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Shri Mahavir Jain Aradhana Kendra
www.kobatirth.orgAcharya Shri Kailashsagarsuri Gyanmandir
(xi)
is the shortest possible time which is needed to make the text earlier than Wai-chi-lan's visit to China.
Even if this surmise as to the possibility of Wai-chi-lan's acquaintance with the Sanskrit text portion of the Chuh-yauking be correct (as we believe it is), one must yet enquire whether the total number of its verses justifies its identification with the text with 900 verses above referred to. Unfortunately, as we are informed by our colleague Mr. R. Kimura, the task of ascertaining the total number of verses in it is far from easy for the simple reason that the verses in the existing Chinese edition are not numbered, nor properly kept distinct from one another. But counting the verses in so far as they are separated by the commentary portion intervening in each chapter, he finds himself in a position to assure us that what. ever the exact total, it certainly exceeds 900, though it is by no means over 1000. If so, of the two texts with 700 and 900 verses, known to Wai-chi-lan, the latter must be said to approximate the text portion of the Chub-yau-kiny.
Now, arguin, from the close resemblavee which exista between the text portion of the Chuh-yau-king and the Udāpavarya, so far as is known tons in its entirety through Rockhill's translation from the Tibetan, we can accept the information supplied by Mr. R. Kimura regarding the total in the former as correct. For, although the latter is dated 982-1000 A.D., the total in it does not exceed 989 verses, or, 1000 in round numbers. But it must be voted that the total in Rockhill's Udanavarga cannot be regarded as a precisely correct bumber, and that for three reasons : (i) that there is a slight difference as to the number of verses in almost each chapter common to Pischel's edition of the manuscript fragments of the Udanavarga and Rockhill's translation of the Tibetan version of the same text; (ii) that at least in two instances we notice that a verse which would be counted as one in the Pali Dhammapada, has been counted as two (cf. Rockhill, III, vv. 12-18, XXIII, vv. 82-83); (iii) that there are in it a few repetitions of which six have been noticed by Rockhill. Thus its total 989 can
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