Life and Stories of Jaina Savior Parcvanatha

Author(s): Maurice Bloomfield
Publisher: Maurice Bloomfield

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Life and Stories of Pārçvanātha
do not undertake to appraise this statement. The name given the author (Vrddhatapagacha) does not conform, but there is no reason why there should not exist a Pārçvanātha Caritra of that date.
There is also a Pārçvanātha Kāvya by Padmasundara, listed by Aufrecht in his Catalog of the Bodleian Library nr. 70 (p. 392); and referred to by Weber in his Berlin Handschriftenverzeichnisse, vol. ii, p. 1016, note 2. Bhadrabāhu's Kalpasūtra 149-169 contains a very brief and jejune Life of Pārçva which does not touch upon the dramatic episode of his relation to Kamatha (Katha, Meghamālin) and Dharaņa (Dharaṇendra). And the 14th sarga of the Catrumjaya Māhātmyam, in its first 97 stanzas, gives a brief account of Pārçva's history which is evidently based upon previous Caritras; see Weber, in the Abhandlungen für die Kunde des Morgenlandes, vol. i, part 4, pp. 83 ff. (cf. pp. 37 ff.); also J. Burgess, Indian Antiquary, xxx, pp. 302 ff. For the very secondary * Pārçvanātha Caritram’ of the commentator Lakşmivallabha see below.
The Praçasti describes Bhāvadevasūri's spiritual descent or pontifical succession, beginning, as frequently is the case, with Sudharma, that disciple of Mahāvīra, who followed Gāutama Indrabhūti as spiritual leader of the Jains after Mahāvīra's and Gāutama Indrabhūti's death. Next comes Kālikasūri, belonging to the Khandillagacha.? In this form the name occurs in the list of Gurus in Dharmasāgaragani's Gurvāvalīsūtra. Since this text mentions his sister, the nun Sarasvatī; his conquest of King Gardabhilla; and his connection with the dispute about keeping the Paryusaņa (Pajjusan),4 Kālikasūri is
? The name of this Gacha is otherwise unknown. Is it connected with Candilya? .See Weber, Handschriftenverzeichnisse, vol. ii, p. 1001. See SBE. xxii. 296 ff.