Prof. Dr. Klaus Bruhn
This paper was published in October 1956 in The Voice of Ahinsa - The Indo-German Special Number (Vol. VI, No. 10, pp. 398-407).
Jain Studies in Germany (II)
2. Klaus Bruhn (Research Scholar in Poona, pupil of W. Schubring and L. Alsdorf). [1]
“Śīlāṅka's Cauppaṇṇamahāpurisacariya” (Sīlāṅka's C. - A Contribution to the Study of the Jain Universal History), ANIST 8, 1954. - The analysis of the unpublished text is based on two MSS procured with the help of Muni Puṇyavijaya. Bruhn records all differences between Sīlānka's work) [2] and Hemacandra's later, better known, and more comprehensive Tr. The comparison is partly extended to other Śvet. (and Dig.) versions of the UH, and the conclusion is reached that the C. follows the Śvet. tradition, but is not very closely related to any other of the earlier or later Śvet. versions. Nothing is known about the author except that he is not identical with the commentator Śīlāṅka and that he composed his work in s. 925. - The last part of the study discusses several general problems chiefly concerning the relationship bet-ween the Jain legends and the legends of the Brahmans and Buddhists. - Several specimens of Sīlāṅka's text are given at the end of the monograph.
Dr. Klaus Bruhn (1956)
“The Figures of the Two Lower Reliefs on the Pārśvanātha Temple at Khajurāho” (in English), Acharya Sri Vijayavallabhasuri Smaraka Grantha, Bombay 1956, pp. 7ff. - Bruhn analyzes the iconographical features of the said sculptures (Dig.) and comes to the following conclusions:
3. Helmuth Von Glasenapp (Head of the Sanskrit Department of Tübingen University, pupil of H. Jacobi; see also Part I).
“The Polemics of the Buddhists and Brahmans against the Jains” (ANIST 7, 1951, pp. 74 ff.). References to Mahāvīra's person are hardly found in polemic Brahmanical texts (the date of which is rather late), but Buddhist literature has numerous passages dealing with the last tīrthaṅkara and giving distorted accounts of his life and teachings. Out of the many points of dogmatical controversy which v. Glasenapp has traced a few may be mentioned. Buddha's criticism of painful austerities (as practiced by the Jains) is well known. The same emphasis on the body recurs in Jain ethics: only the physical act matters, not the intention. This was also objected to by the Buddhists, who attach importance only to the intention. Brahmans raise especially the objection that Jainism does not recognize the Vedas and the Brahmanical privilege of their interpretation, but comment little upon the so-called atheism of the Jains.
4. Frank-Richard Hamm (Assistant in the Sanskrit Department of Hamburg University, pupil of W. Schubring).
For Hamm's edition of chapter 6 of the Mahānisīha see 9.
“Jain versions of the Sodāsa Story” (ANIST 7, 1951, pp. 66 ff.). - Previously only one Jain version of the story was known besides the Buddhist and Brahmanical versions. Hamm furnishes five new versions from Jain literature (Śvet. and Dig.), and shows that the Jain texts follow the Buddhist, not the Brahmanical tradition.
6. Joseph Friedrich Kohl (Privatdozent at Würzburg University, pupil of W. Kirfel).
“Die Sūryaprajñapti” (The Sūryaprajñapti, Studies in the History of the Text), Bonner Orientalistische Studien, Heft 20, 1937. - According to the Introduction the textual relationship between the cosmographical upāṅgas can be summarized as follows (see p. XL f.): out of a hypothetical basic text on cosmography emerged a Candraprajñapti, a Sūryaprajñapti, a Jambūdvīpaprajñapti, and a Dvīpasāgaraprajñapti; after several redactional changes they finally became represented by the 5th, 6th, and (parts of the) 3rd upāṅga under the names of “Sūryaprajñapti“,“Jambūdvīpaprajñapti“ and “Jīvābhigama”. Out of these three texts the “Sūryaprajñapti“ contains (1) a Sūryaprajñapti, (2) a Candraprajñapti, and (3) a discussion of the stars - partly overlapping with the “Jambūdvīpaprajñapti“ in part (1) and (2), and with the “Jambūdvīpaprajñapti” and the “Jīvābhigama“ in part (3). - Besides the discussion of the textual problems the author gives an analysis of the astronomy of “Sūryaprajñapti“ and “Jambūdvīpaprajñapti“. The bulk of the book is formed by the text of the “Sūryaprajñapti“ which is given along with the corresponding portions of the “Jambūdvīpaprajñapti“.
