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INTRODUCTION
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C] There is a Kannada commentary available on the Ekatvasaptati.' It exhibits a good philosophical style, rendered a bit heavy with Sanskrit compounds and long expressions. It contains a number of quotations in Prākrit and Sanskrit, drawn from the works of Kundakunda and Amrtacandra. It is written in the third-person style. As mentioned in it, the name of the commentator is (Sri) Padmanandi-vrati, and the name of the author is Padmanandi-muni; they were contemporaries, no doubt; and one feels like starting with the presumption (a presumption, because the Pp. does not mention Subhacandra and Kanakanandi and ES and its commentary make no reference to Viranandi, among his Gurus) that they are identical. That is, the author himself has written the Kannada commentary, and this seems to have been hinted by the phrase labdhātma-vrtti. About Padmanandi-muni, it is said in the commentary that he was the chief disciple (agra-sisya) of Subhacandra Rāddhāntadeva, that he had received instructions from Kanakanandi Pandita, that he got spiritual enlightenmen
hat he got spiritual enlightenment through the moonlight ( of the words of Amrtacandra, and that he composed this Ekatvasaptati for the instruction of Nimbarāja. Both Padmanandi and Nimbarāja are glorified in the concluding verses.
These details, as they are contemporary, have a great value for fixing the date of the author of ES, in particular, and of our author in general. 1) Some 50 verses of this, along with a Sanskrit com., were published in the Kavyāmbudhi, ed. by
PADMARAJ PANDIT as early as 1893. Besides this Dr. UPADHYE has scrutinised three Mss. for this Kannada commentary: i) It is a palm-leaf Ms. from the Laksmisena Matha, Kolhapur. It contains four works, Istopadeśa, Samadhi-sataka, Svarüpasarnbodhana and Ekatvasaptati, all accompanied by Kannada commentaries of different authors. ii) There is a Ms. at Arrah; and Pt. K. BHUJABALI sent to Dr. UPADHYE some notes from it. iii) Another palm-leaf Ms. was lent to Dr. UPADHYE by the late lamented Pt. APPASHASTRI of Udagaon (Dist. Kolhapur).
The following observations are based on these sources. 2) This commentary deserves to be well-edited and brought to light. Selecting suitable readings
and making minor corrections (though some difficulties of interpretation remain I am present. ing some relevant extracts from it on which these observations are based. The opening portion runs thus : आनम्यानन्दचैतन्यसहजात्मानमक्षयम् । कर्णाटभाषया वक्ष्ये टीकामेकत्वसप्ततेः । श्रीमत्पद्मनंदिपंडितदेवरत्यासन्नाशेषभव्यजनंगद्गे बहिस्तत्वशुद्धांतस्तत्त्वगळं गौणवृत्तिार्य शुद्धांतस्तत्वपरमतत्त्वम मुख्यवृत्तियि प्रतिपादिसिवुदुकारणमागि एकत्वसप्ततियंव ग्रंथदमोदलो इष्टदेवतानमस्कारमं मंगळार्थमागि माडिदपर । अदावुदेंदोडे-चिदान्देकसद्भाव etc. Then the concluding portion runs thus:
श्रीपअनन्दिव्रतिनिर्मितेयम् , एकत्वसप्तत्यखिलार्थपूर्तिः।
वृत्तिश्चिरं निम्वनृपप्रबोधलब्धात्मवृत्तिजयतां जगत्याम् ।। स्वस्ति श्री-शुभचन्द्रराद्धान्तदेवाग्रशिष्येण कनकनन्दिपण्डितवाग्रश्मिविकसितहृकुमुदानन्द श्रीमद्-अमृतचन्द्रचन्द्रिकोन्मीलितनेत्रोत्पलाबलोकिताशेषाध्यात्मतत्त्ववेदिना पद्मनन्दिमुनिना श्रीमज्जैनसुधाब्धिवर्धनकरापूर्णेन्दुरारातिवीरश्रीपतिनिम्बराजावबोधनाय कृतैकत्वसप्ततेवृत्तिरियम् तज्ज्ञाः संप्रवदन्ति संततमिह श्रीपद्मनन्दिव्रती, कामध्वंसक इत्यलं तदनृतं तेषां वचस्सर्वथा। वाण्या सार्धमहनिर्श रणति संप्रीया तपःकामिणीम् , आलिङ्गयामलकीर्तिवारवनितां वाञ्छन् यदा तिष्ठति ॥ श्रीमन्निम्बनृसिंहबृंहिरभवत्संग्रामभीमारवोदीर्णोदीर्णभयात् पुरत्रयहरः स्थाणुर्दिशादन्तिनः । शेषा दन्तिन एव भीतमतयो ज्ञाता यदि स्थीयते, किं वीरारिनृपैः पुनस्तव रणे सामन्तचूडामणिः (?)॥ निम्बस्तम्बरमस्तदलबदरिनृपस्तम्भवीरावमर्दी, सद्वंशोनूनदानाइतभुवनतलश्यामभावैकरम्यः। भद्रो भद्रप्रतीकः प्रबलतरकराघातभीताखिलाशापाल: प्रत्यार्थिसेवामथनपृथुयशोव्याप्तदिकचक्रवाल:. This last verse is not found in the Arrah M8,
