Some Jaina Canonical Sutras c25: Chapter XX: Kalpa Sūtra
Some Jaina Canonical Sūtras c25
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Chapter XX: Kalpa Sūtra
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The *Kalpasūtra* is supposed to have been composed in its original form by Bhadrabāhu. In its present form it is a compilation made in 980¹ years after the passing away of Mahāvīra. i.e. A.D. 454 during the reign of Dhruvasena, king of Gujarat. Yaśovijaya, Devicandra, Jñānavimala, and Samayasundara wrote commentaries on this text. All of them were most probably written between fifteenth and seventeenth centuries according to Dr. Stevenson. Jacobi in the introduction to his edition of the *Kalpasūtra* says, that the oldest commentary that he has used is the *Pañjikā* written by Jina Prabhamuni. There are various printed editions of this text. This text has been translated by H. Jacobi in S.B.E., Vol. XXII and by Dr. J. Stevenson in 1848. There is an edition of this work by Hermann Jacobi with an introduction, notes and a Prākṛt-Sanskrit Glossary published in 1879.
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According to the Śvetāmbaras, the *Kalpasūtra* is a great authority and is always read publicly during the *Paryūṣaṇa* or *Pajjūṣaṇ*. The major portion of this work is devoted to the biography of Mahāvīra. The archaic style in which this portion is written has much in common with the old sūtras written in prose. The *Jinacaritra*, the *Sthavirāvalī* and the *Sāmācārīs* collected together in one book under the title of *Kalpasūtra* were, according to the tradition, included in Devarddhigaṇi's recension of the Jaina scriptures, though it is not contained in the *Siddhānta*. The *Kalpasūtra* is said to contain 1,216 *granthas*. A careful study of the text leads us to calculate more than 100 *granthas* above the fixed number.
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The text is full of repetitions. The entire *Kalpasūtra* was read on the first night of the *Pajjūṣaṇ* but since it was read in the *sabhā* of king Dhruvasena of Anandapura to console him after the death of his beloved son, it was explained in nine *vācanās* or *vyākhyānas*.
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There are two *Kalpa sūtras*: the *Kalpasūtra* of Bhadrabāhu and the old *Kalpasūtra* edited by Schubring, which is only a collection of monastic rules.
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The *Sāmācārī* is a code of rules for asceticism. In it we have in prose rules and regulations pertaining to *Pajjūsan* or the Lent. The *Pajjūsan* corresponds to the Buddhist *Vassa* and is divided into two parts, the 50 days that precede and the 70 that succeed the 5th of Bhādra *Śuklapakṣa*. The Śvetāmbaras observe the fast during the former period and the Digambaras during the latter.
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The *Kalpasūtra* ascribed to Bhadrabāhu shows the early stage of the development of Jinalogy when the tradition of four Jinas was cherished by the Jaina community. The Buddhalogy, too, had presumably such an early stage with the tradition of four Buddhas. The number gradually increased from four to seven, from seven to twenty-four, from that to twenty-nine including the future Buddha, and from that to innumerable Buddhas. Going by this analogy, one can say that the tradition of twenty-four Tīrthankaras was of later growth. The four Jinas whose life-history is presented in the *Kalpasūtra* are Ṛṣabhadatta, Ariṣṭanemi, Pārśva and Mahāvīra.
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The Jain canonical sūtras furnish us with some interesting details about the life and activity of some kings and queens, princes and princesses, sages and other persons, some of whom played an important part in the history of Jainism. Besides they contain some useful historical and geographical data as well as some miscellaneous matters which need careful consideration.
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We read about Ṛṣabha that he was a Kosalan Kṣatriya of the Kāśyapa *gotra*. He bore the five epithets representing him as Ṛṣabha, the first king, the first mendicant, the first Jina, and the first Tīrthankara, in short, as the great pioneer in the history of human greatness.
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Ṛṣabha was born of Marudevī, wife of the patriarch¹ Nābhi. When Marudevī conceived, she dreamt 14 dreams,² the first of which was a bull coming forward with his face, unlike mothers of Tīrthankaras who see elephant in their first dream. The dreams were interpreted by the patriarch Nābhi in the absence of professional interpreters.
