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INTRODUCTION UMĀSVĀTI VĀCAKA'S PRAŠAMARATIPRAKARANA-A STUDY
Umāsviti, reverently adored as Acārya Umāsvāti Vācaka belongs to the galaxy of master-minds of the Jaina literary world holding a preeminent place among intellectuals and saints of the Jaina community. His contribution to Jaina Philosophy, Religion, Ethics, Logic, Psychology and Cosmology is unparalleled in the lines of Jaina writers. The position which he occupies among the Jaina authors is of a unique character. As far as the available literature of the Jainas is concerned, so far he is the first among the Jaina masters to present fundamental principles of Jainism in Sanskrit language. The credit of introducing sutra' form in Jaina philosophical literature goes to this author. This is Umāsvāti who has first adopted Sanskrit poetic media8 to propagate Jaina philosophy and ethics. He is the first man who has laid down the solid foundation on which the beautiful palace of later Jainism is erected. He is the first great writer and saint, who is highly respected and admired by all the sects. that developed within the Jaina community. His profound scholarly wri. tings left unimaginable impact on the later writers and some of his works, especially Tatrvārthasūtra and Prasamaratiprakarana, have proved to be a milch-cow for later commentators for quotations. This at once indicates the authoritative character of his works.
I. LIFE : FAMILY, CASTE, DATE, SECT AND WORKS :Family :
In India, philosophers, poets and writers always stood for system and subject-matter. They never cared for their name and fame. They rarely mentioned their name, parental heritage, education, time etc, in their works. Umisvāti is not exception to this tradition. In the prasamaratiptakarana, neither in the beginning nor in the end, he mentions his name though, this work is recognised right from the beginning as a work of Umāsvāti. But, fortunately Tattvārthasūtra-svopajñabhāsya, which is now accepted as a work of the same author, in its ending colophon (Prasasti) gives some important information about the family, heritage, teachers and spiritual initiators of our present author. From these verses of the colophon we learn that he was born in Nyagrodhikā village, he belongs to the Kaubhişanin gotra (parental lineage), Svāti was his father's name: and his mother was Umā of the Vatsagotra. His vidyāguru (teachet) in was þri Mala, who was a Vācakācārya and who has as his guru, Sri Muņdapāda -a mahavācaka kşamaņa, whereas his spiritual initiator (Dikṣāguru) was Šri Ghoşanandi, well-versed in 11 angas and a disciple of Sri Sivasuri, a Vācakamukhya of great renown.5 He was also called Nagarayacaka. 6 Sri Madhavācārya, presenting Arhatadarśana in his work
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