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LVI : SĀRĀVALI-PRAKĪRṆAKA
About Sārāvalī Prakīrnaka -
As far as a detailed description about any place of pilgrimage is concerned, this Sārāvalī Prakīrṇaka may be considered as the leading work from amongst the canonical and other Präkrta texts. Herein is given the story of the origin of the Śatrunjaya, alias Pundarika tīrtha. Two things that this Prakīrṇaka mainly focuses upon are 1. How was Pundarika tīrtha established? 2. How was it named as such? This work contains 116 verses and though it has been composed in Prākṛta language, looking at the clearly visible influence of Apabhraniśa, it can be considered as of a later origin than the works in the mainstream of Āgamic literature. Its period should be somewhere around the tenth century AD.
The specific gains of charity and austerities undertaken on the Pundarika hill is discussed in this Prakīrṇaka. According to this work, the story of the importance of the Pundarīka tīrtha was narrated to St. Nārada by Monk Atimuktaka. On listening to this story he (St. Nārada) volunteered to receive ordination, as a Jaina monk, at the hands of St. Atimuktaka and attained enlightenment and spiritual emancipation atop this hill. This place became famous as Pundarīkagiri, because Pundarika, the grandson of the first Prophet, Lord Rsabhadeva, conducted his spiritual practices and attained omniscience and nirvāṇa here. Among the famous souls that attained spiritual emancipation at this hill are twenty million monks including Nami and Vinami and Rāma, Bharata, five Pandavas and the sons of Lord Krsna Pradyumana, Sã mba etc. Thus, this Prakīrṇaka can be considered as the first work to eulogize this most famous place of Jaina pilgrimage in the western part of India. We have already dealt with, in deatil, the subject matter of this work earlier. No other independent work
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