________________
Acārya Hemacandra and Ardhamaghi :
७७
beginning of the reign of Kumārapāla i.e. when Hemacandra was pretty old and mature. In the Kāvyānuśāsana' he has shown great reverence for the Ardhamāgadhi which is evident from the benedictory verse --
अकृत्रिमस्वादुपदां परमार्थामिधायिनीम् ।
सर्वभाषापरिणतां जैनी वाचमुपास्महे ।। (We meditate upon the language of Jina the conqueror of Rāga etc. i.e. Lord Mahāvīra) Here, he obviously refers to Ardhamāgadhi, the language of the Svetāmbara Jaina Agamas. The language is devoid of artificial charm. It has the original beauty and natural sweetness of the language. It expresses the nature of the ultimate reality by way of expounding fourfold Anuyogas and above all the other languages like Sanskrit, Māgadhi, Paiśāci etc. are its transformations just as the rain water released by the clouds takes the various forms according to the places where it falls, when it is mixed with river it become the river water, when it falls in the lake it is called the lake water."2 The दैवीवाक्, मनुष्यवाक्, शबरवाक्, and तिर्यग्वाक् are all its transformations. (परिणाम). Here Hemacandra' refers to संस्कृत as दैवीवाक्. The highest quality of the Ardhamāgadhi is in its being Pateifferentfernt. It is the only language which shows the way to the ultimate reality i.e. liberation.
परमार्थो निःश्रेयसं तदभिधानशीला परमार्थाभिधायिनी द्रव्याद्यनुयोगानामपि पारम्पर्येण निःश्रेयसप्रयोजनत्वात् ।
इहानुयोगश्चतुर्या चरणकरणधर्मकथागणितद्रव्मेदात् । तत्राद्यस्य सम्यग्ज्ञानदर्शनपवित्रिते नवकर्मानुपादानातीतकर्मनिर्जरारूपे संयमतपसी प्रतिपाद्ये इति 1. Kavyānusāsana - 1.1. २. एकरूपापि हि भगवतोऽर्धमागधीभाषावारिदविमुक्त वारिवदाश्रयानुरूपतया परिणमति
यदाहदेवा दैवीं नरा नारी शबराश्चैव शाबरीम् । तिर्यश्चोऽपि हि तैरश्ची मेनिरे भगवगिरम् ।।
Commentary on Kāvyānuśāsana, 1.1. 3. Commentary on Kavyānusāsana - 1.1.
Jain Education International
For Private & Personal Use Only
www.jainelibrary.org
