43-454: The Ṣaṭkhaṅḍāgama ( Prakrit : "Scripture in Six Parts") is the foremost and oldest Digambara Jain sacred text. According to Digambara tradition, the original teachings of lord Mahavira were passed on orally from Ganadhar , the chief disciple of Mahavira to his disciples and so on as they had the capability of listening and remembering it for always. But as the centuries passed there
86-748: A classical language on 3 October 2024 by the Government of India as the earliest Prakrit texts are older than literature of most of the languages. In 1955, government of Bihar established at Vaishali , the Research Institute of Prakrit Jainology and Ahimsa with the aim to promote research work in Prakrit. The National Institute of Prakrit Study and Research is located in Shravanabelagola , Karnataka, India. Parwar (Jain) Too Many Requests If you report this error to
129-450: A Sanskrit drama, the characters should speak Maharashtri Prakrit in verse and Shauraseni Prakrit in prose. But the 10th century Sanskrit dramatist Rajashekhara does not abide by this rule. Markandeya, as well as later scholars such as Sten Konow, find faults with the Prakrit portions of Rajashekhara's writings, but it is not clear if the rule enunciated by Vishvanatha existed during Rajashekhara's time. Rajashekhara himself imagines Prakrit as
172-536: A distinction between Jain and non-Jain Prakrit literature. Jacobi used the term "Jain Prakrit" (or "Jain Maharashtri", as he called it) to denote the language of relatively late and relatively more Sanskrit-influenced narrative literature, as opposed to the earlier Prakrit court poetry. Later scholars used the term "Jain Prakrit" for any variety of Prakrit used by Jain authors, including the one used in early texts such as Tarangavati and Vasudeva-Hindi . However,
215-484: A good command of the original language of the texts, as several of the extant Prakrit texts contain inaccuracies or are incomprehensible. Also, like Sanskrit and other ancient languages Prakrit was spoken and written long before grammars were written for it. The Vedas do not follow Panini's Sanskrit grammar which is now the basis for all Sanskrit grammar. Similarly, the Agamas, and texts like Shatkhandagama , do not follow
258-557: A large period of the first millennium, literary Prakrit was the preferred language for the fictional romance in India. Its use as a language of systematic knowledge was limited, because of Sanskrit's dominance in this area, but nevertheless, Prakrit texts exist on topics such as grammar, lexicography , metrics, alchemy, medicine, divination , and gemology . In addition, the Jains used Prakrit for religious literature, including commentaries on
301-520: A number of technical terms defining various concepts and mathematical notions. The first three parts deal with the karma philosophy from the view point of the soul which is the agent of the bondage and the last three section discusses the nature and extent of the karmas. The commentary on the first five parts is known as the Dhaval्ā . The commentary on the sixth part is known as the Mahādhavalā . Dhavalā
344-410: A single language or a single kind of language, alongside Sanskrit, Apabhramsha, and Paishachi . German Indologist Theodor Bloch (1894) dismissed the medieval Prakrit grammarians as unreliable, arguing that they were not qualified to describe the language of the texts composed centuries before them. Other scholars such as Sten Konow , Richard Pischel and Alfred Hillebrandt disagree with Bloch. It
387-545: A team of scholars including, Pt. Phulchandra Shastri, Pt. Kailashchandra Shastri, Sh. Sheryansh Kumar Jain Shastri, Pt. Hiralal Shastri and Pt. Balachandra Shastri started the project of revival and study of the Digambara āgama. These scholars had to face stiff opposition from the monks and the traditional srāvakas who were opposed to the very concept of printing religious scriptures as they felt that printing would undermine
430-718: A temple town in South-West Karnataka . The palm leaf manuscript, itself written during the Rashtrakura rule, is still preserved. Some of the leaves contain beautiful paintings of historical importance A copy was reputed to have been at the Malked (Manyakhet) Mutt, but that has not survived. At Mudabidri, these scriptures were treated with great reverence, but became mere objects of worship, and unavailable to outside scholars. Ordinary householders were not permitted to study these. Digambara āgamas like Satkhandāgama and
473-544: A wealthy land-owner from Vidisha ( Bundelkhand , Madhya Pradesh ) belonging to the Paravāra community, to donate Rs. 30,000 for the cause of editing and publishing the Satkhandāgama along with its Dhavalā commentary, expertly edited and accompanied by an excellent Hindi translation. This donation enabled Dr Hiralal Jain to work together with Dr. A.N. Upadhye, close friend and a scholar of Prakrit. Dr. Hiralal Jain brought together
