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(Sramana
Astaka Prakaraņa: An Introduction
Dr. Ashok Kumar Singh*
Ācārya Haribhadra, one of the most prominent Jaina Ācārya and the most prolific writer was born in Cittauda or a place nearby. Very scanty informations are available about his life. As established by Muni Jinavijayajī, it is generally agreed that he lived between 753 to 827 A.D. His mother was Gangābāi and his father was Sankara Bhatta. He was Brahmin by caste. He became Royal priest of the king Jitāri of Cittauda . He had vowed that he would become the pupil of him or her whose sayings he would not comprehend. The well-known dramatic incidence of his life, of not fully grasping the Prākşta Gāthā, recited by Yākinī Mahattarā, a Jaina nun, made him the disciple of a Jaina monk Jinabhattasüri.
This change over of a Great scholar, Royal priest and above all a rudite Brahmin, was not merely a change of faith but was a new birth to him. Infact, it was a spiritual rebirth which gave a new direction to his life and thought. He was transformed totally but he retained all, that was best in him along with his previous thoughts and beliefs. The new impact of Jainism made him more inclined to devote all his might and main to philosophic and religious pursuits.
His works are testimony to his genius and mainly consist of religious stories, philosophical treatises, discourses, exhortations on right conduct and on Yoga. He has composed
* Senior Lecturer, Pāršavnatha Vitdyāpītha.
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