________________
172
50 i. 51 i.
ii.
The Jaina Stupa at Mathura: Art & Icons
Antevasini - A female disciple called antevasini of her Guru. Śrādhacāra Śrādhacara is colleague 50 of the monk.
Śrāddhacāari51 Śraddhacari is the female companion of the lady
ascetic.
-
-
Yugapradhana - Any Vācakācārya or Gaṇācārya having extra qualities of power and glory for which he declared as Yugapradhana of that era. The trend of mentioning gaṇa with relevent kula is available only on images not on the other sculptures like Toraṇa, Ayagapaṭa, pillars etc. Though sometimes the name of inspiring Guru is mentioned, but that is without his pedigree. The division of Śramaņa tradition into several gaņas, kulas, śākhās and also sambhāgās was a peculiarity of the Jaina Sangha and was not seen in any other Indian religions52. The translation of above terms to school, family and branch were doubted by scholars like Bulhar and Jacobi53 Jacobi explained the terms as
Gaṇa
school: derived from one teacher',
Kula
succession of teachers in one line.
Śākha the lines which branch off from each other.
He even holds that the modern Gaccha is the same as the ancient Gaṇa.
The Acarya Mahāprajna has also discussed the same topic and concludes that till the time of Acarya Suhasti and some time after, the leader of the Gana was performing both work as a Ganin taking care of Gana and as a Vācaka guiding the disciples to carry forward the scriptural knowledge. The tradition of Gaṇācāryas continued as a teacher to disciple in the same Gaṇa. Vāckācārya's tradition as well as Yugpradhana's (chief Sthavira of that era) tradition was not related with single Gaṇa instead it was depending upon the powerful skilled Vacaka of any Gaṇa or Śākha in course of time54.
Sharma V.K. op.cit. 2002, 161 and EI, vo. I, no. 4. Ep.In. vo. I, no. 1, Ep.In. vo. II no. 1-1,
Sharma V.K. ibid.
52 Bajapayee K. D., Early Inscriptions of Mathurā, pp. 114,115.
53 i.
Bulhar- The Indian Sect of Jainas, 1963, pp. 33, see fn. on pp. 115, in Bajapeyee's Early inscri..
ii. Jacobi- SBE vol., XXII, pp-288.
iii. Bajapayee K. D. op.cit. pp. 115.
54 Acārya Mahaprajna, Jaina Parampara ka Itihas.
