Siddhachalam NJ 1990 04 Mahavir Jayanti

Author(s): Siddhachalam NJ
Publisher: USA International Mahavir Jain Mission Siddhachalam

Page 25

tant place in Jaina literature. It is also called Prathamanuyaga; and the entire Puranic narratives, religious biographies as well as illustrative tales etc. are all included under the Prathamanuyoga. According to the Dhhavala commentary on the Satkhandagama, Sutra 1, Prathamanuyoga contained twelve sections of Purana in which were described respectively, Arhats, Cakravartins, Vidyadharas. Vasudevas, Caranas, Prajna-sramanas, as well as the families of Kuru, Hari, Iksvaku, Kasyapa, Vadi (Cedi?) and Natha.
According to the Digambara tradition, the entire Anga literature, in its original form was gradually lost into oblivion. After the Nirvana of Mahavira, during the period of 162 years, it is only eighth saints that had the full knowledge of Angas. The last among them is said to have been Srutakevalin Bhadrabahu. After him the knowledge of all the Angas and Purvas went on gradually decreasing day-to-day; and during the 7th century after the Nirvana of Mahavira a stage was reached when only some great saints has a partial knowledge of these Angas and Purvas. It is on the basis of this that the entire Jaina scriptures and Puranas came to be composed independently in a new style in Prakrit and other languages current in different place and at different times.
According to the Svetambara tra- dition, during the 10th century after the Nirvana of Mahavira a council of monks was convened at Valabhi (mod. Val) in Gujarat; and there, under the chairmanship of Devarddhigani Ksamasramana, eleven out of the twelve Angas were compiled, and they are available today. This compilation, however, has not been found to have preserved entirely the original form of the work. One can clearly see additions and omissions in the contents. Their language too is not the same Ardha-Magadhi as was used in the time of Mahavira: it displays linguistic features which developed in a period one thousand years later than him. Still, broadly speaking, the available texts testify to the antiquity of the contents and method of exposition. They bear close resemblance with the ancient Buddhist literature. Just as the Buddhist canon was Tripitaka, the Jaina canon is found to be described as Ganipitaka.
This branch of literature, as a whole, is called Anga-pravista to be distinguished from Anga-bahya texts, 14 in number, which deals, in details with the conduct and day-today routine of monks.
Their names are: 1. Samayika, 2. Caturvimsati-stava, 3. Vandana, 4. Pratikramana, 5. Vainayika, 6. Krtikarma, 7. Dassavaikalika, 8. Uttaradhyayana, 9. Kalpavyavahara, 10. Kalpakalpa, 11. Manhakalpa, 12. Pundarika, 13. Mahapundarika and 14. Nisiddhika. Their titles themselves indicated that their contents are related with instructions about religious practices, especially the rountine of duties of monks. Though these fourteen texts, in their ancient form, are not found independently, still their contents have got mixed up with other texts; and they are being used by monks even to this day.
The council of monks which compiled the canon at Valabhi has, besides the first category of 11 Angas, 12 Upangas (Aupapatika, Rayapaseniya etc.); 6 Chedasutras (Nisitha, mahanisitha etc.); 4 Mulasutras (Uttaradhyayana, Avasyaka etc); 10 Prakirnakes (Catuhsarana, Aturapratyakhyana etc); and 2 Culikastras (Anuyogadvara and Nandi). Thus the entire ArdhaMagadhi canon has got 45 texts, and they have a religious sanction or authority for the Svetambara sect. This entire branch of literature is as much important as the Pali canon for its language and style and for the philosphical and historical material contained therein.
according to the Parisistaparvan (VII 399) of Hemacandra happened 155 (one hundred fifty five) years after the Nirvana of Mahavira ; Thus the date of Mahavira's Nirvana come to be 322+ 155-477. But, on the other hand, Dr. Kashi Prasad Jayawal Holds the view that, according to the Buddhist tradition in Ceylon or Srilanka, Buddha's Nirvana is put in 544 B.C. And in the Samagama-sutta of Majjhima-nikaya and elsewhere in the Tripitaka it is stated that Buddha learnt the nes from one of his followers that Mahavira's Nirvana took place in Pava. There is also the tradition that Buddha's Niravan occurred two years later:thus it is concluded the Mahavira's Nirvana be put in 546B.C. but, on scrutiny, both the views are not valid. There is a clear-cut, ancient Jaina literary and historical tradition that the Nirvana of Mahavira took place 470 (four hundred Seventy) years before Vikrama Samvat and 605 (Six hundred and five) year before the Saka era. The succession of the historical events of this tradition stands thus; That very night, when Mahavira attained Nirvana, King Palaka of Ujjaina was coronated. Palaka ruled for 60 years. After him the Nanda kings ruled for 155 years; Mauryas for 108 years; Pusyamitra for 30 years; Balamitra and Bhanumitra for 60 years; Nahapana (Nahavana, Naravahana or Nahasena) for 40 year; Gardabhilla for 13 years, another king ruled for 4 years; and, it is after this, the Vikrama era started. Thus the period between the Nirvana of Mahavira and the beginning of Vikrama era stands thus; 60+!155+108+130+60+40+13+4=470 years. The authority of Hemacandra on the basis of which Dr. Jacobi accepted the jperiod between the Nirvana of Mahavira and the coronation of Candragupta Maurya to be 155 years, is really speaking, not at all correct. Dr. Jacobi himself has edited the Parisistaparvan; and he has recorded his view that this work contains many lapses, because it was composed in haste. One of such lapses is that, while clculating the period between the Nirvana of Mahavira and the coronation of Candragupta, assigning 60 years for Palaka is skipped over. So by adding 60 years the period becomes 215 instead of 155. That this was a mistake is borne out by the period of time assigned to Kumarapala by Hemacandra himself in his Trisastisalaka purusa-carita (Parvan 10, Sarga 12, verses 45-46) that this king was coronated 1669 years after the Nirvana of mahavira. It is evident from other authorities that Kumarapala'scoronation took place
DATE OF MAHAVIRA - NIRVANA
As to the time of the Nirvana of Lord Mahavira, a clear-cut record is available that this event took place in the last quarter of the night of the Caturdasi of the Krsnapaksa of the month of Kartika, i.e., in the early hours of the Amavasya; and both gods and men celebrated this occasion as the Dipavali festival. Accordingly, the (Maha-) Vira Nirvana Samvat era begins from the kartika Dipavali. There was no such Samvator era specified either contem- porary with Mahavira or for a long time after him. References to this era, which are noticed in later works, are often mutually contradictory here and there and also not consistent with the data available in other branches of literature and with the historical events. Consequently there have resulted differences of opinions in this connection among modern scholars. One the one hand, the German scholar Dr. Jacobi puts the date of the Nirvana of Mahavira as 477 (four hundred seventy-seven) B.C. His evidence is that the coronation of Maurya Candragupta took place in 322 (Three hundred twenty two) B.C. and this event,
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