“The Meaning of potaja in the Zoology of the Jains” (ZDMG 1953, pp. 151 ff.). - Mammals are classified as jarāyuja (“eihautgeboren“) and potaja. The latter term means “born in a boat“ and refers to a peculiarity in the birth-process of these animals.
“Some Remarks on the Lists of Animals in the Jain Canon” (Asiatica. Festschrift Friedrich Weller, Leipzig 1954, pp. 365 ff.). The article, which is based on Uttarajjhāyā, Jīvābhigama, and Pannavaṇā, identifies a number of animal names (e.g. makara which is taken as meaning originally dugong), and discusses the principles of classification followed in those days.
“Some Remarks on the Symbolism of numbers and on the Animism in the Botanical System of the Jain Canon” (Studia Indologica, Festschrift Willibald Kirfel, Bonn 1955, pp. 125 ff.). - The book could not be procured in time.
6. Charlotte Krause (former Deputy Inspector-General Female Education, Gwalior State, pupil of J. Hertel).
“List of the Jaina Manuscripts of the Scindia Oriental Institute Ujjain“, 1944 (in English). Not printed.
“Jain Literature and the Mahākāla Temple” (in Hindi), Vikrama Smṛti Grantha, Ujjain saṃvat 2001, pp. 401 ff. - Ancient Ujjain is the scene of two Jain legends: of the Avantisukumāla-story and of the story of Siddhasena Divākara's meeting with Vikramāditya (Saṃvatsara-pravartaka). Both records are common to Śvet. and Dig., the first one being found already in the Paiṇṇas of the āgama. The Avantisukmāla-story tells how a certain Kuḍangeśvara temple was built by some Jains and later on taken over by the “people“ (i.e. by the Hindus). The Siddhasena story describes how Siddhasena performed a miracle in the same temple which impressed Vikramāditya (saṃvatsara-pr.) so much, that he restored the shrine to the Jains. Jain tradition is wrong when it identifies the Vikramāditya who met Siddhasena (probably Chandragupta II, see next article) with the famous Vikramāditya saṃvatsara-pr., and when it identifies (as some versions do) the temple of our two stories with the famous Mahākāla temple of ancient Ujjain by calling it Mahākāladevakula and the like. But apart from this the two records can be taken as historical in their main features. - Later on the Kuḍangeśvara temple must have fallen for the second time in the hands of the Hindus. For what is now known as Kuṭumbeśvara Hindu temple (Kuṭumbeśvara stands probably for Kuḍangeśvara) contains some Jain remains and is probably the successor of the old Kudangeśvara temple.
“Siddhasena Divākara and Vikramāditya” (in English), Vikrama Volume, Ujjain 1948. pp 213 ff. - Not only does Jain literature connect the logician and poet Siddhasena Divākara with the famous Vikramāditya saṃvatsara-pravartaka, describing him as the latter's spiritual teacher, there is also every reason to believe that Siddhasena appears (as “Śrutasena“, “kṣapanaka“) in the list of illustrious persons at Vikramāditya's court as given by the Jyotirvidābharaṇa. Former efforts to fix Siddhasena's date did not lead to satisfactory results. Dr. Krause analyzes Siddhasena's Guṇavacanadvātriṃśikā for the first time in this connection. On stylistic and other grounds she attributes the text to the age of the imperial Guptas. The royal patron referred to in the text is probably Samudragupta Vikramāditya, but Siddhasena must also have been patronized by Samudragupta's successor Candragupta II Vikramāditya. Later on both Vikramādityas were welded into one person and projected back by several centuries to appear as the Vikramāditya saṃvatsara-pravartaka.
