Sacred Literature of Jains

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

Page 19

SACRED LITERATURE OF THE JAINS
of the Nandi we shall find that we have to deal with a rich literature of which nearly half has probably been lost. On the other hand, among these 60 texts we miss not only at least six names which are now enumerated as portions of the Siddhanta ; but all the titles of those groups are lacking, in which the Siddhānta is at present divided. These 60 names are enumerated without any reference whatever to any definite order in 'groups, and in a succession entirely different from the present order. Does this state of things permit us to conclude that neither the texts which are not mentioned in the enumeration nor the present groupings or titles of group existed at the date of the Nandi ?
At present the entire Siddhanta embraces the following 45 texts33 divided into the following six groups : 1. eleven (or twelve) angas : [226) Ācāra, Sūtrak rtam ("krit), Sthānam, Samavāya, Bhagavati, Jñātādharmakathas, Upāsakadaśās, Antak rddaśās, Anuttaraupapātikadasās, Praś nayyākaraṇam, Vipaka (Drşțivāda, no longer extant), 2. twelve upangas : Aupapātikam, Räjaprasniyam, Jivābhigama, Prajñāpana, Jambūdvipaprajñapti, Candraprajñapti, Süryaprajñapti, Nirayāvali (or Kalpikā), Kalpāvatamsikā, Puspikā, Puspacālikā, Vrsnidaśas, 3. ten painnas; Catuhśaraņa, Samstāra, Āturapratyākhyānam, Bhaktaparijñā, Tandulavaiyāliā4 Candāvijā,34 Devendrastava, Ganivijā,34 Mahāpratyākhyānam, Virastava, 4. six chedaśutras : Niśitham, Mahāniśitham, Vyavahāra, Daśā srutaskandha, Brhatkalpa, Pañcakalpa, 5. two Sūtras without a common name, Nandi and Anuyogadvāram, 6. four mulasutras : Uttaradhyayanam, Āvas yakam, Daśavaikālikam, and Pindaniryukti. This division is that of Bühler (see Jacobi, Kalpas. p. 14), with an exception in the succession of up. 5-7, where I have deviated from his arrangement on the strength of the Vidhiprapa and the scholium on up. 6. The same division is found also in Ratnasāgara (Calc. 1880) except that there groups 3 and 4 have changed places with 5 and 6, not to mention some minor differences. It is a very remarkable fact that in Rajendra Lal Mitra's Notices of Sanskrit MSS. 3. p. 67 (Calc. 1874)—on the authority of a definite source of information, the Siddhānta dharmasāra, we find an enumeration35 varying materially from the above. First a very different grouping may be noticed ; [227) secondly, there
33 Those are probably the “45 āgamas," which the patron of the writer of a MS
(Samvat 1666, A.D. 1609) of the Vyavahārasutra (Berlin MS. or. fol. 1038) had
copied ; see v. 10 of the statements at its end. 34 These names, both as regards form and signification are either of doubtful ex
planation, or are involved in obscurity. 35 Repeated in the "Report on the Sanskrit MSS. examined during 1880-81"addressed
to the Govt. of the Punjab, by Pandit Kashinath Kunte. He has given the report twice with tolerable similarity-Jan. 24, 1881 (p. 4-7) and June 6, 1881 (p. 6-9).