Life and Stories of Jaina Savior Parcvanatha

Author(s): Maurice Bloomfield
Publisher: Maurice Bloomfield

Page 17

Introduction
identical with Kālakācārya or Kālikācārya who lived 453 years after Mahāvīra. The Crīkālakasūriprabandha, fourth in the Prabhāvaka Carita (pp. 36 ff.), tells his life; see also Weber, Pañcadaṇḍachattraprabandha, p. 7, note 1 (Berlin Academy 1877); Jacobi in ZDMG. xxiv. 247 ff.; Leumann, ibid. xxvii. 493 ff.; Stevenson, The Heart of Jainism, pp. 75 ff.
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The succeeding Gurus are Vijayasinha, whose Prabandha is the sixth in Prabhavaka Carita (pp. 69 ff.); then Vīrasūri, whose Prabandha is the twentieth in the same collection (pp. 272 ff.); next the Muniçvara Çrījinadevasuri (yo dharmam aropya gune viçuddhadhyāneṣuņā moharipum bibheda); after that other distinguished Sūris of the name Çrījinadeva (gurukrame punaḥ çrījinadevākhyā babhūvur varasurayaḥ); then a teacher Yaças (Yaçodevasuri); and finally Bhāvadevasūri who composed his work in Cripattana in raviviçvavarṣa 1312.
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Judging from the unitarian character of the Parçva legend, systematic accounts of his pre-births and life, such as are likely to be given in the unpublished Pārçva Caritras listed above, probably do not diverge greatly. The following story of Parçva's pre-births and life is based on Bhāvadevasūri's published History,' and a small prose Sanskrit account, incorporated in Lakṣmivallabha's commentary to the Uttaradhyayana-Sūtra (Calcutta, Samvat 1936 A. D. 1878), pp. 682, line 7 to 688, last line. This version also styles itself Parçvanāthacaritram. Since it differs somewhat from Bhāvadevasūri, it is likely to be derived from one of the other Pārçva Caritras, but the differences are not such as to change the character of the story as a whole. The two accounts are hereafter designated as Bh and L.
The story opens in the city of Potana, where rules