Shatkhandagama Pustak 01

Author(s): Pushpadant, Bhutbali, Hiralal Jain, Fulchandra Jain Shastri, Devkinandan, A N Upadhye
Publisher: Jain Sahityoddharak Fund Karyalay Amravati

Page 23

(iv) acquired the hardy title of Shatkhandagama. Ity six sublivisions are Jivatthana Khudda Bandha, Bandha-Samitta-Vichaya, Vedana, Vaggana and Mahabandha.
The whole work deals with the Karma philosophy, the first three divisions Subject matter of
f from the point of view of the soul which is the agent of the the present work.
bondage, and the last three from the point of view of the objective
karmas, their nature and extent Tho portion now published is the first part of the Jivatthana and it deals with the quest of the soul qualities and the stages of spiritual advancement through some expressed characterstics such as conditions of existence, senses, bodies, vibrátory activities and the like. I propose to deal with the subject in some detail in the next volume when Satprarūpaņā will be completed. The present work consists of the original Sütras, the commentary of Virasena called
Dhavalā and tbe various quotations given by the commentator Language
from the writings of his predecessors. The language of the Sutras is Prakrit and so also of the most of the quoted Gāthās. The prose of Virasena is Prakrit alternating with Sanskrit. In the present portion Sanskrit predominates, being three times as much as Prakrit. This condition of the whole text clearly reflects the comparative position of Prakrit and Sanskrit in the Digambara Jain literature of the South The most ancient literature was all in Prakrit as shown by the Satras and their first reputed commentary Parikarma as well as all the other works of Kundakunda, and also by the preponderance of Prakrit verses quoted in the Dhavalā But about the time of Virasena the tables had turned against Prakrit and Sanskrit had got the upperhand as revealed by the present portion of Dhavalā as well as its contemporary literature.
The Prakrit of the Sutras, the Cathas as well as of the commentary, is Sauraseni influenced by the older Ardha Māgadhi on the one hand and the Mahārāshtri on the other, and this is exactly the nature of the language called Jain Saurseni by Dr. Pischal and subsequent writers. It is, however, only a very small fraction of the whole text that has now been edited critically so far as was possible with the avail. able inaterial. Iinal conclusions on this subject as well as on all others pertaining to this work must wait till the whole or at least a good deal of it has been so edited.
I have avoided details in this survey of Shatkhandagama because I have discussed all these topics fully in my introduction in Hindi to which my learned readers are referred for details. The available manuscripts of the work are all very corrupt and full of lacunae, being very recent copies of a transcript which, so to say, had to be stolen from Mudbidri. My great regret is that inspite of all efforts, I could not get at the only oll minuscript preservel there. So the text hal to be constituto from the available copies as critically as was possible according to the principles which I have explained in full in my Hindi introduction. Inspite of all these difficulties, however, I hope my readers will not find the text as unsatisfactory as it might have been expected under the circumstances.