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English translation by George Baumann
(3.)
17. Kunthu 18. Ara 19. Malli 20. Munisuvrata 21. Nami 22. Aristanemi 23. Pārsva 24. Vardhamāna
candesu nimmalayarä äiccesu ahiyam payasagarā sägara-vara-gambhīrā siddhā siddhim mama disantul 7
1. They, who once filled the world with light,
when they triumphantly taught the religion, these august ones, I want to praise,
these twenty-four eternally wise ones". 2-4. I venerate (all of them): 1. Rşabha
9. Suvidhi Puspadanta 2. Ajita
10. Šītala 3. Sambhava
11. Śreyāmsa 4. Abhinandana
12. Vāsupūjya 5. Sumati
13. Vimala 6. Padmaprabha
14. Ananta 7. Supārsva
15. Dharma 8. Candraprabha
16. śānti [7] 5. Thus those called upon by me,
who threw off dust and filth from themselves and overcame death and old age, 0! May those twenty-four conquerors, the prophets, be merciful to me. Those there", praised, venerated, honoured at the highest places, blissfully enthroned, 0! May they gift me with good health, let me acquire knowledge
and devotion to the highest degree. 7. Those spotless ones are like the moon
and, spreading light, more than the suns and unfathomable like the oceans, O! May those, who are eternally blissful, Show me the way to bliss ***
literally, "the absolute wise ones"; kevala-jñāna is "the unconditional knowledge", the fifth and highest degree of knowledge. je 'e = ya ete H. The siddhi (blissfulness) as residence of the blissful ones at the top-end of the world as well as the blissful ones are dealt with in the Canon: A. a gāthā-versification with two introductory stanzas adopted as quotations: Āv.-niry. IX 72-102. B. a prose and gathā-version: the first part (74-79) in prose, at least with inclusion of the first gathā-line
(74'); the second part (80-102) in an older version without the stanzas 80-82 & 93. Both introductory
stanzas have been taken into the middle between the prose and gathā parts. C. a śloka-versification with several gathā-pieces taken from the basic form of) A: Uttarâdhy. XXXVI
56-68. An acquaintance with B divulges the fact that both introductory śloka-s have been left at the opening, but at the place where B shows it, again seem to have been cursorily touched upon. The
second part is only summarily touched upon here. B is found in two recensions: I. Prajñāp. II Ed. fol. 1300-137, Ed.2 fol. 101's-1034. A gāthā has been added before both śloka-s. II. Aupap. $ 163-188. The first sentence (8163) has been enlarged by several lines and is added at the same time
in a schematic way with the meaningless paragraphs 160-162, which, themselves, rely on a dogmatic introduction (8 156-159). At the end a găthā (8 189) has been added whose conclusion in Prajñāp. XXXVI Ed. fol. 848 has displaced the original final wording. The original part of 8163 is found also in Bhag. II 1, 3, 22 Ed. fol. 1590, and 165 is recorded in Anga 4 12.
B II (Aupap. $156-188) is cited in Bhag. II 7 and XI 9 under the title Siddhagandiyā or Siddhi-gandiya, while the first time Prajñāp. II is referred to, the second time the Aupapātika (but without $ 189!).
Moreover, the part of śīlänka's commentary (on Vises. V 354-378) covering version A is found in the Excerpts (p. 17).
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