13. A Commentary on the Vagbhatalamkara

13. A Commentary on the Vagbhatalamkara by Jnanapramodagani Composed in Jehangir's Reign in A. D. 1625 (Samvat 1681) I No mention is made of a commentary on the Vagbhata-alamkara of Vagbhata I by a Jain Commentator Jnanapramodagani either by Dr. S. K. De in his Sanskrit Poetics or by Aufrecht in his Catalogus Catalogorum. Only the Jain Granthavali (1909) refers to a manuscript of this work in the Patan Bhandar (on p. 312) but the date of composition recorded therein and indicated by the remark" 29" is wrong. Perhaps "99" is a misprint for 1681 but this misprint is repeated in the Index of Dates given at the end of the Jain Granthavali and is left uncorrected in the suddhipatra annexed to the volume. The Govt. MSS Library at the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, Poona, possesses only one manuscript of this Vagbhatalamkaravrtti. It is No.798 of 1899-1915 and is included in the list of MSS printed by this Institute in 1925. Though the folios of the manuscript are serially numbered, the manuscript is incomplete, as on folio 1 the commentary on stanza 22 of the 2 nd Pariccheda begins. The colophon of the 2 nd Pariccheda as recorded on folio 3 of the MS reads as follows:- " iti brhatkharataragacche bhattarakaprabhusrijinarajasurivijayirajye srisagaracamdra- suri samtanepattanukrama samjataratna dhara ganipravaravineya vacanacaryajnanapramodaganadhinirmi- tayam vagbhatalamkaravrttau dvitiyah parichedah " The MS consists of 78 folios and is uniformly written in a legible manner, characteristic of the Jain scribes. The colophon of the MS reads as follows on folios 77-78:- " iti brhatkharataragache bhattarakaprabhusrijinarajasurivijayirajye srisagara- camdrasuri samtane pattanukrama samjata srimadvacanacarya ratnadha (dhi ) ra ganipravaravineyavacana- caryajnanapramoda ganivinimmitayam vagbhatalamkaravrtau pamcamah parichedah || 5 || sri Proceedings of Indian History Congress, Poona, 1936, pp. 78-86- 76

vyakhyatamasmin yadasammatam ta- dugramthe visodhyam vibudhairmahadbhih | mayi prasadya parasya dosa- gunamalajnanavidhaupadistah || 1 || vidhaya tikam yadimam supunyam samujjhitam drahmayaka hiteca | siddhim labhatamacirena samyag bhavya vidhutakhilakarmasamgah || 2 || camdrakulavipulaviyadidumukhaudyotanabhidhah surih asittatpattadhipaganabhaddavarddhamanaguruh || 3 || tatpadapadmahamanirabhujjhinesvara sunama surivarah | kharatara ganasya sumahimakari jinacamdrasurisva || 4 || sri abhayadevasurinavamgavrtyutkarasya nirmata sri jinavallabhasuri | yugadvaro jainadattaguruh || 5 || pattanukramabhuta jinadudayarajabhadrasurisah | sri jinapurvvascamdrah samudrahamsau jinalaksmyai || 6 || sri jina manikyagururyugapradhana jinacamdra muninathah | yugavarajinasimhahnah kharataragaccha sriyevasit || 7 || tatpattodaya bhudhararunavaro bhavyambujodbodhakah | prodyadri jinaraja surigunabhrttarako dhipatih || alpiyah padinam prasannanayanastuccaih padaropako bohitthanvayasekharo vijayatam sphurjaspratapavalih || 8 || surisri jinasagara parivrta jinarajayinisurajye | prathamodita jina rajagurughrtabhuvanaratnasuripada || 9 || tadiya yatkairavaparvarneduh sadhuprabhuh sagaracamdrasurih | samvigrasisyavalilasuresa tannamadheya bhavaduccasakha || 10 || tarapattapurvamcala camdadhama | babhau ca dharmadimaratna surih saddharmaratnakara ityudagro | buddhaya gururvajayativalabdhva || 11 || 77 17

