Book Title: Comparative and Critical Study of Mantrashastra
Author(s): Mohanlal Bhagwandas Jhaveri, K V Abhayankar
Publisher: Sarabhai Manilal Nawab
View full book text
________________
302
INTRODUCTION
quent to the said Indranandi. We know that the preceptor of the famous Vādirāja, who was a contemporary of Mallişeņasūri, was Matisāgara. Vādirāja and Mallişeņasūri appear to have been connected with each other, as Vadirāja in the second verse of the colophon of his Nyāyaviniscaya-Vivarana refers to Kanakasena who is most probably the grand-preceptor of Mallişeņa and Narendrasena the co-pupil of Jinasena the preceptor of Mallişeņa. Further Matisāgara was a Mathapati of Simhapura and belonged to Dravida Sangha (which is called Jainābhāsa by Devasenasūri in his Darsanasāra) whose members being lax in the observance of the strict rules of conduct for. Sādhus have been termed by Pt. Nāthurām Premi Digambara Caityavāsis, as their practices were very similar to the practices of Svetämbara Caityavāsis described in the foregoing pages hereof including practice of Mantra, Nimitta and Medicine. Matisāgara, the preceptor of the famous Vādirāja, is therefore very probably the author of the original collection of Mantric treatises comprised in Vidyānusāsana. As the work was principally a collection, it has induced later writers to add thereto or interpolate therein subsequent treatises and passages from various known and unknown writers which can be removed without affecting the unity of the work.
The question which is most material for our purpose, however, is why is the work ascribed to Mallişeņa and whether he had any and if so what part in the preparation of the text of Vidyānusāsana devoid of later interpolations.
We may infer from what we have already stated before that a sort of summary prepared by Matisāgara of ancient Māntric treatises did come to the hand of the person who prepared the present enlarged text (without the later interpolations) of Vidyānusāsana. Mallişeņa’s connection with it, on a cursory survey of the text is only that it includes a hymn of Jwālini which bears his name. Perhaps the inclusion in Vidyānusāsana of the treatises on Padmāvati, Sarasvati, Jwālini, Kamacāndālini and Balagrahacikitsa may further connect him in some
