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ET1101)
Sādhanā of Mahāvira as Depicted in
Upadhāna Śruta
Dr. Ashok Kumar Singh*
Ācārānga-sūtra, the first of the eleven angas, deals with the conduct or ācāra. Remarkably the term ācāra as used by Mahāvira does not connote merely moral conduct, rather it is of five kinds' knowledge, faith, selfdiscipline, austerity and spiritual exertion. Thus, it is clear that ācāra comprehends all the three right means of liberation, i.e., faith, knowledge as well as conduct. As Acäränga-sūtra describes the means of obtaining liberation, it has been designated in Ācārānga Niryukti as the essence of the entire Jaina instruction. It is divided into two Śruta-skandhas. It is now generally agreed that first Śruta-skandha is the oldest part of the Jaina canons as a whole. Second Sruta-skandha of Ācārārga, known as Cūla, is certainly a subsequent addition. At present, first Sruta-skandha contains eight chapters only but the tradition holds that originally it had nine chapters. Its eighth chapter Mahāparijña, now being extinct. Some scholars believe that ninth chapter Upadhāna-śruta is also a subsequent addition. Jacobi also held this view. To quote his words — 'The last lecture, a sort of popular ballad on the glorious sufferings of the prophet, was perhaps added in later times. However valid this claim may be yet it is undoubtedly older in relation to rest of the canonical texts. This chapter may rightly be acredited to have the oldest depiction of Mahavira's life, that too, in a realistic and natural way without any exaggeration. Padmabhūşana Pt. Dalsukhabhai Malvania", also held that Upadhāna-śruta presented a realistic account of Māhāvira's life of Sadhanā, after initiation ( to attainment of omniscience ). Dr. Tatia has also expressed the similar view. 'In fact, the biography of Mahavira in the Āyāro, chapter X, which undoubtedly is the oldest and at the same time absolutely free from mythology, is an illustration of the extreme type of asceticism, adumberated in the text".
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