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THE ANUTTARA UPAPĀTIKA SUTRA.
Prof. K. H. Kamdar, M. A., Baroda. The Anuttarőpapātika-343 gafas 5-is the nineth Anga-aj-of the canonical literature of the Jains and it is the immediate successor of the Antakrita Dashanga Sūtra-3-agatat 25. It has no pretension to a discussion of Jain philosophy. On the other hand it records the lives of thirty-three devoted disciples-3-aart of Mahavira, the last and twenty-fourth Tirthankara. The contents of the Sūtra are reported to have been delivered by Sudharmā, gaaf, Mahavira's fifth Gañadhara, out, to his inquisitive disciple, q Jambu, at the Guņasbila Chaitya usia in the city of Rajagriha, the capital of king Shrēņikaenfura of Magadha or Bihar, Bimbisár fãfaalt of the Shishunaga-fal dynasty. Sudharmă was ordained as Anagara - 3 by Mahávira at the age of fifty. He remained as such for full thirty years and became Kēvalin at twelve years after Mahāvīra's death or Nirvana. He died at the age of one hundred years. By birth Sudharmă was a Brahmin; his father's and mother's names were respectively Dhamillaधम्मिल and Bhadilla-महिला and he hailed from the Sannivesha-पन्निवेश of Kollaka-.
The Sūtra narrates in thirty-three lessons or Adhyayanas-291947, the lives as monks of an equal number of persons. They practised severe penance under Mahavira's permission and their souls were born as gods in the last BTA Vimănas where they should live for thirtytwo Sagaropamas- TTH. Then they should take birth as men in the Maha Vidēha-haifata ta from which they should attain fatafo-complete liberation from re-birth. The Vimānas are, according Jain cosmology :
Vijaya-विजय, Vaijayanta-वैजयन्त, Jayanta-जयन्त. Aparajita-अपराजित and Sarvártba Siddha-watefas It is significant that Mahavira should have placed the destiny of his devoted Antēvasis one step backward, inspite of the severest penance which they went through. They were not of the erana FTI-the final stage in the cycle of life. Evidently he wanted to emphasize the superiority of knowledge-Jñána-2017 over penance-29&=It should be remembered that the sūtra refers to the thirty three persons
