Sacred Literature of Jains

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

Page 68

SACRED LITERATURE OF THE JAINS
The first 20 books, which are the substructure of all, are clothed in a legendary form, and contain in irregular order, and without any recognizable connecting thread, the most varied legends in reference to the activity and teachings of Mahavira ; his conversations283 with his first scholar Imdabhuti (Goyama) at the time of king Seņia of Rajagiha being made of special importance. In sayas 21 ff. there are no such legends, and each sayam has not only a harmonious contents, but many of the sayas are connected together as groups, 21-23 treat of plants, 24-30 of the different conditions of living creatures (jiva), 24 of their origin, 25 of their leśyādayo bhāvāḥ, 26234 of their karmabandha, 27 of their karmakaraņa [298] kriya, 28 of their pāpakarmadidandakanavaka, 29 of their · karmaprasthāpanādi, 30 of the 4 samavasaraņa (see above, p. 264); 31-41, finally, in a most peculiar fashion of their state during the four jummas (yugma-yuga): kada, teoga, dāvara; 'kaliyoga. The make-up of these latter books, is, as I have already said, purely formal, and is almost similar to a mere table of statistics.
Since this is the case it appears to me a matter of tolerable certainty that sayas 21 fg. were added at a later period to sayas 1-20. It is perfectly clear that we have here to deal with a chance co-ordination of elements. On the other hand, this fact serves to lend a kind of authenticity to the single constituent parts and especially to those of a legendary colouring. After the most naive fashion the discordant parts have been brought into conjunction without any attempt at change. That there was, however, a guiding hand in this conjunction is evident from two reasons : (1) Since an introductory verse in āryā precedes each saya (only up to No. 26 is this true); which verse briefly
35-39 with 12 avataras, with 11 udd. each, 40 with 21 av.,with 11 u. each ; evann mahājummasayāni (i. e. 35-40) 81, evan sayvaggenañ saya 138, savvaggenań uddesa 1923, V., to which a yantrakam i. é a tabular enumeration of the uddesas and
days belonging to each sayas, is appended. 233 The question 9,34, purise nam bhaite purisan haņamāne kim purisam hanati ? - . is an interesting parallel to Bhagavadg. 2,19; Kath. Up. 1,2 18, 19. 234 In V. and even in the MSS. of the Bhag. the foll, names are found for books
26-41 : 26 bamdhisae, 27 kariñsuga (or karisuga) sae, 28 kamma-samajjinanasae, 29 kammapatthavanasae, 30 samo saranasae, 31 uvavayasae, 32 uvvattanäsae, 33 egidi yaj ummasayāni, 34 sedhisayāni, 35 egindiyamahājummasayani, 36 beindiyamahājo, 37 teind', 38 caürind, 39 asanni pancindo, 40 sannipamcimd., 41 rasijummasae. The fact that "abhi hānāni'' are expressly mentioned for these 16 sayas alone (Jogavih v. 37), gives them at the very start a separate place. See the remarks on book 15 Note also that, from book 26 on, the introductory karikas no longer appear (book 26 has, it is true, one such) and that one of the MSS. of the text which I have before me, has before book 26 (but also before book 17) a special greeting, namo suyadevayāe bhagavatie. This refers to a new section. If Leumann is correct we are to attribute no importance to the absence of the kārikā in the case of books 27 and foll., since the kärika that precedes book 26 holds good in the case of the following books, which have the same arrangement as book 26.