sadiya sisyah samayarthaparagah | punyasriyam vallabha ityatobhavat | srimanupadhyayapa punyavallabho | yatharthanama vrsaratnasevadhi || 12 || tato babhau vacakamauliratnam | dhiman dayadharmamganirdayaluh | tadanvabhuchi sivadharmanama | sadvacanacaryagunodbhuto va || 13 || iste tadiyau hi vineya mulyau sriharsahamsabhidharatna dhirau | vadibhavrmdoddhatatarasimho | sphuradgarayo gunaratnagehau || 14 || jitah samudragurubhirmadiyai- jnanam dadadbhi svidasairalabhyam | yahiyamanam satatam munibhyah | pravarddhate vai karoti muktim || 15 || tiraskrta svapramanidrumadya- nubhavavarah prakataprabhavah || prakasitacchatra subuddhivitta jiyasuridva gurutustapadah || 16 || srimadvacakadhurthyanalpadhiyam ratnadhirasugurunam | tika maya prasadadvihita gramthanusarena || 17 || samvadvikramanu (nrpa to vidhuvasurasasaribhiramkite varse | jnanapramodavacakaganibhiriyam viracita vrttih || 18 || prajyasrini samrajye silamesaheh prasastabhupasyah | sri gajasimhamahipe | laveranamani subhasthane || 19 || sri patasahipumgava | silesa (ma)sahau pravarttamanetra | rajye navakottapateh || sri gajasimhasya bhupasya || 20 || camdraka gagane yavadyavatprthivi sabhudhara | vagbhatalamkrte vrtti | jiyajnanapramodika || 21 || vrddho madiyasisyo ganiganagunanamdanah | sa namdijayah gunanamdanaganira likhatprathamadarsa prayatnena || 22 ||

79° The chronogram "fa" in verse 18 of the above colophon gives us Samvat 1681 (= A.D. 1625) as the date of composition of this commentary by Jnanapramodagani as stated in the verse. The expression ":" presumably refers to the reign of Emperor Jehangir, whose Christian name, as we are given to understand, was Muhammad Sultan Salim.' Then again the epithet "patasahipumgava " as applied to "silemasaha " in verse 20 definitely states his imperial descent and this statement combined with the date of composition of the commentary viz. A. D.1625 leaves no doubt that the reference to "fa" in the two verses 19 and 20 is definitely applicable to Emperor Jehangir alone and not to Salem Shah, who was Emperor of Delhi between A. D. 1545 and 15532 and who is stated to have honoured Candrakirti, the Jain Commentator of the Sarasvataprakriya of Anubhutisvarupacarya. The above colophon also mentions on "" o ""'. I am inclined to identify this King with Maharaja Gaja Sing³ who was one of the distinguished officers employed by Jehangir to hunt down Shah Jahan in May 1623 A. D. during the latter's revolt against the former. We also know that this officer of Jehangir was signally defeated in one of his encounters with Shah Jahan's forces to such an extent that even his tent equipage was seized by the enemy. Dr. Sudhindranath Bhattacharyya describes this encounter in his learned article on "The Rebellion of Shaha Jahan etc." as follows:- "The need for wiping off the stain of this defeat was keenly felt and the rebel prince now made a fresh effort to dislodge the Imperialists from their entrenchments. The fleet and the artillery renewed their activities and the Rajput forces under Raja Gaj Singh of Jodhapur were now vigorously attacked and reduced to great straits. Raids upon the Imperialist Camp followed, in one of which even the tent equipage of the Rajput Chief Gaj Singh was seized and many of his followers slain. The turn of Sultan Pervez 1. Veniprasad : History of Jehangir (Allahabad), 1922, p. 8. 2. Bhandarkar (R. G.): Report 1882-83, p. 43 - See extract on p. 227- "srimatsahisalema bhumipatina sammanitah sadaram | surih sarvvakalidi kakalitadhih sri camdrakirtih prabhuh || 3 || " 3. Veniprasad: History of Jehangir p. 362. 4. Indian Historical Quarterly, Dec. 1934, p. 705.

soon came. His camp was also successfully attacked and some of his personal effects including the bed-stead were carried away"- (Beharistan 313 a-313 b.) As regards the identification of "" mentioned in verse 19 of the colophon, I am inclined to identify it with "Lahore" which was occasionally the seat of Jehangir's court and where Jehangir arrived from Kashmir on October 12, 1625 and stayed for a few months before he set out for Kabul in March 1626.1 The name "a" of the present MS colophon is phonetically nearer to "Lahore" than other names for it recorded by Mr. N. L. Day viz. lavapura, lavavara, lohavara . 2 Our commentator informs us in the last verse of the colophon that the present MS is the fi.e. the first original MS of the commentary, written by a scribe who is none other than one of his pupils named . It appears to me, however, to be rather a copy of this prathamadarsa than the prathamadarsa itself for the reason that in spite of the missing portion of the commentary for the 1 st Pariccheda and 21 verses of the 2 nd Pariccheda, the copyist has numbered the folios serially from 1 to 78 and secondly our MS contains scribal errors though it is neatly written, which would not have been the case, had it been a cc prepared under the direct supervision of the author. Our copy appears, however, to be very old being characterized by the use of prsthamatra s. , which . The Our commentator Jnanapramoda belonged to is the 11 th branch line from the main line of commentary was composed in Samvat 1681 (= A. D. 1625) when jinarajasuri was the head-monk of the brhatkharataragaccha (jinarajasuri f). He died in Samvat 1699 (=A. D. 1643) at Patan i.e. 18 years later. A year later i.e. in A. D. 1644 the divided into several branches. The "aaa" referred to "sagaracamdrasuri samtana " in the colophon is the line founded by sagaracamdracarya . His predeces- 1. History of Jehangir, p. 401. 2 2. Geographical Dictionary (Cal. Ori. Series, 1927), p. 244. 3. Jinavijaya Kharatara Gaccha Pattavali Samgraha, Calcutta, 1932, p. 36. 4. Ibid. Compare - "sribrhatkharataragacchanayakah srijinarajasurayah sam 1699 asadha su . 9 paktane svargabhajah tadaiva sam . 1700 mite u0 kharatarasakhabhinna etc. " 5. Ibid, p. 32.