SECTION 10
#1732779693708516-472: Is a group of vernacular classical Middle Indo-Aryan languages that were used in the Indian subcontinent from around the 3rd century BCE to the 8th century CE. The term Prakrit is usually applied to the middle period of Middle Indo-Aryan languages, excluding earlier inscriptions and Pali . The oldest stage of Middle Indo-Aryan language is attested in the inscriptions of Ashoka (ca. 260 BCE), as well as in
559-582: Is divided into 16 sections which is as follows: Mahādhavalā the commentary on sixth section called Mahabandha has seven books. The other Digambara āgama , the Kasāyapāhuda , also has a voluminous commentary. It is called the Jaya Dhavalā . All three commentaries were composed by Ācārya Virasena and Ācārya Jinasena (8th century CE). The text and its commentaries preserved on the palm leaf manuscripts run into some 120,000 verses. One interesting fact about
602-496: Is possible that the grammarians sought to codify only the language of the earliest classics of the Prakrit literature, such as the Gaha Sattasai . Another explanation is that the extant Prakrit manuscripts contain scribal errors. Most of the surviving Prakrit manuscripts were produced in a variety of regional scripts during 1300–1800 CE. It appears that the scribes who made these copies from the earlier manuscripts did not have
645-690: Is published by Jaina Sangha, Mathura and distributed by Hindi Granth Karyalay, Mumbai . Popular English Translations are :- Satkhandagama : Dhavala (Jivasthana) Satparupana-I (Enunciation of Existence-I) An English Translation of Part 1 of the Dhavala Commentary on the Satkhandagama of Acarya Puṣpadanta & Bhūtabali Dhavala commentary by Acarya Virasena English tr. by Prof. Nandlal Jain, Ed. by Prof. Ashok Jain, ISBN 8186957472 , ISBN 9788186957479 Prakrit Prakrit ( / ˈ p r ɑː k r ɪ t / )
688-526: Is the predominant language of the ancient Indian literature. Several modern scholars, such as George Abraham Grierson and Richard Pischel , have asserted that the literary Prakrit does not represent the actual languages spoken by the common people of ancient India. This theory is corroborated by a market scene in Uddyotana's Kuvalaya-mala (779 CE), in which the narrator speaks a few words in 18 different languages: some of these languages sound similar to
731-522: The Kasāyapāhuda were in a state of neglect and were not studied or made available to the community. With the support of Manikchand of Sholapur during 1896 to 1920, the Moodbidrai manuscript were transcribed in modern Nagari and Kannad scripts, without the knowledge of the Moodbidri temple trustees. In the 20th century, Dr. Hiralal Jain was one of the first few lay scholars who decided to retrieve
774-462: The Satkhandāgama is that it is believed that the 5 pada Namokāra Mantra is believed to have been composed by Ācārya Puṣpadanta as the mangalacarana (opening verse, often an invocation to god for the successful completion of the text) to the Satkhandāgama . Before this work, only the 2 pada Namokāra Mantra has been found in inscriptions. Hence, there is reason to believe that Ācārya Puṣpadanta
817-527: The Śrūta Pañcami , a day when all the Jain scriptures are venerated. The Ṣaṭkhaṅḍāgama , the first āgama , is also called the "Prathama Śrūta-Skandha", while the Pancha Paramāgama by Kundakunda are referred to as the second āgama or Dvitiya Śrūta-Skandha. It is said to have been based on oral teaching of the Digambara monk , acharya Dharasena (1st Century CE). According to the tradition, alarmed at
860-509: The Jain canonical literature, stories about Jain figures, moral stories, hymns and expositions of Jain doctrine. Prakrit is also the language of some Shaiva tantras and Vaishnava hymns. Besides being the primary language of several texts, Prakrit also features as the language of low-class men and most women in the Sanskrit stage plays . American scholar Andrew Ollett traces the origin of
903-667: The Jayadhavala commentary by adding another 20,000 shlokas. Both of the commentaries use both Sanskrit and Prakit. Jayadhavala was finished during the rule of the Rashtrakuta ruler Amoghavarsha in 838 AD (or Jagatunga according to some scholars) The palm leaf writings of this long work, were preserved in the Digambara holy place of Shravanabelagola at the Siddhanta Basadi. Later they were shifted to Mudabidri ,
SECTION 20
#1732779693708946-467: The Sanskrit Kavya to Prakrit poems. Some of the texts that identify their language as Prakrit include: The languages that have been labeled "Prakrit" in modern times include the following: Not all of these languages were actually called "Prakrit" in the ancient period. Dramatic Prakrits were those that were used in dramas and other literature. Whenever dialogue was written in a Prakrit,
