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Manucripts in the Jaina Bhandaras of Gujarat and Rajasthan. The question of the identity of our Candraprabhācārya, thus, remains unsolved and hence open, till all the Pattāvalis of all the sub-gacchas that branched off from the parental Bịhad-gaccha are published with all possible chronological details.
The only reasonable conjecture that be made about our Candrapra. bhācārya is that he must have lived in the thirteenth century of the Vikrama Era, and that he was junior to Hemachandracārya, the author of the sabdānuśasana, on which he based his Sabdāmbhoja-bhāskara and possibly Karaka-mjmāmsa too.
(4) JINABHADRASŪRI, THE AUTHOR OF THE MRA AND HIS DATE :
Our author has given some information about himself. Thus, he declares himself to have been one of the desciples of Candraprabhācārya of Brhad-gaccha; 63 that he had acquired the requisite scholarship from his preceptor Candraprabbasūri, 64 and that he composed the present work at the express request of one of his followers named Bilhana, the son of Laksa (probably Lākkho in the then popular tongue) of the Dharkața (i, e. Dhakkada bania) family. 65
Among his contemporaries he has mentioned Dhanapala, Śripala, and Jesala, all of whom lived during the reign of Kumārapala Calukya (c. V. Sam. 1200–1229) in Gujarat, and were junior contemporaries of VadidevaSüri and Hemacandräcārya. Jinabhadrasüri must have already attained his suri-hood during the life time of Hemacandrācārya whom he clearly mentions to have been his contemporary.66 It is well known that Hemacandräcarya died in the year V. Sam. 1229.67
Among the Jaina poets and preceptors mentioned by him, he regards the Jaina ācāryas upto Ramacandra as his elders. 68 Now, Rāmacandra can
63. MRA, Intro. vs. 51. 64. Ibid., vs, 54 :
मुनीन्द्रचन्द्रप्रभसूरिपादप्रसादसारस्वतमाकलप्य । जडोऽपि धृष्टत्ववशेन चके चम्पूमिमां श्रीजिquaeft: 1
MRA, Intro. vs. 32-37. 66. Ibid., vs. 18ab :
संप्रति राजप्रतिबोधारकाः हेमचन्द्रतः केऽन्ये । 67. PRC, p. 212, vs. 851 :
नन्दद्वयरवौ वर्षे (१२२९) वसानमभवत् प्रभोः । 68. MRA, Intro. vs. 22ab :
कोऽपि गुरुः कोऽपि कविर्गुरु कविरिह रामचन्द्र एव परम् ।
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