jinarajasare 81 sor was one who became in Samvat 1432 (= A. D. 1376) at Patan and died in Samvat 1461 ( = A. D. 1405). The "ag" to which our commentator belongs has not been mentioned in the Kharatara Gaccha Pattavalis. There is, however, one mentioned as one of the five pre-eminent pupils of jinacamdrasuri This jinacamdra was born in Samvat 1595 (= A.D. 1539) and died in Samvat 1670 (A. D. 1614). The mentioned in verse 3 of the colophon is one of the four kuru s or families called after nagendra, candra, nivrti and vidyadhara who are said to have renounced the world with their families at the advice of srivajrasenacarya Other suri s of kharataragaccha mentioned in verses 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 of the colophon are: udyotanasuri ' - He comes after nemicandra in the Pattavali of kharataragaccha He is said to have founded 84 s. varddhamanasuri 4 He is said to have died after installing jinesvara in the line in Samvat 1083 ( = A. D. 1032). He gave the title kharatara to his pupil jinesvara . jinesvarasuri 5 He obtained the title kharatara in Samvat 1088 (= A. D. 1032 ) from his guru varddhamana . jinacamdrasuri - There are several suri s of this name referred to in the Kharataragaccha Pattavali but the meant here is the same as No. 41 of the Patttavali, who was preceded jinesvarasuri and succeeded by abhayadevasuri . by The Pattavali (p. 44) records an anecdote of this Suri according to which of Delhi, while on death-bed, mistook 1. Ibid. p. 35. 2. Ibid, pp. 8. 9, 18. 3. Ibid, pp. 3, 10, 20, 43. 4. Ibid, pp, 3, 10, 20, 43, 44. 5. Ibid, pp. 12, 21, 43, p. 44-The story of how the title was obtained by jinesvarasuri from his guru varddhamana is given in Pattavali No. 3 - "ete asatyavadinah taskarah | yuyam kharatarah iti satyavadinah | gurubhih uktamete komalah iti | tatah sri gurutih kharatara birudam praptam " - The gaccha was called kharatara 3 after this incident narrated in the Pattavali. 6. Ibid, p. 23. 8.1.L.H.6

an attendant called khavasa mojadina for prince mojaddina and granted the royal arms to him. khavasa mojadina was the son of a pimjaraka, prophesied by jinacamdrasuri to become patisaha . When the above mistake was pointed out to the Emperor he remarked::-" maya yaddattam taddattameva | Agar." Thereafter the Emperor's true son was destroyed and a having obtained kingdom ruled patisahi . as mojadina - He is mentioned as 42 nd Suri in the Pattavali. No dates of this Suri are recorded in the Pattavali. He is the author of navamgavrtti . He is mentioned as the 43 rd Suri in the Kharataragaccha Pattavali. He wrote many works and became Suri in Samvat 1167 (= A. D. 1111) and died six months later in Samvat 1168 at Citrakuta. About this time the first branch line of the Kharataragaccha came into existence and was called "madhukara kharatara . " - jainadatta ' - He is identical with jinadatta mentioned in the Pattavalis. The name is applied to this Suri in the as (p. 4). He was born in Samvat 1132 (=A. D. 1076) and died in Samvat 1211 (= A. D. 1155) at Ajmere. Many anecdotes are recorded about his miraculous powers and achievements in the Pattavalis. The Suris mentioned in the 1 st line of verse 6 of the colophon under the expression "jinadudayarajabhadrasurisah " are the following:- 1 fiq He is 54 th Suri in the Pattavali. He was born in Samvat 1375 (=A. D. 1319) and died at Patan in Samvat 1422 (A. D. 1366). -He is No. 55 of the Pattavali. He became Suri 1. Ibid, pp. 3, 10, 23, 24, 34, 45, 46. p. 3 "vrttiscakre navamgya lalitapadayuta devatadesato yai- rnavyastotrena yesam prakatatanurabhud bhumito divyarupi | " 2. Ibid, pp. 3, 4, 10, 24, 46. 3. Ibid, pp. 4, 10, 11, 24-27, 29, 46-51, 53. 4. Ibid, pp. 31, 32. 5. Ibid, p. 32.