989-671: The common people – as well as the converse influence of Sanskrit on the Prakrits, gave Prakrits progressively higher cultural prestige. Mirza Khan's Tuhfat al-hind (1676) characterizes Prakrit as the language of "the lowest of the low", stating that the language was known as Patal-bani ("Language of the underground") or Nag-bani ("Language of the snakes"). Among modern scholars, Prakrit literature has received less attention than Sanskrit. Few modern Prakrit texts have survived in modern times, and even fewer have been published or attracted critical scholarship. Prakrit has been designated as
1032-643: The earliest forms of Pāli, the language of the Theravāda Buddhist canon. The most prominent form of Prakrit is Ardhamāgadhı̄, associated with the ancient kingdom of Magadha, in modern Bihar, and the subsequent Mauryan Empire. Mahāvı̄ra, the last tirthankar of 24 tirthankar of Jainism, was born in Magadha, and the earliest Jain texts were composed in Ardhamāgadhı̄. Almost all the native prākrit grammarians identify prākṛta to be named so because they originate in
1075-604: The family of Shrimant Seth Sitabray Gulabray. But is now published by the Jaina Sanskriti Sanrakshak Sangh in Solapur and distributed by Hindi Granth Karyalay , Mumbai. The Mahādhavalā commentary and Hindi translation, running into 7 Volumes, is published from New Delhi by Bharatiya Jñanapitha . The Kasāyapāhuda along with the JayaDhavalā commentary and Hindi translation, running into 16 Volumes,
1118-402: The few languages suitable for composition of literature. Mirza Khan's Tuhfat al-hind (1676) names Prakrit among the three kinds of literary languages native to India, the other two being Sanskrit and the vernacular languages. It describes Prakrit as a mixture of Sanskrit and vernacular languages, and adds that Prakrit was "mostly employed in the praise of kings, ministers, and chiefs". During
1161-527: The first 177 Sutras and his colleague Bhūtabali wrote the rest, the total being 6000 Sutras. Achrya Virasena received the ancient Shatkhandagama and Kashyaprabhrita texts through the lineage tradition. At Vatagram, he wrote a 72,000 shloka commentary on Shatkhandagama (known as Dhavala and the last section called Mahadhavala) and 20,000 shloka commentary the Kashyaprabhrita (known as Jayadhavala). After he died his disciple Acharya Jinasena completed
1204-416: The full grammar of Ardhamagadhi first, and then define the other grammars with relation to it. For this reason, courses teaching 'Prakrit' are often regarded as teaching Ardhamagadhi. Medieval grammarians such as Markandeya (late 16th century) describe a highly systematized Prakrit grammar, but the surviving Prakrit texts do not adhere to this grammar. For example, according to Vishvanatha (14th century), in
1247-610: The gradual dwindling of scriptural knowledge, he summoned two monks, Puṣpadanta and Bhūtabali to a cave, known as Candra Guphā , or the Moon Cave, his retreat in mount Girnar , Gujarat , and communicated what he remembered out of originally vast extent of sacred Jain writings. He taught them portions of the fifth Aṅga Viāhapannaṭṭi (Vyākhyā Prajñāpti) and of the twelfth Aṅga Diṭṭhivāda (Dṛṣṭivāda). These were subsequently reduced to writing in Sutra form by his pupils. Puṣpadanta composed
1290-578: The independent development of these languages, often separated from the history of Sanskrit by wide divisions of caste , religion , and geography . The broadest definition uses the term "Prakrit" to describe any Middle Indo-Aryan language that deviates from Sanskrit in any manner. American scholar Andrew Ollett points out that this unsatisfactory definition makes "Prakrit" a cover term for languages that were not actually called Prakrit in ancient India, such as: According to some scholars, such as German Indologists Richard Pischel and Oskar von Hinüber ,
1333-553: The languages spoken in modern India; but none of them resemble the language that Uddyotana identifies as "Prakrit" and uses for narration throughout the text. The local variants of Apabhramsha evolved into the modern day Indo-Aryan vernaculars of South Asia. Literary Prakrit was among the main languages of the classical Indian culture. Dandin 's Kavya-darsha ( c. 700 ) mentions four kinds of literary languages: Sanskrit, Prakrit, Apabhramsha , and mixed. Bhoja 's Sarasvati-Kanthabharana (11th century) lists Prakrit among
Satkhandagama - Misplaced Pages Continue
1376-469: The modern Prakrit grammar. Prakrita Prakasha, a book attributed to Vararuchi , summarizes various Prakrit languages. Prakrit literature was produced across a wide area of South Asia. Outside India, the language was also known in Cambodia and Java. Literary Prakrit is often wrongly assumed to have been a language (or languages) spoken by the common people, because it is different from Sanskrit, which
