________________
The Followers of the Ever Growing One
Yasodharacaritra copied by Pandita Garibadāsa, an inhabitant of Alvara, for Hira Bãi and Candă Băi.212
d) The Karanjāśākhā, the Nanditaṭagaccha and the Senagana
Kāranjā, a small town of Mahārāṣṭra was the headquarters of a śākhā belonging, like the preceding, to the Balātkāragaṇa. In the archives of the Bhaṭṭārakas of this śākhā, one finds some names of aryikās of the XVIth XVIIIth centuries.
209
-At Erandavela, the fifth day of the dark fortnight of kärttika (October-November) of samvat 1641 (1565), Muni Śri Devendrakirti copied an Ambikārāsa for Harṣamati Băi.213
-The fifth day of the bright fortnight of bhadra (August-September) of samvat 1787 (1731), when Bhaṭṭāraka Devendrakirti was at Sūrata, he had a copy made for Āryikā Pāsamati of a Kathākośa composed by Bhaṭṭāraka Śri Candra.214
212 Ibid., No 309; pp. 127; 132. Hira Bãi and Candā Bãi are very probably āryikā, Gunasundari, the text implies, is a very zealous kṣullikā, for the adjective tapasguṇarājimati seems to refer to her: the one whose penitence and nobility of disposition resembled those of Rajimati. Yasodharacaritra: a narrative stressing the importance of ahimsa, of which King Yasodhara is the hero (explanations furnished by Prof. Joharapurkar).
213 Ibid., No 109; pp. 51; 71. Harṣamati Băi, same comment as in preceding note. Rāsa, a word frequently employed in Gujarāta, denotes a story written for performance in song, this particular one being composed in honour of the yakṣi Ambikā.
214 Ibid. No 159; pp. 61; 74. This Bhattaraka travelled widely. Āryikā Pasamati, belonging to this same śākhā, was probably a native of Mahārāṣṭra, even if the text destined for her use had been copied out in Gujarāta. Kathakośa: a collection of religious stories. "These are stories to illustrate the verses of Aradhana of Śivarya. The Kathakośa of Śri Candra is in Apabhramsa, published in Prakrit Text Series edited by the late Dr. H.L. Jain; the title is Kahakosu." (n. of Prof. Joharapurkar).
Jain Education International
For Private & Personal Use Only
www.jainelibrary.org
