. J.L. Jaini), Kundakunda's Samayasāra (ed. J.L. Jaini), Niyamasāra (ed. Ugrasen) and Pañcastikāyasära (ed. A. Chakravarti), Umāsvāti's Tativārthadhigama (ed. J.L. Jaini), Amstacandra's Puruşarıha-siddhyupāya (ed. Ajit Prasad), Gunabhadra's Atmānusāsana (ed. J.L. Jaini), etc.
In Europe, in 1918, Walther Schübring published his critical editions of Mahānisīhā and Vavahāra, and these were followed by his numerous publications on Jain texts and on Jainism. Of other Jain texts published in the twenties, reference may be made to Jarl Charpentier's edition of Uttarādhyayana (1922), Muni