Some Jaina Canonical Sutras

Author(s): Bimla Charn Law
Publisher: Royal Asiatic Society

Page 20

JAINA CANON
IV, 4), eternalism, materialism, etc., form the subject-matter of the Thānamga. The Viyāhapannatti not only throws light on the life of Mahāvīra but also discusses other topics. Persons belonging to any school of Jain thought will find t Nāyādhunimakahā very useful. A picture of ancient social life has been given by the Urāsagadasūo. The Amtagadadasā gives an account of persons who became siddhas after death and the Anutturorurāiyadasū, of the lives of persons who became gods after their death in the Anuttaravimāna. Names of some tribes and planets are found in the Panhāvāgaranu. That the good and bad deeds done in previous births have their respective influences, has been dealt with in the livāgasuyu. Some narratives too are found in the same anga.
The twelve uparigas too deal with various subjects from philosophy to astronomy, geography to biography. The Urüya gives an account of various attainments and penances of the Jaina saints. A fine literary piece by itself, the Pūy prowaiyu deals with the intricate problem of the identity of soul and borly through the dialogue between Paësi and Kosi. The very essence of Jainism can be found in the Jirajīrībhiguma. The Jain philosophy has been dealt with in the Pannarunī. Astronomy from Jain standpoint has been well treated in the Sūriyu-pannatti and Camdupennutti. The Süryaprajñapli (Sūriyapannatti) is the most important astronomical book of the Jainas. It is written in Jain Prakrit and divided into twenty sections. The arrangement of the matter is not systematical. There is a commentary on the text by Malayagiri. The astrono chronological period on which the system of this text is based, is the well-known quinquennial (vole with which we have long been acquainted from the Jyotisa Vedārgu. The same (ycle is also described in the Gurga-Samhitā. As regards the revolutions of the sun and the moon according to the Sūryaprajñapti it differs from the statements made by Garga and in the l'edūrga only in oue important point. According to it the (yele begins with the summer solstice at the moment when the moon is full in the beginning of Abhijit and the sun consequently stands in Pusya. As regards the sun's motion in circles of different diameter the text treats of the increase and decrease of the length of the day. It also contains a long exposition of the dimensions of the circles. It adds an interesting account of the sideway-motion of the sun. It also records an account of the motion of the moon, etc. Dr. G. Thibaut has written an interesting article on it in the J.A.S.B. (Vol. xlix, pp. 107–127; 181-206). The Jambuddīvapaņņatti is an interesting treatise on geography. It