1419-477: The purity of the scripture. In a period of twenty years, the Satkhandāgama, along with its massive Dhavalā and Mahādhavalā commentaries was edited from the original palm leaf manuscripts and published after very careful proof reading in consultation with senior Jaina scholars like Pt. Nathuram Premi and Pt. Devakinandan Nayak. The Satkhandāgama , as the name suggests, is a scripture in six parts. The six parts are: Satkhandāgama postulates karma theory , using
1462-414: The reader would also be provided with a Sanskrit translation. The phrase "Dramatic Prakrits" often refers to three most prominent of them: Shauraseni Prakrit , Magadhi Prakrit , and Maharashtri Prakrit . However, there were a slew of other less commonly used Prakrits that also fall into this category. These include Prachya, Bahliki, Dakshinatya, Shakari, Chandali, Shabari, Abhiri, Dramili, and Odri. There
1505-428: The source language (prakṛti) which is Sanskrit . Thus the name prākṛta indicates that they depend on Sanskrit for their origin and are not themselves the prakṛti (or originary languages, originating independent of Sanskrit): The dictionary of Monier Monier-Williams (1819–1899), and other modern authors, however, interpret the word in the opposite sense: "the most frequent meanings of the term prakṛta , from which
1548-500: The term "Prakrit" refers to a smaller set of languages that were used exclusively in literature: According to Sanskrit and Prakrit scholar Shreyansh Kumar Jain Shastri and A. C. Woolner , the Ardhamagadhi (or simply Magadhi ) Prakrit, which was used extensively to write the scriptures of Jainism , is often considered to be the definitive form of Prakrit, while others are considered variants of it. Prakrit grammarians would give
1591-427: The word "prakrit" is derived, are "original, natural, normal" and the term is derived from prakṛti , "making or placing before or at first, the original or natural form or condition of anything, original or primary substance". Modern scholars have used the term "Prakrit" to refer to two concepts: Some modern scholars include all Middle Indo-Aryan languages under the rubric of 'Prakrits', while others emphasize
1634-542: The works written by Jain authors do not necessarily belong to an exclusively Jain history, and do not show any specific literary features resulting from their belief in Jainism. Therefore, the division of Prakrit literature into Jain and non-Jain categories is no longer considered tenable. Under the Mauryan Empire various Prakrits enjoyed the status of royal language. Prakrit was the language of Emperor Ashoka who
1677-469: The āgamas, and bring to light with systematic editing and proof reading. With the help of his scholar friends like Pandit Nathuram Premi and Jamunaprasada Sub-Judge, he raised the funds to publish the āgamas, and set out to extricate the āgamas from Mudabidri, where the original handwritten Prakrit manuscripts had lain for centuries, unstudied. Dr Hiralal Jain, Pt Nathuram Premi and Jamunaprasada sub-judge together managed to convince Seth Sitabray Gulabray,
1720-507: Was a strict structure to the use of these different Prakrits in dramas. Characters each spoke a different Prakrit based on their role and background; for example, Dramili was the language of "forest-dwellers", Sauraseni was spoken by "the heroine and her female friends", and Avanti was spoken by "cheats and rogues". Maharashtri and Shaurseni Prakrit were more common and were used in literature extensively. Some 19th–20th century European scholars, such as Hermann Jacobi and Ernst Leumann , made
1763-460: Was downfall in these capabilities and so Ācārya Puṣpadanta and Bhūtabali penned down the teachings of Mahavira in Ṣaṭkhaṅḍāgama . Therefore the Ṣaṭkhaṅḍāgama is the most revered Digambara text that has been given the status of āgama . The importance of the Ṣaṭkhaṅḍāgama to the Digambaras can be judged by the fact that, the day its Dhavalā commentary was completed, it is commemorated on
Satkhandagama - Misplaced Pages Continue
1806-463: Was patron of Buddhism. Prakrit languages are said to have held a lower social status than Sanskrit in classical India. In the Sanskrit stage plays , such as Kalidasa 's Shakuntala , lead characters typically speak Sanskrit, while the unimportant characters and most female characters typically speak Prakrit. While Prakrits were originally seen as 'lower' forms of language, the influence they had on Sanskrit – allowing it to be more easily used by
1849-587: Was the first person to compose the 5 pada Namokāra Mantra . The Satkhandāgama is a highly complex work, adumbrating the Jaina karma siddhānta . Although it is a Digambara work, it is seen as an authoritative work on the Jaina karma theory by all Jains. The first five parts of the Satkhandāgama along with the Dhavalā commentary and Hindi translation, running into 16 Volumes, was first published from Vidisha itself, by
#707292