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brief the similarity between Siddhasena and some of his non-Jaina predecessors who presumaby influenced the works of Siddhasena, in point of style, technical words, thoughts and view-points.
INTRODUCTION
(a) Nāgārjuna, Maitreya, Asanga and Vasu Bandhu.
Nāgārjuna is a very great Bauddha scholar, who flourished in the 2nd century A.D. He is considered as the founder of the famous doctrine of Śūnya váda. It is possible that Siddhasena had studied the two works of Nagarjuna Madhyamaka-kārikā and Vigrahavyāvartanikarika for in his own Dwatriṁsikās, Siddhasena refers to the Madhyama Marga that was regarded as an important sect of the Bauddhas in his times. Siddhasena, identifying Maha vīra with the founder of this sect, praises him as the real founder of the Madhyama-Mārga1. Moreover he refers to the theory of Sunyatva that gained a very high place in Indian logic by the efforts of Nāgārjuna and interpreting this Śūnya Vāda in his own peculiar manner connects the Vada with Mahāvīra2, and bestows his own encomium on Mahavira as Šūnyavadin which is one of the significant attributes of Buddha. The high place which Ŝunya Vāda and Madhyama Marga once attained in India is entirely due to Nagarjuna who is regarded as the founder of Śunyavada, and who is the well-known author of Madhyamaka Kārika. If we think Nagarjuna was
1 See Dwa. 3. 5
2 Dwa. 3.20
3 Dwa. 3.21.
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