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Some Jaina Canonical Sutras c23: Chapter XVIII: Nirayāvalī Sūtra (Nirayāvaliya Sūya)

Some Jaina Canonical Sūtras c23

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Chapter XVIII: Nirayāvalī Sūtra (Nirayāvaliya Sūya)

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¹ This text has been edited by Warren in Amsterdam (1879). The Jaina Āgamodaya Samiti has also brought out an edition of this sūtra with Candrasūri's commentary (Ahmedabad 1922). This sūtra has been published in Benares (1885) in the Āgamasangraha of Dhanapati Singha, cf Z D M G , 34, 178ff

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The Nirayāvaliya group of five upāngas consists of Nirayāvaliyā or Kappiyā, Kappavadimsayā, Pupphiyā, Pupphaculiā, and Vanhidasā. These texts are separately counted to make up the number twelve of the upāngas of the Śvetāmbara canon. The Nirayāvaliyā or Kappiyā gives the lives of the ten sons of Śreṇika, the Kappavadimsayā, the lives of their ten sons, the Pupphiyā, the description of ten gods, the Moon, the Sun and the like, the Pupphaculiā, that of ten goddesses, Śrī, Hrī and the like, while the Vanhidasā contains the legends of the twelve princes of the Vṛṣṇi race. All the five books form parts of this sūtra as a whole. The first book or Nirayāvaliyā proper dealing with the unhappy destiny of the ten half brothers of Kūṇika, and the second book dealing with the destiny of their ten sons, stand as two Jain literary pieces inspired by the plot of the Sanskrit Daśakumāracarita. The number ten plays its important rôle in the first four books of the Nirayāvaliyā group while a slight departure is made in the Vanhidasā. As compared with the literary excellence of the Daśakumāracarita the Jaina pieces seem to be hackneyed and laboured, dull and uninteresting. In the first piece king Śreṇika is said to have ten queens besides Cellanā, the daughter of Ceḍaga of Videha and Vesālī. The ten sons were named, Kāla, Sukāla, Mahākāla, Kṛṣṇa, Sukṛṣṇa, Mahākṛṣṇa, Vīrakṛṣṇa, Rāmakṛṣṇa, Pitṛsenakṛṣṇa and Mahāsenakṛṣṇa after their mothers Kālī, Sukālī and the rest. The list supplied is evidently fantastic and unhistorical. The connection of king Śreṇika with Rājagṛha is very vaguely suggested. His son Kūṇika is invariably connected with the city of Campā, which is known as the capital of Anga in Pāli literature. After the death of king Śreṇika, his son Kūṇika, overwhelmed with grief, left Rājagṛha for Campā. Kūṇika had an uterine brother Vehalla, by name. King Śreṇika out of his love for Prince Vehalla gave him a Gandhahasti known by the name of Śreyanāga and a precious necklace, which were wanted by Kūṇika at the instance of his Queen Padmāvatī. Prince Vehalla sought for the protection of his maternal grandfather king Cedaga of Videha and Vesālī in this emergency. Kūnika sent an emissary to Cedaga for the surrender of Vehalla together with Śreyanāga and the necklace. King Cedaga brought the matter to the notice of the nine Licchavis and the nine Mallakis and the kings of Kāśī and Kosala then in alliance. A terrible battle ensued. The ten half-brothers of Kūnika fought on his side and they were all killed in action and were reborn in hells. The anecdotes of the twelve princes of the Vrsni race show the brighter side of the picture. They by their virtuous deeds were all reborn in different heavenly worlds. The Vrsni stories are better told in the Amtagadadasāo

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The Jaina verdict on the fate of Kūnika’s ten half brothers is rather hard and partial. No remark is made on the action of king Cedaga evidently for the reason that he happened to be the maternal grandfather of Mahāvīra himself. King Kūnika of Campā passes in Jain literature as an ideal king quite contrary to the picture given of him in the Pali canon.¹ It seems that all the historical legends as met with in many of the Jain books were invented with a theological motive from which the Buddhist legends too are not absolutely free.

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¹ B C Law, *Buddhist Studies*, chapter VII

Cites (2)