Mahavira and his Teaching

Author(s): C C Shah, Rishabhdas Ranka, Dalsukh Malvania
Publisher: Bhagwan Mahavir 2500th Nirvan Mahotsava Samiti

Page 30

THE BĀRASA-ANUVEKKHĀ OF KUNDAKUNDA
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$ 1.2.3. The Sivānā edition characterizes in its footnotes some eighteen verses as “ksepaka”. (Presumably the late Pt. NATHURAM PREMI is the author of these footnotes.)
$ 1.3. From the view-point of contents, the BA has now to be analysed to arrive at the nucleus to which interpolations have been attached at different times, such an analysis being based on the following considerations:
$ 1.3.1. Kundakunda, as a great mystic of his period, not only presented his views in an independent work such as the Samayasara, but also resorted to the traditional set of the Aņuvekkhās and composed a small treatise, viz. the “Ur-BA”, propounding the Aņuvekkhās from his mystic stand which has already been noticed by A. N. UPADHYE, “Self-realisation is the ultimate and the only object of twelve-fold reflection. ..." (SKA. Intr., p. 22).
$ 1.3.2. In the Ur-BA, Kundakunda underlined the niscaya-naya of the Mystic pattern at the conclusion of each Aņuvekkhā, in a few preceding lines he prefixed a pithy reference to the Non-mystic pattern. For the details of the Mystic and the Non-mystic pattern see the article of B. BHATT.
$ 1.3.3. It is highly surprising that till now no old commentary on the BA has come to light. Besides, there are reasons to believe that a close scrutiny of the manuscript tradition would help us to reconstruct the earlier form of the BA only to a certain degree. For reaching the stage of the Ur-BA we have to employ “higher” criticism. The Sivānā edition has already undertaken some steps in this direction (cf. “ksepaka”, $ 1.2.3.). 1.4. The materials available to us at the moment are too inadequate to allow us a critical edition' of the BA; we are yet collecting further data in the form of transcripts of manuscripts etc. Still we submit what appears—at this stage—to be the 1. “A really critical text of this work is an urgent necessity”, A. N.
UPADHYE, (SKA. Intr. p. 21), who adds, "there is an appearance of antiquity about this work”.