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Studies in Jainology, Prakrit
Bhaktapratyakhyāna in several of the inscriptions and literary works.
The plan of Bhaktapratyakhyana as described by Sivarya is very elaborate. It is to be practised in a properly selected place by the monk with certain qualifications (Kșapaka or Arādhaka) under the guidance of the Superintending Teacher (Niryāpakācārya) who is helped by several attending monks who, dividing themselves in teams of four each, tell dharmakathās to the Ksapaka and the pious visitors and attend to his various necds. A pavilion (mandapa) was also to be erected for the pious visitors who would go there with a belief that the Ksapaka was a tīrtha.
In view of the Bhaktapratyakhyāna described in the Bhagavati Aradhanā, what might have been the history of the practice of this great vow in Karnataka? Of course it could not have been the same throughout, for, in this region, Jainism tried its best to accommodate itself to the age taking into consideration all possible practical points. Moreover, the Bhagavati Aradhana leaves some margin for change and adjustment in the plan of this vow. So it would be of great value if we can have a historical approach to this problem and collect all possible information from inscriptions, historical monuments, archaeological remains, literary evidence which appears to have been a reflection of the practice of Bhaktapratyākhyāna in Karnataka in the 10th century A.D.
The Vaddaradhane is the earliest available Kannada Classic in prose assignable to the first quarter of the 10th centuy. It is unique in Kannada literature and the only so far available Aradhana (Kavaca) Kathākośa in the whole range of the modern Indian languages, Aryan, or Dravidian. It contains 19 stories which are meant for advising and encouraging the Kșapaka or Arādhaka. Though these stories concern ancient religious heroes who attaied eternal bliss through the more ardous vow of Prayopagamana, there are a number of references to Bhaktapratyākhyāna' in several subtales and miscellaneous episodes. In one of these stories the author appears to have demonstrated, consciously or
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