''Pravacanasāra'' is a text composed by
Jain monk
Jain monasticism refers to the order of monks and nuns in the Jain community and can be divided into two major denominations: the ''Digambara'' and the '' Śvētāmbara''. The monastic practices of the two major sects vary greatly, but the ...
Kundakunda in the second century CE or later. The title means "Essence of the Doctrine" or "Essence of the Scripture", and it largely deals with the correct ascetic and spiritual behavior based on his
dualism
Dualism most commonly refers to:
* Mind–body dualism, a philosophical view which holds that mental phenomena are, at least in certain respects, not physical phenomena, or that the mind and the body are distinct and separable from one another
* P ...
premise. Kundakunda provides a rationale for nudity among
Digambara monks
A Digambara monk or Digambara Sādhu (also ''muni'', ''sādhu'') is a Sādhu in the Digambar tradition of Jainism, and as such an occupant of the highest limb of the four-fold ''sangha''. Digambar Sādhus have 28 primary attributes which inc ...
in this text, stating that the duality of self and of others means "neither I belong to others, nor others belong to me, therefore nothing is mine and the ideal way for a monk to live is the way he was born". The text is written in Prakrit language, and it consists of three chapters and 275 verses.
A modern English translation was published by Vijay K. Jain in 2020.
Content
First chapter consists of 92 verses and it describes attributes of supreme individual consciousnesses and outlines first steps of achieving that status. Second chapter consists of 108 verses and it describes laws of interaction between space, time particles, elementary matter particles, compound matter particles, motion and individual consciousnesses in the Cosmos. Third chapter consists of 75 verses and it is aimed at delineating the bases of correct mendicant praxis.
Commentaries
Acharya
Amritchandra
Amritchandra (f. 10th-century CE) was a Digambara Jain Acharya who wrote commentaries on Samayasāra called ''Atmakhyati'' and ''Samaysar Kalasha'', Pravachanasara and Pancastikayasara. He also wrote independent books of Puruşārthasiddhyu ...
has written a commentary on Kundkund Acharya's Pravachansara titled ''Tattvadipika'' (i.e. ''the Lamp of Truth''). Acharya Jayasena has also written a commentary on Pravachanasara titled ''Tatparyavritti'' (i.e. ''the Purport''). Another commentary was written by
Hemraj Pande
Hemraj Pande (Hemarāja/Hemrāj Pande) (17th century CE) was an Indian author belonging to the Digambara Jain Agrawal merchant caste & Garg Gotra. He was from Agra. He had a daughter named Jainulade(Jaini) who came to be mother of another poet ...
in 1652 based on the commentary on ''
Samayasara'' by Rajmall.
See also
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List of Jain texts
Jain literature () refers to the literature of the Jain religion. It is a vast and ancient literary tradition, which was initially transmitted orally. The oldest surviving material is contained in the canonical ''Jain Agamas'', which are wri ...
References
Citations
Sources
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* Kundakunda. ''Pravacanasāra with Amṛtacandra’s commentary'', ed. A. N. Upadhye, Bombay, 1935.
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*Kundakunda. ''Pravacanasāra'' with Amṛtacandra’s commentary, ed. A. N. Upadhye, Bombay, 1935.
Jain texts
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