Vijay K. Jain

This article is a compilation of excerpts from the Jaina Scripture on the subject of the human body and its dispassionate abandonment – called sallekhanā – at the end of life. One should consciously refrain from mistaking the body for the soul. The transformations in the body – stages like childhood, youth, old age, and destruction – do not pertain to the soul. Death should be considered as just a change of clothes. By no means can the body be protected from destruction; the insistence on protecting it is futile. The body is repugnant, foul-smelling, perishable, and a source of anxiety and, therefore, it is futile to have attachment towards it. At the time of his death, the yogī wishes that he remains capable of uttering the letters constituting the pious name of Lord Jina. Further, he considers his soul to be one, without infatuation, pure, all-knowing, and capable of being known by the Master Ascetics. All attachments, internal and external, are utterly foreign to its nature.

Editor and Translator: Vijay K. Jain Language Note: Sanskrit, Hindi and English Publisher: Vijay Kumar Jain, January 2024 Description: 22 + 74 p. (total 96 p.); 23 x 16 x .8 cm ISBN: 978-93-6076-239-1 Format: Book; Paperback, on Art paper Price: Rs. 250.00 About the Book: Kalyāņamandira Stotra (Pārśvanātha Stotra) is the magnum opus composition of Ācārya Kumudacandra (circa 12th century VS). Kalyāņamandira Stotra eulogizes the supreme attributes of Lord Pārśvanātha, the twenty-third Tīrthaṅkara. This is perhaps the most well-known adoration of Lord Pārśvanātha that is not only recited but memorized, with great devotion and reverence, by many among the Jaina community, both Digambara and Śvetāmbara. The worthy soul is believed to accumulate enormous propitiousness by reading Kalyāņamandira Stotra with devotion. Many claim to have benefitted miraculously from the recitation of and reflection on this sacred composition. This slim volume is a useful reference text for international readers. It will be of interest not only to the Hindi-loving scholars but also to those looking for an authentic English rendering of Kalyāņamandira Stotra. Besides other useful information, the book’s Preface contains a brief life story of Lord Pārśvanātha, as expounded in the Scripture. The interesting and eye-opening sequence of the enmity carried forward by various incarnations of Kamaṭha (finally, Śambara deva) against his then-younger brother Marubhūti (finally, Lord Pārśvanātha), is also provided in a tabular form.

Ācārya Kundakunda’s (circa 1st century BCE) Rayaṇasāra makes it clear that the right-faith (samyagdarśana) is the beginning as well as the culmination of the path to liberation – mokṣa-mārga. The householder (śrāvaka) must first acquire the right-faith – the Quintessential Jewel (Rayaṇasāra) – to be able to establish his Self on to the path to liberation. As he acquires the right-faith he begins to appreciate the reality of the world and the worldly-existence. He then exerts to acquire the true knowledge (jñāna) as expounded in the Doctrine (siddhānta), and adopts the laudable conduct (cāritra) by becoming a digambara-ascetic (nirgrantha muni). He ascends the spiritual-stages (guṇasthāna) and ultimately, through pure-meditation (śukla-dhyāna), attains the ineffable and eternal bliss appertaining to liberation (mokṣa). Ācārya Kundakunda, all through this Holy Scripture Rayaṇasāra, underscores the importance of the right-faith (samyagdarśana) for the householder (śrāvaka) as well as the ascetic (muni, śramaṇa). He asserts that in the (present) unfavourable fifth era the study – svādhyāya – of the Scripture, indeed, is meditation (dhyāna); it results in the subjugation of the five-senses (paṅcendriya) as well as of the passions (kaṣāya).

Bhaktāmara Stotra is the magnum opus composition of Ācārya Mānatunga (circa 7th century CE). Bhaktāmara Stotra eulogizes the supreme attributes of Lord Ādinātha, the first Tīrthaṅkara. This is perhaps the most well-known adoration of Lord Jina that is not only recited but memorized, with great devotion and reverence, by a large number of people among the Jaina community, Digambara and Śvetāmbara. The worthy soul is believed to accumulate enormous propitiousness by reading Bhaktāmara Stotra with devotion. Hundreds of thousands of instances, ancient and recent, must have come to light where people claimed to have benefitted miraculously by the recitation of and reflection on this sacred composition. This slim volume is a useful reference text for international readers. It will be of interest not only to Hindi-loving scholars but also to those looking for an authentic English rendering of Bhaktāmara Stotra. Besides the transliteration in English of the original Sanskrit verse, the meaning of each verse has been given both in Hindi and English languages. The Preface of the book contains, besides other useful information, a synopsis of the concept of empirical (vyavahāra) time (kāla), and a brief life-story of Lord Ādinātha, the first Tīrthaṅkara, as expounded in the Scripture. भक्तामर स्तोत्र आचार्य मानतुंग (लगभग 7वीं शताब्दी सीई) की महान कृति है। भक्तामर स्तोत्र प्रथम तीर्थंकर भगवान् आदिनाथ के सर्वोच्च गुणों की प्रशंसा करता है। जैन समुदाय, दिगंबर और श्वेतांबर, की एक बड़ी संख्या द्वारा मान्य यह भगवान जिन की सबसे प्रसिद्ध आराधनाओं में से एक है, जिसे न केवल सुना जाता है, बल्कि बड़ी भक्ति और श्रद्धा के साथ याद किया जाता है। ऐसा माना जाता है कि भव्य आत्मा द्वारा भक्ति के साथ भक्तामर स्तोत्र का पाठ करने से अपार पुण्य का संचय होता है। सैकड़ों हजारों उदाहरण, प्राचीन और हाल ही में, सामने आए होंगे जहां लोगों ने इस पवित्र रचना के पाठ और चिंतन से चमत्कारिक रूप से लाभान्वित होने का दावा किया। यह पुस्तक अंतरराष्ट्रीय पाठकों के लिए एक उपयोगी संदर्भ पाठ है। यह न केवल हिंदी-प्रेमी विद्वानों के लिए बल्कि भक्तामर स्तोत्र के प्रामाणिक अंग्रेजी अनुवाद की तलाश करने वालों के लिए भी रुचिकर होगी। मूल संस्कृत श्लोक के अंग्रेजी में लिप्यंतरण के अतिरिक्त प्रत्येक श्लोक का अर्थ हिन्दी और अंग्रेजी दोनों भाषाओं में दिया गया है। पुस्तक की प्रस्तावना में, अन्य उपयोगी जानकारी के अलावा, व्यवहार काल की अवधारणा का सारांश, और प्रथम तीर्थंकर भगवान आदिनाथ की संक्षिप्त जीवन-कथा, जैसा कि पवित्र शास्त्रों में व्याख्या की गई है, का समन्वय है।

This is the description of the most profound and priceless Scripture composed by our Most Holy Ancient Preceptors (Pūrvācārya), published now with English and/or Hindi translation and explanatory notes. Must read and essential possession for every devotee of the Jinavani.