Jinabhadra or Vācanācārya Jinabhadragaṇī Kṣamāśramaṇa was Jain ascetic author of

Prakrit Prakrit ( ) is a group of vernacular classical Middle Indo-Aryan languages that were used in the Indian subcontinent from around the 5th century BCE to the 12th century CE. The term Prakrit is usually applied to the middle period of Middle Ind ...

and

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...

texts.

Life

Jinabhadra (520-623 AD) was a

Śvetāmbara The Śvetāmbara (; also spelled Shwetambara, Shvetambara, Svetambara or Swetambara) is one of the two main branches of Jainism, the other being the Digambara. ''Śvetāmbara'' in Sanskrit means "white-clad", and refers to its ascetics' practi ...

Jain monk during sixth-seventh century CE. Not much is known about his life but it seems that he traveled in western parts of India. He belonged to ''Nirvṛttikula'' branch of

Jainism Jainism ( ), also known as Jain Dharma, is an Indian religions, Indian religion whose three main pillars are nonviolence (), asceticism (), and a rejection of all simplistic and one-sided views of truth and reality (). Jainism traces its s ...

and was head of several monks. He was at

Vallabhi Vallabhi (or Valabhi or Valabhipur) is an ancient city located in the Saurashtra peninsula of Gujarat, near Bhavnagar in western India. It is also known as Vallabhipura and was the capital of the Kingdom of Valabhi, an early medieval state rule ...

during the reign of

Maitraka The Maitraka dynasty ruled the Kingdom of Valabhi in western India from approximately 475 to 776 from their capital at Vallabhi. With the sole exception of Dharapaṭṭa (the fifth king in the dynasty), who is associated with sun-worship, the ...

king Shiladitya I in 609 CE (

Saka The Saka, Old Chinese, old , Pinyin, mod. , ), Shaka (Sanskrit (Brāhmī): , , ; Sanskrit (Devanāgarī): , ), or Sacae (Ancient Greek: ; Latin: were a group of nomadic Iranian peoples, Eastern Iranian peoples who lived in the Eurasian ...

Samvat 531). He had knowledge of Jain canonical texts as well as the other philosophical systems prevalent in India.

Works

He restored ''Mahāniśītha'', a canonical text, in

Mathura Mathura () is a city and the administrative headquarters of Mathura district in the states and union territories of India, Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is located south-east of Delhi; and about from the town of Vrindavan. In ancient ti ...

. He wrote several Prakrit texts; ''Bṛhatsaṅgrahiṇī'', ''Bṛhatkṣetrasamāsa'', ''Viśeṣaṇavatī'', ''Viśeṣāvaśyaka'', ''Dhyānaśataka'', ''Jītakalpa'' and its

Bhashya Bhashya () is a "commentary" or "exposition" of any primary or secondary text in ancient or medieval Indian literature. Common in Sanskrit literature, ''Bhashyas'' are also found in other Indian languages such as Tamil. Bhashyas are found in variou ...

. Sanskrit commentary on ''Visheshavashyaka'' remained unfinished. Jinabhadra elaborated the ''Debate with the

Ganadhara In Jainism, the term Ganadhara is used to refer the chief disciple of a ''Tirthankara''. In '' samavasarana'', the ''Tīrthankara'' sat on a throne without touching it (about two inches above it). Around, the ''Tīrthankara'' sits the ''Gana ...

s'', a work associated with the literature on ''Avaśyakasūtra'' which has achieved quasi autonomous status. According to this text, the learned Brahmin

Gautama Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha (),* * * was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist legends, he was ...

summoned the gods to a great sacrifice but instead they flew off to hear

Mahāvīra Mahavira (Devanagari: महावीर, ), also known as Vardhamana (Devanagari: वर्धमान, ), was the 24th ''Tirthankara'' (Supreme Preacher and Ford Maker) of Jainism. Although the dates and most historical details of his lif ...

preaching at his second

samavasarana In Jainism, Samavasarana or Samosharana ("Refuge to All") is the divine preaching hall of the Tirthankara, stated to have more than 20,000 stairs in it. The word ''samavasarana'' is derived from two words, ''sama'', meaning general and ''avasar ...

near by. In fury, Gautama confronted Mahavīra in debate, as did ten other brahmins in succession, with the fordmaker converting them all by a demonstration, underpinned by his claim to omniscience.

Notes

References

* *

Life

Works

Notes

References

Further reading