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GENERAL EDITORIAL
Kundakundácārya is an unquestioned authority on Jaina dogmatics; and his position, especially among the Jaina Teachers and Authors of the South, is unique. His very name has an auspicious significance, to be enumerated next only to that of Mahāvira and Gautama Gañadhara. All of his works are available in Prakrit which borders on Sauraseni and contains some traits of Ardha-magadhi, and hence called Jains Sauraseni, Three of his major works : Pafcastikayasara, Pravacanasara and Samayasara are called Nätaka-traya, Prabhịta-traya or Sára-traya reminding us of the term Prasthana-traya of the Vedantins. The Samayasára is studied with great zeal among the Jainas; and its exposition by Amộtacandra has made it a fountain of religious inspiration, spiritual solace and universal appeal.
Kundakunda is so popular in the South Indian Jaina tradition that he is mentioned under different names. Some of the details about him need further verification and clarification. In all probability Padmanandi was his name; he came to be called Kundakunda or Kondakunda possibly from the place to which he belonged; and his name reached such an eminence that a line of Teachers originated from him, Kondakundänvaya by name.
Besides the Sara-traya or Prabhịta-traya noted above, some more works ( all the available ones in Prākrit ) are attributed to him; The Satkhandagamatikā, Parikarma by name (not available at present ); the Mülācāra (Kundakunda's name is mentioned in some Mss. as its author ); Ten Bhaktis in Prakrit (Titthayara-, Siddha., Suda, Càritta-, Anagāra, Āyariya-, Nivvâņa. and Pañcaparamètthi-bhatti, to which we have to add perhaps Namdisara- and Samti-Bhattis available in prose passages ); Eight Pähudas (Damsaņa., Caritta., Sutta-, Bodha., Bhāva., Mokkha., Limga., Sila-Pähuda ); Rayaņa-sära (its authorship, still sub judice ); Bärasa-anuvěkkhā; and Niyamasära. Whether all these available works are composed by one and the same Kundakunda; or there were authors more than one bearing the name Kunda kunda : this has to remain an open question so far as critical scholarship is concerned (see for instance, W. Schubring : Kundakunda echt und unecht, ZDMG, 107, 3; Dec. 1957; here the full text of the Bodha-pähuda is edited by him ). It is more or less accepted now that the Rayaņasāra, as the text stands today, cannot be attributed to Kundakunda, the author of the Präbhsta-traya.
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