Study of Tattvarthasutra with Bhasya

Author(s): Suzuko Ohira
Publisher: L D Indology Ahmedabad

Page 55

Soc. 4. VERIFICATION OF PRAŠASTI
The prime contribution of the Sarvārthasiddhi is that it revised and improved the Bhasya by way of clearly elucidating its general contents in the current language and concept of the time. Time demanded a proper revision of the Bhāşya. And for the Jainas in the South who refused to acknowledge the authority of the canonical list made at the Third Valabhi Council, an inprovement of the Bhāşya was the call of time along with a revision of the original text. Pujya pāda performed this task commendably well. And since he wrote a new commentary on the T.S., the rest of the Bhāsya portions, i. e., s.kārikā aad prasisti, disappeared also. The revised vers: ion of the T. S. came to be circulated popularly along with the Sarvārthasiddhi in the South, thereby the latter prepared the ground for the arrival of the Rājayártika and Slokavārtika which would not have been derived immediately from the Bhāşya. The contribution made by Pūjyapāda should be evaluated highly in this historical context. Pūjyapāda's date is somehow fixed by the scholars in the beginning of the 6th century A. D." And considering all the circumstances, it may be proper to assume at least half a century of a temporal distance between Umāsvāti and Pūjyapāda. Sec. 4. VERIFICATION OF PRASASTI -AUTHORSHIP OF THE T. S.
The testification of the authorship of the Sabhāşya T. S. solely depends upon the verification of the prasasti document, which has not yet been performed success. fully by the modern scholarship. The verification of the prasasti record not only enables us to testify the common authorship of the prasasti itself, but also that of the s.kārikā of which positive data for it have been sufficiently well produced in the foregoing section. This problem has to be therefore tackled by all means. The colophon12 records his biography as follows:
1. Preceptor for initiation: Ghoşanandikşamaņa (ekāda sārgavid)
Grand-preceptor : Śivasri (vācakamukhya) Preceptor for education : Mūla (vācakācārya)
Grand-preceptor : Muņdapādaksamana (mahāvācaka) 2. Father : Svāti of Kaubhisana gotra
Mother: Vatsi (Siddhasena comments that bis mother's name was Umā ond her gotra Vatsa)
place of birth: Nyagrodhikā 3. Author: Umāsvāti
Position: Uccairnagara Vacaka Title of the work: Tattvārthādhigamaśāstra Place of its composition; Kusumapura