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A. M. SHASTRI
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astrology® 7 must have emboldened him to do so. This was. not uncommon in ancient India as a number of comparatively late texts ascribed to traditionally reputed astrologers and astronomers are known to exist even now.88 The extant Bhadrabāhusamhitā is thus a very late compilation forged in the name of the renowned Jain patriarch.89
The text of the Bhadrabāhusaṁhitā as it has come down to us bears the appearance of a Jain work of the Digambara school. It begins with a salutation to Jina Vira, i. e., Mahāvira,?and, we have seen above, is represented to have been composed by Bhadrabāhu in response to the request of his pupils. The object of its composition among other things, was to enable the Jain monks to know in advance the places to be visited by calamities and take refuge in other prosperous countries (1.11). Bhadrabāhu is styled Nirgrantha (I. 6) and described as sky-clad (Dig-vāsas, II. 1). The work is said to have been based on the words of Sarvajña (I. 11, 14) or Jina (II. 2), and a statement found in it is represented to be from the Nirgranthaśāsana or the sayings of the Nirgranthas (IV. 28).71 In the colophons of individual chapters, the title of the work,
67 Nemittio (Naimittika) is known to have been employed as one of the synonyms used for Bhadrabāhu. See Punyavijaya, op. cit., p. 15, note 3.
68 Such are, for example, the works attributed to Brahman, Vasiştha, Sürya, Maya, Garga, Kasyapa, etc. Similar works exist in the field of Dharmaśāstra, Ayurveda and Silpaśāstra also.
69 As an analogy we may mention the fact that, as works supposed to have been composed by the ganadharas were regarded as more authoritative than those composed by others, in later times the tendency to attribute even late works to them came into existence. Thus, some of the Chedasūtras and even some Purāņas came to be ascribed to the gañadharas. (Dalsukh Malvania, Gañadharavāda ki Prastāvanā, pp. 8-12 ; Nisitha : Eka. Adhyayana, pp. 18-20).
70 This verse is found only in Shastri's ed. The opening verse of Ch. XXVI also pays obeisance to Mahāvira.
71 According to XX.1, the movement of Rāhu dealt with in Ch. XX is. also based on the teachings of the Nirgranthas well versed in the twelve Aogas. Likewise, XIII.42 (Shastri's ed.) proclaims that the nimittas dealt with in the chapter are actually those spoken by the Jina (Jina-bhāṣita).
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