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English translation by George Baumann
an authority, he did not write a commentary on the Bhāsya. Jinabhadra's commentary is actually the only one, which has been written before Sīlānka, and after Sīlānka, firstly, Hemacandra commented the Bhāsya again.
Since our previous endeavour has been mainly directed toward grasping the three commentaries uniformly, and in this manner, toward characterizing the different behaviour of the second and third specimens to the first, it is, thus, our duty now to write the results into an overall view as far as they only deal with Jinabhadra's commentary. Mainly, the Jinabhadrapassages of some extent can be taken into consideration, in other words, those that concern I 595 f. 820. 884.1256. II 115.127 f.
1. To begin with, it is clear that the work was written in Skt. In this respect it introduced a new type of commentary into Svetâmbara literature, because, previously, at the most, Skt. works (like the Tattvârtha) were explained in Skt. The Pkt. Commentaries that were common during Jinabhadra's time hardly satisfied his literary sentiment, just like the Pkt. texts whose standard in the Bhāsya he considers below his level. Apparently, he felt that for the explanation Skt. was more useful than Pkt., and since he was well-acquainted with the religious and philosophical Skt. literature it is obvious that he took their commentaries as a model for himself. Therefore, Pkt. is not found even once, as with Sīlānka, in individual words or phrases; Jinabhadra would have loathed such hodgepodge.
2. Apparently, for later thinking the work was quite terse. As can already be seen in the Cūrni-commentaries it was not felt necessary to follow the original slavishly and to make every or almost every word palatable for the reader. On the contrary, judging by the samples, it was important to Jinabhadra to establish the context existing between individual stanzas and sections, to render the individual thoughts in another form and to let them be followed, if necessary or as desired, by explanatory and supplementary remarks, [55] even occasionally to add particular excursions, in which, e.g. a subject is followed up more closely or an opinion found in a text, rebuffed. Thus, the size must not have been more than 8-10 thousand grantha-s. .
3. Except for the large Niryukti-section between Vis. I & II almost all the individual stanzas, as with Śīlānka, have found [55'), at least, a minimal consideration. Their explanation, introduced (as in the Cūrni and with Haribhadra, as well as with Malayagiri) by the Pratīka with the word gāhā, a point where, exceptionally, Jinabhadra follows the Pkt.commentaries, probably concluded with iti gāthārthaḥ since this delimitation re-appears in all following Skt.-commentaries (with Haribhadra, Sīlānka, etc.).
[55a] The Remaining Works of Jinabhadra
Jinabhadra's unique predisposition for dogmatics can be even more clearly seen than in the preceding if his other writings are studied. Although we still have to mention a narrative work by Sanghadāsa, Jinabhadra always handles topics on Jaina philosophy and way of life didactically. In total, still five works of lesser content have to be mentioned all of which have been written in gāthā-s and summarily depict various areas of the tradition.
For quite some time short excerpts had been made from the unusually verbose dialogues of the Canon for teaching purposes. To the Samgrahaņī-versifications, which have been dealt with on pp. 15° 17-55 & 16°31.] soon isolated guides about this or that topic were added. In
* Cp. Exc. p. 106.
"Only Śīlānka who concludes the Pratīka with ity-ādi consistently adopts in this matter the method that the Skt. commentaries of the Brahmins and Buddhists had taken. Understandably, on the other hand, ity-adi or ity-ādinā, can be found in older times in Jaina commentaries that deal with Skt. works (thus in SiddhasenaGandhahastin's Tattvârtha-tīkā and in Haribhadra's commentaries on the Sāstravārttāsamuccaya and on the Tattvārtha). A Digambara-commentator like Sīlānka who transferred this method to a gāthā-original is Aparajita (above, p. 1'n.and 3 n.).
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