Sacred Literature of Jains

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

Page 37

SACRED LITERATURE OF THE JAINS
This first śrutask, is exceedingly difficult to comprehend and belongs, as Jacobi, from whom we expect an edition,73* informs me in a letter of March 14th 1880, "without doubt to the oldest portions of Jaina literature". Even the commentaries “very often do not understand the text, since from pure force of explanation they fail at reaching any explanation of the sense. The restorations, which must frequently be made, are in fact prodigious."
This shows that we have to do with the method of explanation found in the later Brahmanical sūtras74 (treating of ritual, grammar, philosophy), the difficulty of which is here increased from the fact that Prakrit is the language used, and that the MSS. are uncertain. The second śrutaskandha 'is characterized by the epithet attached to it : agre śrutaskandha (agre having the meaning of "later” here) as a species of supplement to the first. This is in harmony (254) with the peculiar designation of the four sections of which it consists according to the scholia, viz. : Cūla, i. e., "pudding", "excrescence", used figuratively here : uktaśeșānuvādini cūdā. The first is formed by ajjh. 1-7, the second by ajjh. 8-14, the third by ajjh. 15, the fourth by ajjh. 16. The scholia state that a fifth cūlā belongs to these, which is called nisithādhya yanam,75 being no longer reckoned as a part of the ācāra but placed among the chedasūtras as the first of them.76 It belonged however to the acāra at the period of anga 4,25, where the nisihajjhayaņam is expressly designated as “25th ajjh", of the ācāra i. e, as the last of the 25 ajjh. enumerated there.77 The impression is made upon us as if this ajjh, alone was called cūliyā. The ācāra is there expressly designated as sacūliyāga, but in $ 57, where only 24 ajjh. are ascribed to it, the three angas (1-3) which are there treated of, are designated as āyāracūliyavajja ; a statement which as far as I can see, is to be explained with tolerable certainty only in the above way.78 Also [255] at the time of
73* This has appeared as one of the publications of the Pali Text Society, 1882;
Jacobi has also translated the text and prefaced it by a most valuable introduction
in Vol. XXI. Sacred Books of the East.-L. 74 The chief representatives being Katyāyana (Srautas.), Pāņini, Bādarāyaṇa, Jaimini. 75 Or nišithā; ācāravikal po nišithah sa pamcami cude 'ti fol. 209a. So also
pathcacula as designation of the ācāra in the beginning of the Nisithabhāsye. 76 The fourth chedasutram is closely connected as regards its contents with anga 1 ;
and in anga 3,10 it is cited under the title of āyāradasāu. 77 The first cula must be reckoned as having 6, not 7, ajjh., otherwise there would be
in all 26 and not 25 ajjh ; as a matter of fact 26 names are adduced, mahāparinnā
in the ninth place. Perhaps sajjeriya counted as but one ajjhayana. 78 Abhay., it must be confessed, understands by acăraculikā: sar vāṁt i mar adhya
yanam vimukt yadhyayanam, nišithā lhyayanasya prasthānāṁtararatvene 'ha nāšrayanat (!); the latter statement is however in too direct contrast to $ 25.