Mahapurana (Jainism)

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Mahapurana (महापुराण) is a major Jain text [1] composed largely by Acharya Jinasena during the rule of Rashtrakuta ruler Amoghavarsha and completed by his pupil Gunabhadra in the 9th century CE. The section composed by Gunabhadra is called "Uttarapurana". The completed and edited text was released by Lokasena, pupil of Gunabhadra in a celebration at Bankapura in the court of Vira-Bankeyarasa in 898 CE. The first 42 Parvans of this text were written by Jinasena, while remaining 34 Parvans were composed by Gunabhara.

This text gives an encyclopedic account of the Jain tradition [2]. The text is widely quoted. A widely used quote from Carl Sagan's Cosmos, page 140 is:[3]

"Some foolish men declare that Creator made the world. The doctrine that the world was created is ill-advised, and should be rejected. If god created the world, where was he before creation? If you say he was transcendent then, and needed no support, where is he now?" [4],[5]

A number of Jain and non-Jain texts have been influenced by the Mahapurana. Mahapurana was the model for Saiva Siddhanta Periyapuranam which gives biographies of the 63 individuals[6]. It also served as the basis for the description of Lord Rishabha in the Bhagavata Purana[7].

[edit] References

  1. ^ Published by Bharatiya Jnanapitha, 1979, edited and translated by Pt. Pannalal Sahitya Shastri
  2. ^ ANTIQUITY OF JAINISM
  3. ^ http://www.angelfire.com/blog2/endovelico/CarlSagan-Cosmos.pdf
  4. ^ Ct12-1
  5. ^ Afterword on Jinasena, D. Lakey, The Philosophical Forum, Volume 33 Issue 3 Page 343-344 - Fall 2002
  6. ^ Anne E. Monius, Love, Violence, and the Aesthetics of disgust: Saivas and Jains In Medieval South India in Journal of Indian philosophy, 2004, vol. 32, no 2-3, pp. 113-172
  7. ^ Jina Rsabha as an Avatara of Visnu, Padmanabh S. Jaini, Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, 1977, pp. 321-337