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¹ Kulakara these Kulakaras were the first kings and founders of families at the time when the rest of mankind were Yugalins. The first Kulakara was Vimalavāhana, the seventh and last of the line Nābhi (S B E, Jaina Sūtras, Pt I, 281 fn) According to the Digambara belief there were fourteen Kulakaras, beginning with Pratiśruti Nābhi
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² The Digambaras name 16 dreams
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Riding in his palanquin and followed on his way by a train of gods, men and asuras, Ṛṣabha came right through the town of Vinītā to the park called Siddhārthavana and stopped under the excellent Aśoka tree and with his own hands plucked out his hair in four handfuls After fasting for two days and a half Ṛṣabha put on divine robe which he discarded after a time and became naked.¹ He tore out his hair and entered the state of homelessness in the company of 4,000 high nobles, royal persons, and Kṣatriyas. Neglecting his body, he meditated upon himself for one thousand years. Outside the town of Purimatāla, in the park called Sakaṭamukha, under the excellent tree *nyagrodha*, he, after fasting for three days and a half, being engaged in deep meditation, attained the highest knowledge and intuition called *Kevala*. He had 84 *gaṇas* and 84 *gaṇadharas*. He had an excellent community of 84,000 *śramaṇas* with Ṛṣabhasena at their head; 300,000 nuns with Brahmīsundarī at their head;² 305,000 lay votaries with Śreyāṃśa at their head³; 554,000 female lay votaries with Subhadrā at their head⁴; 4,750 sages who knew the fourteen *Pūrvas*; 9,000 sages who were possessed of the *Avadhi* knowledge, 20,000 *Kevalins*; 20,600 sages who could transform themselves; 12,650 sages of vast intellect; 12,650 professors; 20,000 male and 4,000 female disciples who had reached perfection.
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¹ The Digambaras make him a naked saint at the very outset
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² The Digambaras give the number of nuns as 350,000
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³ Lay votaries, according to the Digambaras, were 300,000 with Dradaratha at their head
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⁴ 500,000 were the female lay votaries according to the Digambaras, among whom Suvratā was the chief one
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He instituted two epochs in his capacity of a Maker of an end: the epoch relating to generations and that relating to psychical condition. The former ended after numberless generations and the latter from the next *muhūrta* after his Kevalaship. He after fasting for six days and a half died on the summit of mount Aṣṭāpada in the *Samparyanka* position, while in the company of ten thousand monks.
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Ariṣṭanemi or Neminātha was born of Queen Śivā, wife of King Samudravijaya in the town of Saurīpura (Soṇiyapura). He was named Ariṣṭanemi as his mother saw in a dream a *nemi*, the outer rim of a wheel, which consisted of *riṣṭa* stones flying up to the sky. Riding in a palanquin Ariṣṭanemi went right through the town of Dvārāvatī to the park called Revatika and stopped under the Aśoka tree There after fasting two days and a half, he put on a divine robe and in the company of a thousand persons he tore out his hair and entered the state of homelessness.⁵ He did not take care of his body for 54 days. On the 55th day he acquired the highest knowledge and intuition called *Kevala* after fasting three days and a half without taking water, under a Vetasa (Banyan) tree on the summit of mount Girnar. He had 18 gaṇas and 18 gaṇadharas.¹ He had an excellent community of 18,000 śramaṇas with Varadatta at their head, 40,000 nuns with Ārya Yakṣiṇī at their head, 1,69,000 lay votaries with Nanda at their head; 336,000 female lay votaries with Mahāsuvratā at their head; ² four hundred sages who knew the fourteen Pūrvas; 1,500 sages who were possessed of the Avadhi knowledge; 1,500 Kevalins; 1,500 sages who could transform themselves; 1,000 sages of vast intellect; 800 professors; 1,600 sages in their last birth; 1,500 male and 3,000 female disciples who had reached perfection. Ariṣṭanemi instituted two epochs in his capacity of a Maker of an end; the epoch relating to generations and the epoch relating to psychical condition, the former ended in the eighth generation and the latter in the twelfth year of his Kevalaship. He lived three centuries as a prince, 54 days in a state inferior to perfection, something less than seven centuries as a Kevalin, full seven centuries as a śramaṇa, and some thousand years on the whole. He liberated himself in a squatting position on the summit of mount Girnar after fasting a month and in the company of 536 monks.
