Pushkarmuni Abhinandan Granth

Author(s): Devendramuni, A D Batra, Shreechand Surana
Publisher: Rajasthankesari Adhyatmayogi Upadhyay Shree Pushkar Muni Abhinandan Granth Prakashan Samiti

Page 682

Jain Literature in Kannada
MID
Jain Literature in Kannada
Dr. B. K. Khadabadi, M. A., Ph. D. 3, Pal Building, Saptapur, Dharwar.
Jain Literature in General Jaina literature in its earliest phase is found in Prakrit viz., Ardhamāgadhi and Jaina Sauraseni. According to the Svetämbara tradition, after Lord Mahāvīra taught the Sacred Laws in the Ardhamăgadhi language, his teachings, as received and composed by Sudharmā (the 5th Ganadhara) in the twelve Angas, were preserved through svädhyāya on the tongues of generations of monks for about a thousand years and then were finally put to writing, more or less, in the same language at the Vallabhi Council convened by Devardhigani in 454 A. D. According to the Digambara tradition, the canonical knowledge of the twelve Angas was almost lost except some portion of the 12th Anga and a part of the 5th Anga which have been preserved in the Şarkhandagama by the great foresight of Ācārya Dharasena and the sincere efforts of the two learned monks Puspadanta and Bhūtabali who composed it in Jaina Sauraseni between the 1st and 2nd centuries A. D. Besides almost all other works of the pro-canon of the Digambaras have also been composed in Jaina Sauraseni.
After the appearance of the principal canonical works in Ardhamāgadhi and Jaina Sauraseni, commentaries of varied types were written in Jaina Mahäräştri, Jaina Sauraseni and also in Sanskrit. Thereafter Jaina teachers and scholars commenced to produce original works in Sanskrit, in addition to those in Prakrit, possibly to convince and propagate their religious tenets in Sanskrit-knowing circles and also to expand their influence over rival groups and others by composing worthy works of secular nature too. There also arose a situation when Sanskrit was preferred to Prakrit as a literary medium. Shri K. M. Munshi, observes: "The revolt in favour of using Sanskrit as against Prakrit, headed by Siddhasena Divakara (C. 533 A. D.) was an attempt to raise the literature and the thought of the Jainas to the high intellectual level attained by those of the Brahmins. This revolt naturally met with considerable opposition from the orthodox Sädhus."
Moreover wherever the Jaina teachers moved and settled down they adopted the language of the soil, cultivated it and produced in it excellent works of varied interests. Tamil and Kannada literatures stand out as classical examples of this Jaina feat in South India, whereas Apabhramsa (the forerunner of the New Indo-Aryan languages), Hindi, Rājasthani and Gujarati hold out this fact to a notable extent in North India. Thus in the long cultural history of India, the contribution of the Jainas to Indian literature and thought can be seen through the media of Prakrit (Ardhamagadbi, Jaipa Sauraseni, Jaina Mahärästri and Apabhrarśa) and Sanskrit, through Hindi, Rajasthani, Gujarāti in North India and Tamil and Kannada in South India. And this contribution, as assessed by eminent scholars like Winternitz, is of no mean value.
Jaina Literature in South Indian Languages The beginning and growth of Jaina literature in South Indian languages is invariably