A History of the Canonical Literature of the Jainas c8.249

c8.249

It appears that a work gets obliterated when its study ceases. If so, it means we should note how the 5 sections were being studied.⁴ It is well-nigh certain that the study of the 1st two sections preceded that of the rest.⁵ As regards *Parikamma*, it seems that at least some persons carried on its study side by side with and that, too, ahead of the corresponding *Puvva*—an inference I draw from Āryarakṣita Sūri's episode.⁶ On this basis it can be suggested that the study of the *Parikamma* pertaining to each *Puvva* ended with the extinction of that *Puvva*; for, it was no use preparing the *Parikamma* of that *Puvva* which had ceased to exist. If this suggestion is correct, it follows that the *Parikamma* associated with the study of the last 4 *Puvvas* became a dead letter by the time Sthūlabhadra died, and a similar inference can be drawn for the *Parikamma* pertaining to the rest of the 10 *Puvvas*.