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⁵ The Digambaras disagree here with the Śvetāmbaras, as they believe that Ariṣṭanemi became a naked saint like all other Tirthankaras
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¹ The Digambara texts mention eleven gaṇas and eleven gaṇadharas with Varadatta at their head
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² The Digambaras name one lakh and three lakhs male and female lay votaries respectively
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The Arhat Pārśva ³ was born of Queen Vāmā, wife of Aśvasena, King of Benares. Before the venerable ascetic Pārśva had adopted the life of a householder, he possessed supreme knowledge and intuition. When he understood, by virtue of this knowledge, that the time for his renunciation had come, he left all, and riding in a palanquin followed on his way by a train of gods, men and asuras, he went right through the town of Benares to the park called Āśramapada and proceeded to the excellent tree Aśoka. There he got down from his palanquin, took off his ornaments and with his own hands plucked out his hair in five handfuls. When the moon was in conjunction with the asterism Viśākhā, he tore out his hair and entered the state of homelessness after fasting for three days and a half. For 83 days practising strict morality and surmounting all obstacles on the 84th day, Pārśva under a Dhātakī tree, after fasting two days and a half, being engaged in deep meditation, reached the infinite, highest knowledge and intuition called Kevala.
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³ Kalpasūtra, Jinacantra, 150, Pāse arahā Bānārasie nayare Assasenassa ranno Vammāe devie lucchimsi gabbhattāe vakkamte Pārsva was an ascetic who lived some 250 years before Mahāvīra
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The venerable ascetic Pārśva had eight ganas and eight ganadharas (Subha and Āryaghosa, Vaśistha and Brahmacārin, Saumya and Śrīdhara, Virabhadra and Yaśas). He had an excellent community of 16,000 śramanas with Āryadatta at their head; 38,000 nuns with Puspacūlā at their head; 164,000 lay votaries with Suvrata at their head; 327,000 female lay votaries with Sunandā at their head,¹ 350 sages who knew the 14 Pūrvas; 1,400 sages who were possessed of the Avadhi knowledge; 1,000 Kevalins, 1,100 sages who could transform themselves; 600 sages of correct knowledge; 1,000 male and 2,000 female disciples who had reached perfection, 750 sages of vast intellect; 600 professors; and 1,200 sages in their last birth. He instituted two epochs in his capacity of a Maker of an end, the epoch relating to generations, and the epoch relating to psychical condition; the former ended in the fourth generation, the latter in the third year of his Kevalaship. He lived 30 years as a householder, 83 days in a state inferior to perfection, something less than 70 years as a Kevalin, full seventy years as a śramana and some hundred years on the whole. He attained to Nirvāṇa in the first month of the rainy season, after fasting a month on the summit of mount Sammeta, in the company of 83 persons.²
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¹ The Digambara books name ten ganas and an equal number of the ganadharas, among whom Svayambhū was the chief apostle They also differ in giving the number of nuns, laymen and female lay votaries, which, according to them, is 26,000, one lakh and three lakhs respectively
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² The Digambaras minimize this number to 36 only
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Pārśva was worshipped by the people as a prophet of the Law. He had a disciple named Keśī who completely mastered the sciences and right conduct. He had Śruta (knowledge derived from the sacred books) and Avadhi knowledge (limited and conditioned knowledge). He came to the town of Śrāvastī and lived in a park called Tinduka. At that time there lived a Jina named Vardhamāna who had a famous disciple named Gautama. Gautama knew twelve angas and was enlightened. He also came to Śrāvastī and lived in a park named Kosthaka. Keśī and Gautama lived protecting themselves by the guptis. The disciples of both of them reflected thus ‘Is the Law of Pārśva the right one or the Law of Mahāvīra? Does the Law as taught by the great sage Pārśva recognize four vows? Does the Law forbid clothes for a monk or does it allow the use of under and upper garments? Knowing the thoughts of their pupils, Keśī and Gautama met each other. Asked by Keśī, Gautama replied, ‘Wisdom recognizes the truth of the Law and the ascertainment of true things. The Tirthankaras have fixed what is necessary for carrying out the Law.' Their opinion is that knowledge, faith and right conduct are the true causes of final liberation. Self is the one invincible foe together with four cardinal passions (namely, anger, pride, deceit and greed) and the five senses. Love, hatred, etc., are heavy fetters; attachment is a dangerous one; having regularly destroyed them, one should live according to the rules of conduct. Love of existence is the dreadful plant which brings forth dreadful fruit. Passions are the fire; knowledge, a virtuous life, and penances are the water. Passion should be subdued. Mind is an unruly, dreadful and bad horse. One should govern it by the discipline of the Law. The heterodox and the heretics have all chosen a wrong path, the right path is that which is taught by the Jinas. The right path is the most excellent one. The flood is old age and death which carry away living beings. Law is the refuge and the most excellent shelter. The body is the boat, life is the sailor and the circle of births is the ocean which is crossed by the great sages. The omniscient Jina has risen after putting an end to the cycle of births. He is the luminary who brings light into the whole world of living beings. Nirvāna is the safe, happy, and quiet place which the great sages reach. It is freedom from pain. It is difficult of approach. Those sages who reach it are free from sorrows and they have put an end to the stream of existence. Thus Gautama removed the doubts of Keśī who bowed down his head before him. Keśī sincerely adopted the Law of the five vows proclaimed by the first Tīrthaṅkara. Thus we find that in the meeting of Keśī and Gautama subjects of greatest importance were settled and knowledge and virtuous conduct were brought to eminence.
