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More Light on the Yāpanīya Sangha : A Jaina Sect
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The Yāpaniyas constituted à Sangha, and its Teachers were in charge of Temples which had lands to support them. It is but natural that these circumstances were quite favourable for cultivating literary activities. Haribhadra (c. 8th century A. D.) refers to Yāpaniyatantra in this manner : 1
strīgruhanaṁ tāsām api tadbhava eve samsāraksayo bhavati iti jñāpanārtham vacaḥ, yatholctam Yapaniyatantre: no khalu itthi ajīvo, na yāvi abhavvā, ņa yāvi dansana-wirohini, no amānusā, no anāriu. ppatti, no asamkhejjāuyā, no aikūramai, no na uvarítamohā, no na suddhācārā, ņo asuddha-bomdi, no vavasāya-vajjiyā, no a privvakaranavirohiņī, ņo nanagunathānarahiyā, no ajogaladdhie, no akallāņabhāyaņam ti, kaham na uttamadhamma-sähiga tti il
Sruta sāgara tells us that they read Kalpa, to be identified with the Kalpasūtra.?
Sākatāyana, also known as Pālyakirti, is described by Malayagiri. · as Yāpaniya; and the references from his Sanskrit grammar: to Niryukti,
Bhāsya etc. clearly indicate that some of the texts of the Ardhamāgadhi canon were acceptable to him. He refers to a number of authors: and at least some of them might have belonged to the Yāpaniya Sangha. The A pabhraíśa poet Svayambhū belonged to Apuliya or Yāpaniya Sangha, as indicated by some gloss.4 Some scholars hold the view that Vimala also belonged to the Yāpaniya Sangha, but this point needs further investigation, by a close study of the Paümacariya.
Sākațāyana, the grammarian, mentions himself in his colophon thus : 5
iti śrī-śrutāaevali-desīyācāryasya śākațāyanasya krtau sabdā. nušāsane etc.
This is the way perhaps the Yāpaniya Teachers distinguished themselves. Even the author of the Tattvārthasūtras, namely Umāsvāti, is described thus :
Tattvārthasūtrakartāram Umāsvāti-munīśvaram 1 Śrutakevalidesīyan vande' haṁ guņamandiram il
1 See my earlier paper noted above; algo Hemacandra's Yogaśāstra, B. I. ed.,
p. 652. 2 My earlier paper, noted in f. n. 1, on p. 9. 8 Sāka tāyana.Vyakarana (and the Svopajña Amoghavrtti) with a learned
Introduction by Dr. R. BIRWE, Bhāratiya Jñāpapitha publication, Delhi 1971. See the Intro. and also the General Editorial.
N. PREMI : Jaina Sahitya aura Itihāsa, 2d ed., p. 199. 6 saka tāyana-Vyakaranam, Kolhapur 1907.,
