________________
book of the Ācārānga. Dr. M.A. Dhaky opines that this text belongs to Pārśva's tradition. I, however, hold a different view. In my opinion the text, in earlier times, might have been composed in Pārsva's tradition as an independent text, but later on it was assimilated in the Praśnavyākarāņa-sūtra which is considered to be one of the ten texts as well as the tenth work among the Anga books of Mahāvīra's tradition.
The Isibhāsiyam has an independent chapter on Pārsva's doctrines and teaching. The authenticity of the Pārsva's view presented in this chapter cannot be doubted for various reasons. First, the Isibhāsiyam contains the teachings not only of Pārsva but also of Arhat Vardhamana of the Nirgrantha tradition, MankhaliGošala of the Ajivaka sect; Ajjiyaputta, Mahakasyapa, Indranaga and Sāriputta of the Buddhist tradition and Yajñavalkya, AsitaDevala, and Uddalaka-Aruni of the Vedic tradition. When we compare the views of the aforesaid saints mentioned I the Isibhāsiyam with the texts of their own traditions, we notice general similarity between them, which by and large proves the authenticity of the content of the Isibhāsiyam. If the author of the work in presenting had remained faithful to the original teachings of the Rsis of teachers of the other sects, we must conclude that he also was faithfully presenting the views of Pārsva. Second, we find that the teachings of Pārśva presented in the Isibhasiyam correspond to that which is stated of Pārsva's church in other canonical works like Sūtrakrtānga, Uttarādhyayana and Vyākyā-prajñapti. Third, the authenticity as well as higher antiquity of the Pāráva chapter in the Isbhāsiyam can also be supported on the ground that this chapter is represented by its two separate versions. It is said that the second version of this book originally found in the text named Gativyākarana.
63 | Jainism and its History