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Mahāvīra, the last Tīrthaṅkara of the Jainas, is described as a great Brāhmaṇa, a great guardian, a great guide, a great preacher, a great pilot and a great recluse. He belonged to the Kaśyapa gotra. He was a son of Kṣatriya Siddhārtha, also known as Śreyāṃśa and Yaśaṃśa and of Kṣatriyānī Triśalā, also known as Videhadattā. His mother was a sister to Ceṭaka, one of the kings of Vaiśālī. He was born in the town of Kundapura, a suburb of Vaiśālī, and therefore he was called Vesālī or a citizen of Vaiśālī¹. According to the Kalpasūtra (secs. 114-16), he was born in Kollāga and naturally when he assumed the monk's vocation he retired to the ceiya of his own clan called Duipalāsa situated in the neighbourhood of his native place called Kollāga. He married Yaśodā, a Kṣatriya lady.¹ A daughter was born to them, named Anojjā or Priyadarśanā. It is interesting to note that Mahāvīra wore clothes for about the first thirteen months.² The *Kalpasūtra* informs us that Mahāvīra was a mere teacher during the first 12 years of his monkhood and that in the second year he became a naked monk. According to the *Bhagavatīsūtra* he received Gosāla Maṅkhaliputta as a disciple at Nālandā. They lived in concord for six years after which they separated on account of a doctrinal difference. Gosāla pre-deceased Mahāvīra by sixteen years. Mahāvīra spent six years in Paṇiyabhūmi. At the age of forty-two he became a Jina, a *Kevalin* (omniscient). He knew and saw all conditions of the worlds of gods, men and demons: whence they come, whither they go, whether they are born as men or animals, or become gods or infernal beings according to their deeds.³ During the thirty years of his career as a teacher he spent twelve rainy seasons in Vaiśālī and Vāṇijagrāma, fourteen in Rājagṛha and the suburb of Nālandā, six in Mithilā, two in Bhadrikā, one in Ālavikā, one in Paṇitabhūmi, one in Śrāvastī and one in the town of Pāvā.⁴ He died in the town of Pāvā cutting asunder the ties of birth, decay and death.⁵ From the *Kalpasūtra* it is clear that since Mahāvīra renounced the life of a householder, he spent forty-two rainy seasons in different places. The *Kalpasūtra* list is so worded as to suggest an idea of succession as regards the places where Mahāvīra spent forty-two rainy seasons since he had renounced the world. The idea of succession is suggested by such expressions as ‘first rainy season in Aṣṭhigrāma’ and ‘last rainy season in Pāpā or Pāvā’. Taken in order the places stand in the list as follows:—
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¹ Sūtrakṛtāṅga 1 2 3, 22 arahā nāyaputte bhagavam Vesālie gāhettuemī
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¹ B C Law, *Mahāvīra His Life and Teachings*, p 21
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² *Kalpasūtra*, §117
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³ *Jaina Sūtras*, I, pp 263-64, *Kalpasūtra*, §121 *sa-devamanuyāsurassa logassa pariyāyam jāṇai pāsai, savva-loe savva-jīvāṇam āgaim gaīm thuṃ caraṇam uva-āyam*
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⁴ *Kalpasūtra*, §122
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⁵ *Jaina Sūtras*, I, p 264
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1. Aṣṭhigrāma—first rainy season.
