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Studies in Jainology, Prakrit
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reasons : (1) Firstly, they were composed at a very early distant age and in a new literary medium of rather cxperimental nature and, hence, Time might have pushed them into oblivion. (2) Secondly, there might have been another attempt at composing such commentaries in the next period; but the great commentaries on the Satkhandagama and Kasayapāhuda might have overshadowed them in respect of referenes by others.
But it is so very heartening to learn that Kannada commentaries on the important Pahudas of Kundakundācārya dis appear in still later days too and were preserved in some of the Jaina Bhandaras (Manuscript Libraries) by the Bhaltārakas, the esteemed custodians of Jaina works. Fortunately now in the Moodabidri Bhandaras alone, there are found numerous manuscripts of Kundakundācārya's works preserved in the Kannada script. Of them about twenty are cndowed with Kannada commentaries on the select Pahudas including the Ratnatraya. The commentarios arc of the nature of vrtti and tikā. Some commentaries do not bear the names of the commentators. The known commentators are: Muni Balacandra, Pt.Balacandra, Muni Meghacandra, Bahubali Siddhanti, Muni Padmanandi, Kcsavanna and Maladhari Padmaprabha.?! We can also expect such other commentaries in other Jaina Bhandaras at Kolhapur, Humbuch, Arrah, etc. A thouough study of all these commentaries with special reference to their authors, dates, sources, citations and linguistic peculiarities ctc. is likely to yield promising results of religious, philosophical and literary value, which would shed fresh light over our serious reflections on the line of development of the Kannada literature of the Pre- Nrpatunga period in which we indulged just previously.
In conclusion it may be stated:
Kundakundācārya was not only the prc- eminent preceptor and leader of the Jaina Sangha, but also the literary doyen of Karnataka. His Pāhudas are the earliest known literary works of
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