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THE DATE OF THE DEVENDRASTAVA : AN ART-HISTORICAL APPROACH
Lalit Kumar The Devendrastava (Devindatthao) is one of the Prakirnaka works of the Jaina Canonical literature. Subhash Kothari has recently published a Hindi translation of Devendrastava alongwith a scholarly introduction, contributed by Sagarmal Jain'. The language of the existing edition of the work is Māhārāstrī Prākrita. However, it is acknowledged by these two writers that there are some manuscripts in which Ardhamāgadhi variants of the texts are also available2. The Devedrastava is a work of Rsipālita whose name occurs in the Sthavirāvali of the Kalpasūtra. In this work Rsipālita's name occurs at the twelfth place after Mahāvīra. Prof. Jain in his succinct discussion has shown that Rsipālita lived in the first century B.C.
Without going into other detailed arguments put forward by these writers with regard to the dating of the Devendrastava, I would like to extend some more internal arthistorical evidences in favour of their early dating of the text.
The Devendrastava describes in gāthā 82-93 the locale of the Jyotiska gods4, number of their Vimānas, their sizes, carrier of the Vimāna etc. The gāthā no. 93 has a specific bearing on the present context. It reads.
पुरओ वहंति सीहा, दाहिणओ कुंजरा महाकाया ।
पच्चत्थिमेण वसहा, तुरगा पुण उत्तरे पासे ॥ i.e. (the Vimāna is) born by a lion in the east, a giant elephant in the south, a bull in the west and a horse in the north.
This is exactly the same order in which the four animals are seen on the abacus of the famous quadripartite lion capital of Sarnath, erected by Asoka, (B.C. 272-231). So far these animals and the quadripartite lion have been interpreted in their Buddhistic perspective only. A dharmacakra, originally surmounted on the lion capital is almost lost. It was for the erection of this dharmacakra that the quadripartite lion capital was primarily conceived. The dharmacakra was intended by Asoka to keep the Buddhist Samgha intact from the impending danger from schism which had already surfaced in the Buddhist Samgha. This is amply clear from the inscription engraved on the pillar which had once surmounted the lion capital. In this way, dharmacakra symbolised, not only the time, the eternal truth, but also the solemn desire of the ruler to maintain the Buddhist Samgha intact for time immemorial. To herald this majestic will, Ašoka chose Sarnath, as the most appropriate place where Buddha had set the wheel of law into motion.
The dharmacakra was not a sectarian symbol in India. The dharmacakra is often seen in the art of Bharhut, Sānci, Bodhagaya and Amrāvati, and also in the Jain art of Mathura and Causā bronzes. The dharmacakra is referred to as Brahmānda Cakra, Bhāva Cakra,
