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PRAVACANASĀRA. Pravacanasāra invariably finds place in the list of important works of Jainism.
0) The Text of Pravacanasāra. . TEXT INFLUENCED BY THE COMMENTARY.-Manuscripts of Pravacanasāra generally contain one or the other commentary along with the text for various reasons : among the Digambaras the practice of studying Prakrit gāthās unaided by a Sk. gloss has fallen out of use since long; the text as a whole is too difficult to be understood without a commentary; and lastly there is already the bias that an authoritative work like Pravacanasāra should be studied with the help of a commentary, if a direct teacher is not available. Even if some MSS. without a cominentary are available, they are so late in age that there is every possibility of their being copied from some MS, with a commentary,
Two RECENSIONS OF THE TEXT.-The text of Pravacanasāra is preserved in two recensions: one along with the commentary of Amrtacandra and the other adopted by Jayasena and other commentators. According to Amộtacandra it contains 275 gāthās divided into three S'rutaskandhas”, each dealing with Jūāna-tattva, Jñeya-tattva and Carana-tattva and containing 92, 108, and 75 gāthās respectively. Jayasena, however, adopts the three divisions, calling them adhikāras, following Amrtacandra whose commentary was already before him when he wrote his; but according to him the number of gãthās is larger and comes to 311, each adhikāra containing 101, 113 and 97 gāthâs respectively. Thus it is clear that the recension of Amộtacandra is shorter in each section, and of this Jayasena is quite aware. Jayasena has a definite* text before him; and he has stuck upto it, though the earlier commentator Amộtacandra, whom Jayasena follows in all the philosophical discussions, adopted a shorter recension. Bālacandra, the Kannada commentator, follows Jayasena. As to Prabhācandra, the copy of his commentary examined by nie is defective, but it appears that his version of the text is nearer that of Jayasena than that of Amrtacandra. Thus Amrtacandra's recension is shorter and stands by itself.
CRITERIONS OF TEXTUAL CRITICISM AND THE NATURE OF ADDITION. AL GĀTHĀS.--It is very difficult to apply objective standards and settle whether particular gäthā might have been originally included in the text by the author himself or added later on : the compilatory character of Kundakunda's works nullifies the criterion whether a gāthā fits in a particular context or not; the available MSS. are accompanied by one or the other commentary, so
1 Dr. Winternitz (Indian Literature, II, p. 576) describes Praracanasara as much
prized book on Jinistic dogmatics, psychology and ethics'. Prof. A. B. Dbravn ( bis Introduction to Syādādamanījari in Bombay Sk, and Pk. scries, p. 80) describes it as
'A comprehensive survey of Jainism'. ? This S'rutnskandba dirision reminds us of similar divisions in Acarūnga and Satralslánya
ctc. of the S'vetämbara canon. Sec below the discussion about Jayasena's commentary. At times Joyasena giros alternative readings of the same gathās and interprcts them twice, sco, for instance, II, 46-7.