2. Campā and Pṛṣṭicampā—next three rainy seasons.
3. Vaiśālī and Vāṇijagrāma—next twelve rainy seasons
4. Rājagṛha and Nālandā—next fourteen rainy seasons
5. Mithilā—next six rainy seasons.
6. Bhadrikā—next two rainy seasons
7. Ālabhikā—next one rainy season.
8. Paṇitabhūmi—next one rainy season.
9. Śrāvastī—next one rainy season
10. Pāpā—last rainy season (Vide B C Law, *Mahāvīra His Life and Teachings*, p. 32).
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When he died at Pāvā, the eighteen confederate kings of Kāśī and Kośala, the nine Mallakis and nine Licchavis instituted an illumination.¹ These nine Licchavis paid tribute to Cetaka, king of Vaiśālī, who was the maternal uncle of Mahāvīra. The Jaina Kalpasūtra refers to these nine branches of the Mallas. It is not yet possible to collect the names of all these branches. The Kalpasūtra (§147) definitely records that Mahāvīra lived 30 years as a householder, more than 12 years in a state inferior to perfection, less than 30 years as a Kevalin, 42 years as a recluse, and 72 years on the whole. In the Aupapātika Sūtra (Sec. XVI) he is praised as the over-lord of the kingdom of righteousness. He with the permission of his elder brother, fulfilled his promise of going out to establish the religion of the Law which benefits all beings in the whole world ²
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¹ Kalpasūtra, §128 jam rayanim ca nam samane Bhagavam Mahāvīre jāva savva-dukkha-ppahīne, tam rayanim ca nam nava Mallai nava Lecchai, Kāsī-Kosalagā atthārasa vi gana rāyāno amāvasāe pūrābhoyam posahavāsāsam paṭṭhavaimsu, 'gae se bhāv'-ujjoe, davv'-ujjoyam karissāmo
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² Kalpasūtra, secs 110-111 Samane bhagavam Mahāvīre dakkhe dakkha-painne Paḍiruve alline bhaddae vinie nāe nāyaputte nāyakulacande Videhe Videhadinne Videhajacce Vidchasamāle tisam vāsāim Videhamsi aṭṭu ammāpī ihim devattagāchim gurumahattarahim abhanunnāte samattapainne punaravloyanti chim jiyalappi chim ciam rayāsi (Kalpasūtra, Dhanpat Singh's Ed, pp 64 65)
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Mahāvīra had an excellent community of 14,000 monks headed by Indrabhūti, 36,000 nuns headed by Candanā, 159,000 lay votaries headed by Śankhaśataka, and 318,000 female lay votaries headed by Śulasā and Revatī.
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The Kalpasūtra refers to Indrabhūti, a disciple of Mahāvīra, who also bears the name of Gotamasvāmī or Gotama ³ The same sūtra points out⁴ that Rsabhā is believed to have lived for 8,400,000 pūrva years while Pārśva and Mahāvīra lived for 100 and 72 years respectively. The Kalpasūtra⁵ further points out that Nemi attained the age of 1,000 years. There was a dispute between Kālāsavesiyaputta, a follower of Pārśva, and a disciple of Mahāvīra.⁶
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³ Ed Jacobi, p 1.
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⁴ Kalpasūtra, §227, 168 and 147
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⁵ Ibid, §182.
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⁶ Cf Bhagavatī sūtra, śataka I, sūtra 76
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Mahāvīra had nine ganas and eleven ganadharas. Some of the well-known Jain monks were Indrabhūti, Agnibhūti, and Vāyubhūti, each of whom instructed 500 śramanas. Some of the famous sthaviras were Āryavyakta of the Bharadvāja gotra, Ārya Sudharman of Agniveśyāyana gotra, Mandikaputra of the Vāsiṣṭha gotra and Mauryaputra of the Kāśyapa gotra besides Akampita, Acalabhrātr, Metārya and Prabhāsa.
Cites (4)
- Sūyagaḍa — Sudharman, Ardhamāgadhī Prakrit
- Kalpasūtra — Bhadrabāhu, Ardhamāgadhī Prakrit
- Uvavāiya — Ardhamāgadhī Prakrit
- Viyāhapannatti — Sudharman, Ardhamāgadhī Prakrit