in Samvat 1432 (i.e. in A. D. 1376) at Patan and died at Devalvad in Samvat 1461 (= A. D.1405). He is No. 56 of the Pattavali. He became Suri in Samvat 1475 ( = A. D. 1419) and died in Samvat 1514 (A. D. 1458 ). The Suris mentioned in the 2 nd line of verse 6 of the colophon are:He is No. 57 in the Pattavali. Jesalmeru. He was born in Samvat 1487 and died in Samvat 1530 (= A. D. 1474 ). He resided at (=A. D. 1431) fas-He is No. 58 in the Pattavali. He was born in Samvat 1510 (=A. D. 1450) and died at Ahmedabad in Samvat 1555 (= A. D. 1499). faaga-He is No. 59 in the Pattavali. He was born in Samvat 1524 (=A. D. 1468) and died at Patan in Samvat 1582 (= A. D. 1526). The Suris of the Kharataragaccha mentioned in verse 7 of the colophon are:- -He is No. 60 born in Samvat 1549 of the Jain Pattavali and was (=A. D. 1493) and died in Samvat 1612 (= A. D. 1556). f-He is No. 61 of the Jain Pattavali and was born in Samvat 1595 ( = A. D. 1539). He became Suri in Samvat 1612 (= A. D.1556) and died in Samvat 1670 (A.D. 1614). was -He is No. 62 of the Jain Pattavali. He born in Samvat 1615 (=A.D. 1559), became Suri in Samvat 1670 (=A. D. 1614) and died in Samvat 1674 (= A. D. 1618). 1. Ibid. 2. Ibid, p. 33. 3. Ibid. 4. Ibid. 5. Ibid, p. 33. 6. Ibid, p. 34. 7. Ibid, p. 35.

This Suri mentioned in verse 8 of the colophon is No. 63 of the Jain Pattavali. As we have remarked above he was at the head of the at the time when the commentary by Jnana pramodagani was composed in Samvat 1681 (= A. D. 1625). He died in Samvat 1699 (=A. D. 1643). His parents belonged to the atma. bohitthara gotra . One of the pupils named fan who belonged to the same gotra viz. bohitthara was made Suri by him and named jinasagarasuri, who is identical with jinasagara mentioned in verse 9 of the colophon. The branch of Kharataragaccha called the laghukharataragaccha began with jinasagarasuri in Samvat 1686 (A. D. 1630). The expression jinaraja gurughrtabhuvanaratna suripada of verse 9 of the colophon obviously refers to the fact, corroborated by the Pattavalis, that jinarajaluri installed bhuvanaratna ' as a Suri in his own line. In verse 10 of the colophon we are informed that an illustrious branch of the Kharataragaccha was named after a, while verse 11 states that dharmaratnasuri belonged to the branch line called after sagaracamdra . This dharmaratna is the same as was installed by jinacamdrasuri in his line as stated in the Pattavali. Verse 12 of the colophon mentions that was the pupil of this dharmaratna . After vallabha comes dayadharmagani and after him is mentioned (verse 13). Verse 14 of the colophon introduces us to who was the direct preceptor of our commentator as stated in verse 17. This preceptor belonged to the line of gora. Verses 15 and 16 of the colophon contain merely laudatory description of who, as we have seen above, was a the immediate preceptor of our author jnanapramodagani . In the foregoing lines we have tried to identify with the help of available documents all historical data of an important nature 1. Ibid, " 2. Ibid, p. 35- " sam0 1686 acaryajinasagarasuritah laghu- acaryamya kharatara - sakha bhinna | ayamastamo gacchabhedo jatah | " 3. Ibid, p. 32-the Pattavali refers to jinarajasuri as "bhuvanaratnacarya - sagaracamdracarya sthapakah " 4. Ibid. 5. Ibid, p. 33. 6. Ibid, pp. 12, 33-f founded the lines called after dharmaratna and gunaratna,

furnished by the only available MS of Jnanapramoda's commentary on the Vagbhatalamkara. It is not the object of the present paper to discuss the literary merits of the commentary in question and hence that question must be left to other scholars. Our purpose in the present study is mainly historical and more specifically chronological, as chronology is the very back-bone of all historical research. As the present commentary furnishes its own date of composition, internal evidence is of no use for purposes of its chronology. Some of the references it makes to previous authors and works may, however, be noted here as the commentary is represented only by two MSS so far as we know. These references are the following:- abhidhanacimtamani - folios 9, 44. prabhasapurana - fol. 12. damdi fol. 14. fol. 14, 33, 41. fol. 21. kavyaprakasa - vrtyam taravyakhyane - amarusatakatika fol. 29, 45. sarvakasavrtti (on maghakavya ) - fol. 41. Though the commentary does not bristle with references as in the case of Mallinatha's commentaries, it is quite learned in its tone and treatment.