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Shri Mahavir Jain Aradhana Kendra
www.kobatirth.org
Acharya Shri Kailassagarsuri Gyanmandir
116
available on the basis of archaeological finds etc., some such evidence may be had.
CONCLUSION
It will be seen from the above discussions that 1.PS, as a Pruvanthawork, displays considerable bearings on contemporary history. Therein we come across certain facts which are corroborated by known history. Regarding certain other incidents we get information from souc other sources as well, where from we can inler their laistoricity to a certain extent of certainty. The historicity of some other events cannot be ascerlaine! at the present state of our know-leilge. There are still others which have to be pronounced fictitious on account of certain superhuman and miraculous elencats. We also nicet with names of several persons whose historical nature is known from other sources, no intorination about them being available from the present text, Likewise several other persons appearing in the stories of LPS have to be considered of doubtful historicity in absence of suficient evidence from known history. Still others appear imaginary on their very face.
It is not advisible to reject as fictitious all the names and events about whose historicity we do not possess sufficient evidence at present. This is all the more true especially in the case of the names of uie courtiers of Siddharūja J a y simpla mentioned at the commencement of the Sahasratingasarah-prabandha. Some of these persons are known to have tlourishecl in lais age, some are known to liave flourished either in the reigns of his predecessors or even in those of his successors. The Prabandhu-writers are well-known for confusing Chronology, but they place beiure us the iristorical anecdotes in a very interesting manner. In the light of these fucts we hesitate to pronounce the remaining oncs as altogether fictitious and are inclined to note tlicin clown as merely of doubtful historicity at present with the hope that future researches will throw light of them.
It must be noted that the motive of the authors of the Prabandiki-works is not at all furnishing history bet, as Bühler puts it, it is really 'to edify the congregations, to convince them of the magnificence and the might of the Jaina faith and to supply the monks with the material for their sermons, or when the subject is purely of worldly interest, to provide the public with picasant entertainment.' Therefore even historical events may be found enwrapped with interesting talez having no concern with bistory as such. It is, therefore, a very hard task to separate liistory (rom all such environments, and for that we have naturally to take help of other sources of
- Vile Bühler: Life of Hemacandra, p. 3.
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