Sacred Literature of Jains

Author(s): Ganeshchandra Lalwani, Satyaranjan Banerjee
Publisher: Jain Bhawan

Page 12

SACRED LITERATURE OF THE JAINS
(v. 69) who, [215) however, after he had learned the first 10 pūrvas, so enraged Bhadrabahu, that the latter as a punishment gave him the remaining four for his own personal knowledge only, and forbade him to teach them to others (anyasya śesapūrvāņi pradėyāni tvayä na hi, v. 109).
In opposition to this information is the fact, that not only in anga 4 and in the Nandisūtra, do we find a detailed table of contents of the whole ditthivāa, including the 14 pūryas, but also that partly in the just-mentioned places, partly in several other texts (Mahāniśitha, Anuyogadv., Āvašy., nijj.) the duvālasaṁgaṁ gaạipidagam is repeatedly mentioned ; consequently the Ditthiyāa appears to have still existed at the date of those texts, and moreover to have been still intact, since there is no mention of any imperfection. The Bhadrabahu, to whom the above-mentioned legend has reference, died, so says tradition, 170 after Vira, whereas in two of the texts, which mention the duvālasamgam gaạipidagań, there are contained dates which refer to a period later by 400 years. The whole legend appears to me, after all, to be nothing more than an imitation of the Buddhist legend of the council of Asoka etc., and thus to have little claim to credence.
Be this as it may, the legened manifests a direct opposition between the 11 angas and the pūrvas. And in fact from the scholium on anga 4 we must conceive their inter-relation to be as follows: the Tirthakara, i. e., Mahăvira-here is no thought of Rşabha,-first recited to his Gañadharas the contents of the pūrvagata sūtras (whence the name pūrvāṇi) ; whereupon the Gañadharas on their part brought14 the contents of the pūrvagata sūtra into the form of the angas, ācāra, etc. According [216) to another view the Gañadharas first brought the pūrvagataśrutam after its recital by the Arhat, into a textual form, and afterwards directed their attention to the angas, ācāra etc.15 Later on we shall return to the explanation of the name pūrva and the difference between angas 1-11 and anga 12..
14 atha kim tan (tat !) purvagatam ? ucyate, yasmāt tirthakaras tirthapravartanakale
ganadharānām sarvasūtrādhārat vena purvagata sutrādhārat vena pur vaga (ta). sutrārtham in, the second sutrādhāg'ata is perhaps a repetition of the scribe) bhāşate tasmāt purvāni 'ti bhanitāni, ganadharah punah śrutaracanāṁ vidadhānā ācārādi kramena racayaħti sthāpayamti ca. Cf. also Wilson, Sel. W. 1 285 ed. Rost (from Mahāviracar. 3): sutritāni ganadharair angebhyah purvam eva yat/
purvāni 'ty abhidhiyante tenai tāni caturdaśa // 15 mat amtarena tu purvagat asut rartha(h) purva arhatā bhasito ganadhar air api
purvagat aśrutam eva purvaracitan, paścīd ācāra (here perhaps a lacuna) nir yuktyām abhihitah : savvesi āyāre padhamo it y-adi, tal katham ? ucyate, tatra sthāpanām āśritya tatho 'ktam iha ty akşararacanāṁ pratitya bhaşitam, purvāṇi kytāni 'ti.