Philosophy In Jain Agams: Style of Composition

In Sūtrakṛtāṅga Cūrṇi, Ācārāṅga has been regarded as a prose text. But Daśavaikālika Cūrṇi considers it as caurṇa (mixture of prose and verses) text, as pointed out by Acharya Haribhadra. Since Ācārāṅga is not entirely a prose text, Daśavaikālika Cūrṇi's view point seems to be logical. While commenting on caurnapada of niryukti, the commentator (niryuktikāra) has interpreted it as arthabahula (having multiple meanings), mahārtha (having deep meaning), hetu (with definite cause), nipāta (prepositions) upasarga (grammatical suffixes), bahupada (multiple stanzas), flow in writing, clear in view point and context, is caurṇa'. According to him, the verse, which does not have any 'pada' is prose, but that one, which has many padas along with prose is called 'caurṇa'. Ācārāṅga is replete with padas and is, therefore, a composition of caurṇa style. Up to the seventh sub-section of eighth chapter, it is completely composed in caurṇa style but 8th sub- section and the entire 9th chapter is in poetic style. Even Āyāracūla's first fifteen chapters are in prose and sometimes they are poetic and verses composed in saṅgraha style (cumulative verses). The sixteenth chapter, which is completely composed in poetic style consists of a good number of poetic verses along with prose as Dr. Schubring has pointed out in the text edited by him. He has compiled the poetic verses separately. Up to the seventh uddeśakas of the eight chapter of the Ācārāṅga, the narration is in 'caurṇa' style, the eighth uddeśakas and the 9th chapter is composed in poetic style. In the Āyāracūla, it is predominantly prose style up to the fifteenth chapter, with poetic verses used intermittently. The sixteenth chapter is completely poetic.^[1]