“Ancient Jaina Hymns” (in English), Ujjain 1952. - Dr. Krause gives a critical edition of eight unpublished Śvet.-stotras (seven in Skt., one in Ap.), which range in date from the 13th to the 18th (Vikrama) century. The detailed discussion of the hymns and their authors includes studies in Munisuvrata (and Aśvāvabodha or Śakunikāvihāra, his tīrtha at Broach) and in the goddess Vairoṭī (and the vidyādevīs).
The following publications in Gujarātī could not be procured in time:
Traṇ Prācīn Gujarātī Kritīo (Three Old Gujarātī Works), Gujarat Vidya Sabha, Ahmedabad 1954.
Some Literature on Saṃkheśvara (Jain Satya Prakash 1945), The Śrī Phalavarddhi Pārśvanāth Stuti by Śrī Śrīsār (Jain Satya Prakash 1945), Thirteen Kāṭhīā-Sajjhāys by Śrī Hemavimala Sūri (Jain Satya Prakash 1946), The Candanbālā-Sajjhāy by Śrī Bhānumeru (Jain Satya Prakash 1946) and The Śrī Pramada Pārśvanāth of Māṇḍavgaḍh (Jain Satya Prakash 1954).
7. Gustav Roth (Research Scholar in Patna, pupil of H. Hoffmann).
“Mohanagṛha in Prakrit Texts, in Kauṭilya's Arthaśāstra, and in the Annals of Ṭabārī” (Asiatica, Festschrift Friedrich Weller, Leipzig 1954, pp. 535 ff.) - [We are told in the Mallī-nāya (Nāyādhammakahāo 18) that princess Mallī leads her six suitors into six different “garbhagṛhas“ in the middle of a “mohangṛha“, from where they should witness her drastic demonstration of the futility of worldly existence.] The rare term mohanagṛha occurring here and in Kautilya's Arthaśāstra has repeatedly been mistaken as standing for ratigṛha. It actually means, as the author shows, a labyrinthine structure, enclosing (and thereby protecting) one or more garbhagṛhas - central rooms, which serve as vāsagṛha etc.
8. Otto Stein (formerly Prague University, died in 1945). [3]
The “Jinist Studies“ by Dr. Otto Stein (in English), Jaina Sahitya Samsodhaka Studies, No 3, Ahmedabad 1948. - The monograph is mainly based on lists of names occurring in the āgama and covers the following subjects: 1. Settlements. 2. Fortifications. 3. Town and Village Authorities. 4. Houses. 5. Establishments. II - 1. Geography. III Magistrates - 1. State-Officials. 2. Court-Officials. - Against the generic names in the other chapters, the subject of II 1 and II 2c are geographical proper names (names of towns in the first case and ethnical names of slave girls in the second case).
9. Walther Schubring (retired Head of the Sanskrit Department of Hamburg University, pupil of E. Leumann; see also Part I).
Isibhāsiyāiṃ (I., An early Jain Text), Nachrichten der Akademie der Wissenschaften in Göttingen. Philologisch-Historische Klasse, 1942, pp. 489ff. and Isibhāsiyāiṃ Pt. II ib. 1951, pp. 21 ff. - (1) The Isibhāsiyāiṃ seems to be one of the oldest Jain texts belonging to the same category as Āyāra, Sūyagaḍa, Uttarajjhāyā, and Dasaveyāliya. The work gives utterances of “ṛṣis“ that is pratyekabuddhas. No commentary on this work has become known. [4] Schubring's text is based on an Indian edition and on a modern MS. - (2) Part II is a Sanskrit chāyā written by Schubring himself.
