Jainas in History of Indian Literature

Author(s): Jinvijay
Publisher: ZZZ Unknown

Page 66

PHILOSOPHICAL WORKS OF THE JAINAS
जाते महापराधेऽपि नारिविप्रतपखिनाम् । anzda adı da gaia àqi zaraag 11
In the third Adhikara the vyavahāra or civil and criminal law is treated in the same way as in Manu's law-book according to the eighteen titles of law. Prāyaścitta is the subject of the fourth Adhikara, with which the Laghvarhanniti ends. In this chapter it is interesting to find all the Brahmanic penances, such as pañcagavya and others, by the side of such prayaścittas as the worship of Jina (Jinapūjā) and tirthayātrā, by which the pilgrimage to Jaina sanctuaries seems to be meant. On the whole, there can be no doubt, that the State of Kumarapala, in spite of the king's inclinations towards Jainism, rested on a Brahmanic foundation, and the Jainaśāstraviśāradas who wished to gain influence in the government, were prudent enough to respect the Brāhmanic institutions and views of life. They contented themselves to temper Brahmanism here and there with Jaina ethics.
[51
A quotation from the Brhadarhanniti in Prakrit occurs in the chapter on the law of inheritance (p. 151); and at the end of the Strīgrahaprakarana (p. 215) it is said, that more details may be found in the Bṛhadarhannitisastra. Is there any hope, that manuscripts of this larger Prakrit work on politics may still be discovered?
This short survey of the contributions of the Jainas to the literature of ancient India, cursory and incomplete as it is, will yet fully bear out the truth of the words which my guru, the