________________ THE DATE OF THE DEVENDRASTAVA : AN ART-HISTORICAL APPROACH* * Lalit Kumar The Devendrastava (Devindatthao) is one of the Prakirnaka works of the Jaina Canonical literature. Subhash Kothari and Suresh Sisodiya have recently published a Hindi translation of Devendrastava alongwith a scholarly introduction, contributed by Prof. Sagarmal Jain'. The language of the existing edition of the work is Maharastri Praksta. However, it is acknowledged by these two writers that there are some manuscripts in which Ardhamagadhi variants of the texts are also available. The Devendrastava is a work of Rsipalita whose name occurs in the Sthaviravali of the Kalpasutra. In this work Rsipalit's name occurs is the twelfth place after Mahavira. Prof. Jain in his succinct discussion has shown that Rsipalita lived in the first century B.C.3 Without going into other detailed arguments put forward by these writers with regard to the dating of the Devendrastava, I would like to extend some more internal art-historical evidences in favour of their early dating of the text. The Devendrastva describes in gatha 82-93 the locale of the Jyotiska gods", number of their vimanas, their sizes, carrier of the Vimanaetc. The gatha no.93 has a specific bearing on the present context. It reads. पुरओ वहंति सीहा, दाहिणओ कुंजरामहाकाया / पच्चत्थिमेण वसहा, तुरगा पुण उत्तरे पासे / / i.e. (the Vimanais) born by lion in the east, a giant elephant in the south, a bull in the west and a horse in the north. :. This is exactly the same order in which the four animals are seen on the abacus of the famous qudripartite lion capital of * by courtesy : Sambodhi, L.D. Institute of Indology, Ahmedabad, Vol. XVIII, 199293, page 74-76.
