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Studies in Jainology, Prakrit
Sangha headed by Bhadrabahu reached Kalbappu via Ujjain and Girnar and with the Sangha entered into Karnatak the Old Śauraseni.S Then Emperor Khāravela through his political relations with several kings of South India strengthened the position of this Śauraseni Prakrit. Then Puspadanta and Bhutabali, by composing the basic sutras of the Satkhandagama in this language, acquired for it canonical sanctity and antiquarian importance. After this, Acarya Kundakunda set this language on the throne of the grand literary medium of the Agama works in Karnatak. This hypothetical line of thought indeed deserves an intensive study, but in the light of the opinions of some scholars in this regard, we should particularly remember here R.Pischel who for the first time called the Prakrit language of the early Digambara dogmatical and religious works Jaina Šauraseni, mainly on the ground of its observing the phonetic law of softening the dentals: t>d and th>dh". Jacobi, however, finds that except the observance of this phonetic law, this Prakrit however has nothing in common with the Sauraseni. Besides, in the ancient Šauraseni of the Sanskrit drama (Asvaghosa) the softening of the dentals is not found, nor could it be the influence of the later Saurasení upon the certainly more archaic Digambara Prakrit. Denccke observes that Pichel's styling this language as Jaina Šauraseni is not relevant for it bears more Ardhamagadhi features that those of the Sauraseni along with a few of Jaina Mahārāstrī and Apabhramsa too. He would rather call it the Digambari language. Thus an attempt at sketching a line from the spoken language of the immigrating Jaina Sangha to its development of their literary medium bristles with several knotty problem. With all this Pischel's designation of this language viz, the Jain Sauraseni, has come to stay as a 'convenient term' and we too shall honour it.
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After briefly, acquainting ourselves with the history of the Jaina Sauraseni language, let us now take a broad survey of the Jaina Sauraseni literature produced in Karnatak.? In the very early days the Jaina monk as a rule could not possess any book.
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