Vijyanandsuri Swargarohan Shatabdi Granth

Author(s): Navinchandra Vijaymuni, Ramanlal C Shah, Shripal Jain
Publisher: Vijayanand Suri Sahitya Prakashan Foundation Pavagadh

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Dhvani and perpetuate its tradition, though bitterly threatened by a vast array of critics. Written in V.S. 1641 (sasisāgararasabhaitalasamvati vihitam ca Bhavasatakamidam), it is believed by common consensus to be his first work.
The Samacari sataka, on the other hand, is concerned with the Jaina ethics. It was intended to meet the offensive viciously launched to denigrate the jaina faith in general and the kharatara gaccha in particular. It forms part of the tradition represented by such notable writings as Padavyavasthā, kulaka of Jinacandra sūri, Vidhiprapā of Jinaprabhasuri and Acaradinakara of Vardha mana suri. While stoutly repudiating the blashphemous charges of Dharmasagara and others of his ilk, the author has discreetly refrained from hurling counter accusations. The Samacāri
ka seeks to resolve one hundred controversial issues pertaining to ethics and to establish, in the process, the compatibility of the Kharatara gaccha with the canon. Samayasundar has backed up his views, almost invariably, with canonical precepts, though he is not oblivious of his limitations.
The Samacāri Sataka is divided into five chapters (Prakasa) which are further sub-divided into uneven sections (Adhikaras) that add up to a century to justify the title of the work. Each adhikara is addressed to resolve a particular issue.
In the absence of the Prasasti to the work, it is difficult to ascertain the date of its composition. On the basis of a verse, not found in the printed text, is the samācarisataka is believed to have been concluded in V.S. 1672 at Medata (Jodhpur), though it was started at Siddhipuri in Sindh and a part there of was written at Multan in V.S. 1669.
Written in the same year, at the same venue, the Visesa Sataka seeks to resolve one hundred doctrinal or ritualistic problems posed by an inquisitive pupil. In consonance with his known style, the author has educidated each issue in a lucid language, on the basis of the authoritative texts. In a bid to facilitate a clearer understanding of the canonical excerpts, he has rendered in simple phraseology such of them as he deemed hard for the reader to grasp. The pieces culled from the sutras, attest to the author's unquestioned insight in those texts. Some of the questions discussed in the Sataka are interesting and deserve attention. It
Samayasundara And His Sanskrit Works
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