Book Title: Studies In Umasvati And His Tattvartha Sutra
Author(s): G C Tripathi, Ashokkumar Singh
Publisher: Bhogilal Laherchand Institute of Indology
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Apropos Umāsvāti in Kannada Literature 179 5.1.2. Gṛdhrapinchācārya and Gṛddhapicchācārya-are the two variants used by Kannada writers. The word piccha has taken the form of pinccha; a phonetic tendency of nasalising the non-nasalised is a peculiarity of Kannada, and the result is a variant form. Similarly in the word medial position, Sanskrit letter -l- changing to -l- is very common to the phonetic structure of Kannada language; Balaka has the variant of Balaka in Kannada.
5.2.
An explanation is also given to the usage of the nomen GP instead of US. For keeping a piccha (pinccha) consisting of a bunch of vulture feathers, US is called GP. Digambara monks barely possess anything except a piccha, a bunch of plumes, considered as the only requisite of a Digambara, along with a kamandala, the waterpot. Generally the piccha, the feather broom is made of peacock feathers, hence the nomen mayūrapiccha. Inscriptional evidences support the view that the Jain ascetics are mentioned after their brooms, seem to be peculiar to the Digambaras: a. A monk using peacock feather broom is called a Mayura-picchācārya' Mayurapincchācārya [EC. 11(R). No. 364 (258). AD1432, p. 230]
b. A friar carrying crane feather broom is called Balākāpi-(n)cchācārya [ibid, No. 156(127) C.E. 1115. p.93; K.68. C. tenth to eleventh cent., p. 161]
An ascetic using vulture feather bunch is called Gṛddhrapi(n) cchācārya [EC.11(R) 73 (66) AD 1176, P. 34]
d. A monach using the owl feather broom is called Ulūka-bhaācārya [vṛttavilāsa:Dharmaparīkṣe: AD
C.
1360]
The epithetic appellation of GP is to confirm that the author is a Digambara monk.
