Life of Hemchandracharya

Author(s): Manilal Patel
Publisher: Singhi Jain Shastra Shiksha Pith Mumbai

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XIV
FOREWORD
poem describes the history of the Caulukyas of Anhilväḍ and more especially of Kumarapala, the author's great patron, but at the same time it is intended to illustrate the rules of his own Sanskrit and Prakrit grammars.
Hemacandra's grammar, called Siddhahemacandra or Haimavyakarana, though hardly more than an improved edition of Sakatayana's grammar, has yet been described by F. Kielhorn as "the best grammar of the Indian middle ages" on account of its practical arrangement and terminology. He also added himself a commentary and both Unadiganasutra and Dhatupatha to his grammar. Like other grammarians he also wrote a Lingānus'äsana. The eighth chapter of his Siddhahemacandra is devoted to Prakrit grammar, which is still the most important grammar of the Prakrit dialects we possess. In his Prakrit grammar he has shown again his interest in popular poetry by preserving for us some pretty Apabhramsa songs which closely resemble the songs in Hala's Sattasal. In his manual of metrics he even composed Apabhramda songs. himself in illustration of the Apabhramsa metres, and it seems to be due to Hemacandra, as Professor H. D. Velankar (Annals Bhandarkar Inst. 14, p. 15) has suggested, that Apabhramsa has become a literary language among Jaina Yatis.
Hemacandra's learned books, it is true, are not distinguished by any great originality, but they display a truly encyclopaedic erudition and an enormous amount of reading, besides a practical sense which makes them very useful. This applies also to his manuals of poetics and metrics, the Kavyanusasana and the Chandonus asana, each accompanied by the author's own commentary.
Of the greatest importance for Sanskrit lexicography are the two works of Hemacandra on this subject, his synonymie lexicon Abhidhanacintamanimālā with a commentary by the author himself, and his homonymic lexicon Anekarthasamgraha, with à commentary by the author's pupil Mahendrasuri. A supplement to the Abhidhanacintamani is the Nighantus'esa, a glossary of botanical terms in 396 4lukas. Of inestimable value is his Prakrit lexicon Des'ināmamālā. All these lexicons are so very valuable, because Hemacandra was able to use sources which are lost to us, as also on account of their practical arrangement and the clear explanations.
Hemacandra's literary activity also extended to philosophy. He wrote a work on logic, the Pramana-Minded, "Examination of the Means of Proof," again with his own commentary. And his Anyayogavyavacchedadeātrims'ikā, 32 verses in praise of Mahavira and a treatise on logic at the same time, formed the basis for Mallisena's Syadvadāmajarl, which is not only a commentary on Hemacandra's treatise, but also an independent work on Jaina philosophy,1
1 Until a short time ago it was believed that Hemacandra is also the author of a LaghoArhannitis'astra, a Jaina work on law and politics, said to be a summary of a larger work in Prakrit, and published with a Gujarati commentary at Ahmedabad, 1906. But Mr. C. R.. Jain (see The Jaina Gazette, January 1935, pp. 9ff.) assures us, on the authority of Mr. Puran Chand Nahar, that this "Arhannīti" is a spurious work of the 19th century. It is no loss to the fame of Hemacandra, if we have to omit this insignificant compilation from the list of his works.