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62
ŚRUTA-SARITA
that Kālaka who explained Nigoda and Ac. śyāma are not two different persons. According to tradition he secured the status of Yugapradhāna in 335 V. N. and lived upto the year 376 V. N. Now, if Prajñāpanā were the work of this Kālaka, then it might have been composed in the period 335-376 V. N. (i. e. 135-194 years, before the commencement of Vikrama Era; 78-137 B. C.). If we were to consider Niryukti to be the work of Senior Bhadrabāhu and also to think that there is a reason to believe that the Niryukti follows the Uttarādhyayama in mentioning 36 divisions then Prajñāpanā is proved later than the Niryukti; and the date of Prajñāpanā is not in conflict with that of Senior Bhadrabāhu because he is believed to be earlier than Prajñāpanā.
Satkhandāgama, in its present form, is a work of two Ācāryas Puspadanta and Bhūtabali who are posterior to Dharasena who, in turn flourished sometime after 683 V. N. From this we can safely conclude that Prajñāpanā Satkhandāgama. Maturity of thought, systematic treatment and employment of commentarial style—all these that are found in Satkhandägama are due to its being lately composed. Prajñāpanā is mentioned in the list of Agamas, given in the Nandisutra which belongs to the period of time prior to 523 V. S. Thus even the date of Nandisūtra is not in conflict with our proposed date of Prajñāpanasutra.
Annotations : 1. The topics like 'Bandhasāmittavicaya', Satkhandāgama Book VIII, occasionally
employ question-answer style. 2. Satkhandāgama Book VI contains 9 Cūlikas, Book X, 1, Book XI, 2 and Book XII, 3.
In the Sū. 581 (Book XIV) it is explicitly stated that-"etto uvarimagamtho cūlia
nāma." 3. Satkhandāgama Book I Sū. 5; Book IX Sū. 45; Book X. Sū. 1; Book XI Sū.1 & 165;
Book XII Sū. 1; Book XIII Sū. 2 etc. 4. The employment of this method is noticed in Satkhandāgama from Book IX Sū. 45
to Book XIV. 5. Ibid., Book I Sü, 7; Book III Sū. 1 etc. 6. Ibid., Book I Sū 7; Book IX Sū. 71. 7. Ibid., Book I Sû. 8; Book III Sū. 1 etc. 8. Ibid., Book VI Sū. 2 (p. 4), Book VI Sū. 1 (p. 145); Book XIV Sū. 1.
9. Ibid., Book I Sū. 24, 33, 39, etc. 10. Prajñāpanüsütra 213-224; 276-324; 326-329.
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