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208
SACRED LITERATURE OF THE JAINS
all, but are almost entirely in metre; mülas. 1 and 3 in the ancient style (see p. 238, 239), especially in ślokas; the nijj. on 2 is in gathas.
They make the impression of being analogous to parisisțas rather than sūtras. The mūlas., which is No. 2 in Bübler's list bas not been preserved in its sūtra form at all, only its nijjutti being extant. The title of the fourth mülas, expressly declares it to be a nijj.; and since both the others have essentially the same form, it is not an improbable conjecture to regard these too as nijjuttis to a sutram of like name. On the other hand, however, special nijjuttis on each are cited by the scholiast, and these nijj. appear to be still extant. Of this kind are probably the two texts which the author of the Āvasy. [42] nijj. 2,5 declares that he composed on dasakalia and uttarajjho. ...
The prose portions found here have in places the old introductory formula : suyam me ausam..; and the concluding formula of each of the ajjh. (and uddes) of mūlas. 1 and 3 ti bemi gives us an impression of their antiquity. Furthermore, the titles of all the 36 chapters of the first mūlas are enumerated in the fourth anga $ 36- hence this mūlas, with essentially the same contents must have existed at the date of anga 4. It appears to be cited also in the Kalpasūtra. In N. (above p. 11 fg.) we find only the three titles of the mūlasūtas I havo before me; the name of the fourth is omitted, and the title of the second plays there, as in the Anuyogadv. (above pp. 11, 22 fg.), a very prominent part.
A very ancient author is quoted for the third mūlasūtram; and a single chapter (14) of the An. nijj. is ascribed to a definite author, although the author of the Āv. nijj. himself says, in the beginning of chap. 2, that he is author of a large number of nijjuttis on the most different parts of the Siddhānta, especially on several chedasūtras, and, as already mentioned, on mūlas. 1 and 3. The Āvasy nijj. contains, therefore, a large amount of authoritative data in reference to the date of its composition.
The contents of all three texts belong to the sphere of the vinayapitaka. The Nom. sgl. Masc. of the I Decl. ends generally in o, but chiefly in e in the few prose sections; but both forms are found together occasionally, and in fact even in the same verse.
[43] The extent of mūlas. 1 is stated to be 2 095 gr. that of 2 or its nijj. 2550, that of 3,700 gr. The author of the commentary on 2 is said to have died Vira 1055.
2 is all: 2550, mtent of my
