The Jain 1988 07

Author(s): Natubhai Shah
Publisher: UK Jain Samaj Europe

Page 52

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At some stage, probably when he was accounts agree that he did forbid still in his twenties, Hemacandra went drinking, gambling and the slaughter of to the capital of Gujarat, Anahillapura. animals, though how effectively is open Gujarat at that time was an important to question. He also built numerous kingdom, and the king, Jayasimha Sid- Jain temples, though none can be dharaja, of the Caulukya dynasty, was indentified today. Kumarapala died an energetic and successful ruler. He very soon after Hemacandra and royal was not a Jain, but a worshipper of Siva, favour for the Jains declined thereafter. however he made his court a centre for Hemacandra lived to the age of 84, teachers of various sects. The sources dying in 1173 AD. are not agreed on the occasion for the
Hemacandra's scholarship was formidfirst meeting between Hemacandra
able and wide-ranging encompassing and Jayasimha, but the monk soon
grammer, lexicography, philosophy acquired a position of influence with
and history. Many of his students the king.
achieved distinction in their own right. King Jayasimha died in 1143 AD after a Many Indian scholars distinguished very long reign. He was succeeded by themselves in the study of Sanskrit his great-nephew, Kumarapala, after a grammer, certainly the most famous, lot of political in-fighting, for Jayasimha and one of the earliest being Panini. was childless. There are stories that Soon after his first association with when Kumarapala had to flee from King Jayasimha, and at the king's repersecution during his predecessor's quest, Hemacandra wrote the Siddhareign, he was helped by Hemacandra, Hema-Sabdanusasana, not by any who foretold Kumarapala's future means an original work but in its clarity greatness. Whatever the truth of these and arrangement well-deserving its accounts, Hemacandra acquired con- reputation as probably the best gramsiderable influence over the new king, mer written in the medieval period. so considerable, indeed that Jayasimha The eighth chapter deals with Prakrit was 'converted' to the Jain religion and Apabhramsa, the rest is concerned There are various accounts in the with Sanskrit. Hemecandra himself sources of the king's conversion, none wrote both in Sanskrit and Prakrit, as of them wholly convincing. It seems well as Apabhramsa. (The article on possible that the year VS 1216 (1159 Jain Literature in this issue of THE AD) was the year when Kumarapala JAIN gives some details of these lanembraced Jainism, and with Hemecan- guages.) Curiously enough, although dra as his mentor he tried to rule his the eighth chapter of Hemacandra's kingdom in accord with the principles grammer deals with five Prakrit lanof Jainism. However he did not totally guages, there is only a brief reference abandon the religion of Siva in which to Ardhamagadhi, the language of the he had been brought up, but the Svetambara canonical works. Hema
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