________________
50
Studies in Jainology, Prakrit
(c. 7th cent. A.D.), the commentator of the Mūlārādhanā, who is said to have been a Yapaniya, does not give any information of his time about this method. Besides, in the different Kathakośas, associated with the Mularādhanā, where there are references to several monks undergoing the Bhaktapratyakhyāna-marana, there is hardly any description or mention of this type of Vijahaņā. All this means that this appears to have been a peculiar feature of only the early Yapanīya sect i.e., at least that of the period of Sivarya and prior to him.
About some aspects of the Yapanīya schism, eminent scholars like Jayaswal,!Pt.Premi, 13 Dr.P.B.Desai,l4 and Dr.A.N.Upadhye 15 have done some considerable work. And Vijahanā, as described in the Mūlarādhanā, stands as an important and queer feature of the early phase of the Yapanīya sect. Hence it would be in the sitness of things to see whether the Commentaries on and the Kathākośas associated with the Mūlaradhanā, throw any more light on this sect. Except a thorough elucidation of the huge number of the gahās of the Mulārādhanā the Vijayodayā Commentary of Aparajitasūri does not help us in respect of this historical aspect. And Asadhara's Darpana and Amitagati's metircal rendering are of little use to us in this regard. However, there are some Kathākosas associated with the Mulārādhanā, which, in one of their corresponding stories, viz., that of Bhadrabahu," provide us with some interesting bits of information about the background and origin of the Yāpaniya schism, together with some significant spellings of the term for Yapaniya.
Such available Kathākošas are five: (i) The Brhatkathākosa of Harisena in Sanskrit versc (931
A.D.)17
(ii) The Kahakosu of Sricandra in Apabhramsa verse (1100
A.D.)18
(iii) The Kathakośa of Prabhācandra in Sanskrit prose (1100 A.D.)19
Jain Education International
For Private & Personal Use Only
www.jainelibrary.org
