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VIII
PRAVACANASARA.
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cannot be reconciled. The names of the parents in the second story, along with those of the king and his queen, are mechanically artificial as in the bed-side stories told by the old lady to lull the child. Some of the incidents which are found in these traditional stories, require critical scrutiny rather to shed light on the genesis of these traditions than to prove or to disprove the truth contained therein.
The earliest reference to the tradition that Kundakunda visited the Videha country is found in Dars'anasara of Devasena, compiled 990 years after the death of Vikrama, who says that the great saint Padmanandi was enlightened by the supernatural knowledge of S'rimandhara-svāmi. Further, Jayasena, in the opening remarks of his commentary on Pañcastikāya, says on the authority of the popular tradition (prasiddha-kathā-nyāyena) that Kundakunda had personally gone to Purva-videha, paid his respects to S'rïmandhara-svāmi and received enlightenment. Turning to Inscriptions from S'ravana Belgola, most of them belonging to the 12th century A. D. or so, we learn that Kundakunda, being possessed of excellent religious 'conduct, was endowed with miraculous power to move in the air, and that he moved in the air four fingers above the ground. A poetical explanation of his miraculous ability is given that he was not touched in the least, internally and externally, by the dust (of passion), the earth being the abode of dust. Thus the available epigraphical records mention only his miraculous ability, and they are silent about his visit to Videha land. The S'ravana Belgola Inscription of 1128 A. D. describes Kundakunda as a bee to the beautiful lotus-hands of caraņas; this indicates some association of Kundakunda with caranas. The tradition attributes a visit to Videha land not only in the case of Kundakunda but to Umasvati and Pujyapāda also. With reference to Umasvāti as well it is said that once he went to Videha land through his miraculous power to walk in the air to have his doubts on Jaina Siddhanta cleared from Srimandhara Tirthankara. On the way his pecock-feather-bunch fell down; then he took the feathers of a vulture flying in the sky and had his purpose 'served; I therefore he came to be known as Grdhrapiccha. Devacandra (1770-1841 A. D.), in his Rajāvali-kathe, gives a similar account with reference to Pujyapada with the difference that he could walk over to Videha land because of the power of a medicament pasted to his feet. In some of the inscriptions Pujyapada is glorified as a great miraculous physician worshipped even by
1 See Dars'anasara, verse 43; Jaina Hitaishi, Vol. XIII, pp. 25 etc. wherein with Hindi translation and notes is published; a critical Text of Dars'ana the MSS. from the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, Poona, is blication with the present writer.
2 E. C., II, 127, 117, 140, 64, 66 etc.
3 E. C., II, 351.
4 E. C., II, 354 of 1398 A. D.
5 See p. 3 of the Introduction to the Ed. of Tattvartha-slokavārtikam, Bombay, I
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6 See Karnataka Kavicarite, Vol. I, p. 7; further, the tradition tells that Pujy his way back, lost his eyesight due to the burning heat of sun-shine, b recover his eyesight by composing S'antyastaka, in honour of S'antes',
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