An Account of the Different Existing Systems of Sanskrit Grammar c8.1

c8.1

47. The Jainendra School.—The traditional author of the aphorisms of grammar which go under this name is Jina or Mahāvīra, the last of the Tīrthaṅkaras. The tradition of the Digambara¹ Jains as embodied in several of their works such as Samayasundarasūri's commentary on the Kalpasūtras or Lakshmivallabha's Upadeśamālākarṇikā is, that Indra asked certain questions to Jina when of eight years, and had the science of grammar revealed to him by way of answers; the grammar in consequence came to be known by their joint name.³ A Ms. (no. 1223) belonging to Professor Kathavate's collection for 1891-1895 launches, in its marginal notes, into a detailed verification of this tradition, trying to answer all the objections raised aganist it.