“Die Jaina-Handschriften der Preussischen Staatsbibliothek“ (The Jain Manuscripts of the Prussian State Library, New Acquisitions since 1891), Leipzig 1944. - Alter the publication of Weber's Catalogue (see Part I) 2300 new Indian MSS (all on paper) had been bought by the State Library. These MSS include 1127 religious Jain texts (1003 Śvet. and 124 Dig.). The languages are Indo-Aryan, and the great number of New Indo-Aryan works (322 MSS in Gujarati alone) form a special feature of the collection. Schubring listed these 1127 MSS according to the subject, and it is seen from the table of contents, that all branches of the religious literature are equally well represented. Indices of names and dates are appended.
“Studien zum Mahānisīha” (Studies in the Mahānisīha, Chapters 6-8) by P.R. Hamm and W. Schubring, ANIST 6, 1951. - When Schubring published his Mahānisīha-Sutta in 1918, he could not establish a critical text for want of good MSS. With the help of new MSS which were received later on he and his pupil Hamm prepared a critical edition of the three last chapters (6: Hamm; 7 -8: Schubring). The Mahānisīha has come down to us without commentary.
“150 Stanzas Niryukti. A Glimpse of Jain Scholasticism” (Studia Indologica, Festschrift for Willibald Kirfel, Bonn 1955, pp. 297 ff.). - Sūtra and niryukti of the Dasaveyāliya had been published by Leumann in ZDMG 1892, pp. 581ff. The niryukti gives dogmatical discourses and kathānakas, each subject being headed by a logical term (like udāharana, hetu etc.) which it is to illustrate or by which the subject matter is defined. Leumann discussed (along with his edition) mainly the narrative portions, whereas Schubring's analysis is chiefly concerned with the philosophical contents of the first 150 out of the 439 stanzas of the niryukti.
10. Theodor Zachariae (Former Head of the Sanskrit Department of Halle University, died in 1934).
“Informations about the Jains from Authors of the 16th and 17th Century” (Festschrift Moriz Winternitz, Leipzig 1933, pp. 174 ff.). - References to the Jainas by Persian, Portuguese, Dutch, and other authors of the 16th and 17th century cannot be expected to add considerably to our knowledge of the Jainism of those days. Zachariae's numerous quotations are nevertheless interesting for the student of Indian culture. Besides they show how the Vertia, Ceurawach. Tschāiner to give some of these peculiar European names for the Jains - were seen by the early travellers.
It can be said without exaggeration that for a certain time Germany took the foremost position in the field of Jain Studies, just as France in the early days of Buddhology took the lead in that field. The implication that this is still the case or that Germany has a sort of monopoly for Jain Studies in the West, is however unwarranted. Nor is there, apart from certain school-traditions, something like a national tinge in the German approach to Jain Studies. Our selection of German and only German works is therefore artificial from the view-point of the matter, although this procedure seems fully justified with respect to the medium: almost all these publications were written in German, and are therefore likely to escape notice in a country like India, where English is the best-known European language.
Another misunderstanding which, might be created by expressions like “Jain Studies“ or “Jain Scholar“ concerns the object of the research-work. By a thorough study of the subject matter, German scholars have always been trying to trace the peculiarities of Jainism up to the last details of its dogma and up to the subtlest shading of its religious sensibility. This, however, does not mean, that Jainism has been taken as an isolated phenomenon. It was on the contrary found necessary to study how Jainism like the other well-defined religions of the latter time emerged gradually out of a common background of Indian life and thought and how the relationship in the origin was afterwards reinforced by an exchange of ideas with the other religious systems. In this sense every contribution towards the knowledge of Jainism is a contribution towards the knowledge of the Indian Genius in one of its historical expressions.
Prof. Bruhn was head of the Sanskrit Department of Freie Universität Berlin (West) until his retirement in 1991 [Editor HN4U].