Outline of Avasyaka Literature

Author(s): Ernst Leumann, George Baumann
Publisher: L D Indology Ahmedabad

Page 24

E. Leumann, An outline of the Avaśyaka literature
category. Indeed, a niryukti is built on scholastic schemas using a specifically coined terminology. Among the most frequently encountered is what came to be designated as the niksepa (Bhatt 1978). This method is a procedure of analysis of a given term or concept through the application of fixed parameters (Pkt. nāma, thavanā, davva, bhāva are the four basic ones). This procedure is discussed from a historical perspective in the Übersicht (p. 63ff.), taking into account its subdivisions and the way the parameters have developed. The assessment of the meaning of Pkt. āesa ("thesis"; German “These") which occupies some space on this occasion is not a digression, because this word is used with reference to one of the subdivisions in connected passages of the Kalpa-bhāsya and its Cūrņi. This leads to a comparative and critical assessment on the views of these subdivisions as ascribed to early Jaina teachers (particularly Mangu) in the Kalpa tradition, on the one hand, and in the Āvaśyaka/Višeşāvasyaka tradition on the other hand.
The somewhat abstruse format of the Übersicht, which does not, perhaps, appeal much to a 21st century reader with other intellectual habits, and "Leumann's high-tech philology" (K. Bruhn in Plutat 1998: 123) should not obfuscate either its fine style with striking formulas such as the very first sentence of the book ("What is accessible of Jaina literature, in general, are old texts and new commentaries", p. 1), nor its intellectual modernity. Understanding the structure and stratification of the "Āvasyaka-Literatur" is not in Leumann's view an end in itself and is certainly not a purely formal game. History of the early Jaina church, history of ideas and debates, history of rituals and liturgy are central issues which are addressed in this book. The topic of Ganadharavāda is one angle for such an approach. As is well-known to Jaina specialists, this section comprises ideological statements made by each of Mahāvīra's eleven ganadharas, who, one should not forget, were born as Brahmins, followed by their discussion cum refutation by Mahāvīra. As such, it is at the intersection of Jainism and non-Jainism, and is one of the most fascinating examples of an interfaith dialogue in ancient India in the form of "a ballad-like fabrication" (p. 100; German "eine balladenartige Erfindung"). It forms one section of the Avasyakaniryukti. But as Leumann recognized, its extensive treatment goes to Jinabhadra's Viseșāvasyaka-bhāşya and its commentaries. The relevant section of the Übersicht consists of a review of the "Veda passages", i.e. Sanskrit verses found in the Jaina text and their identification or parallels in the Brahmanical tradition. Along the way, occurrences of these quotations in other Jaina works (doxographic in character such as Jinadatta's Vivekavilāsa or the various expositions of the "six philosophical systems") are indicated, showing that they form a kind of standard stock ready for use, and considered by the Jainas as typical representatives of Brahmanical tenets on important topics. This philological work shows at any rate that Jinabhadra's exposition of the views of the eleven Brahmins is a realistic or authentic representation, since their ideas are echoed in the actual Brahmanical tradition. At the same time, it shows how the Jainas read or modify these verses. Another case of Jaina/Brahmin intersection or comparison is provided by the analysis of Acārānga-niryukti vss. 21-27, themselves an expansion on vs. 18 referring to "seven varņas" and "nine intermediate varņas” (p. 79ff.). This expansion, typical of Bhāsya verses, gives under four groups the full nomenclature of the offshoots coming from all the possible combinations of what is often called anuloma and pratiloma marriages. It immediately calls for a comparison with the data from the main Dharmaśāstras and for an attempt at a chronological assessment.
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