Niryavaliyasuyakhandha Commentary

Added to library: September 2, 2025

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First page of Niryavaliyasuyakhandha Commentary

Summary

This document is the Appendices section of Royce Wiles' 2000 PhD thesis for the Australian National University, titled "The Nirayāvaliyāsuyakkhandha and its commentary by Śricandra". The appendices provide a comprehensive bibliography of the Svetāmbara Jain canon, including various editions, commentaries, studies, and indexes.

The document is organized into several appendices:

  • Appendix I: Bibliography of the Svetāmbara canon: This is the core of the document and is a descriptive listing of published editions of texts considered part of the Svetāmbara Jain canon. It's organized primarily by the ANU Library's holdings but also includes references from other sources. Entries are detailed, providing author (where known), title, content description (often quoting Winternitz), references to other bibliographic sources, and publication details like publisher and date. The arrangement within each text section follows a practical order: complete editions, partial editions/selections, translations, and studies.
  • Appendix II: Commentators on the canon and their works: This section lists major Jain commentators and the canonical texts they commented on.
  • Appendix III: Works of Ghāsīlāla: This appendix specifically lists the numerous works attributed to Muni Ghāsīlāla, a significant editor of Jain canonical texts.
  • Appendix IV: Extant manuscripts of the Nirayāvaliyāsuyakkhandha and its exegesis: This appendix is crucial for the thesis's focus, providing a provisional census of manuscripts for the primary text and its commentary. It outlines the methodology for locating manuscripts using sources like the Jinaratnakośa (JRK) and the New Catalogus Catalogorum (NCC), and then provides detailed listings of manuscripts found in Patan, Jaisalmer, and Khambhat collections, along with their respective catalogue references.
  • Appendix V: The Nirayāvaliyāsuyakkhandha-paryāyā: This appendix clarifies what a "paryāya" commentary is and states that the specific paryāya for the Nirayāvaliyāsuyakkhandha has not been printed before, and in fact may simply be definitions extracted from Sricandra's commentary. It lists the manuscripts used for this text.

The bibliography is extensive, covering a wide range of canonical texts (Angas, Upangas, Prakīrņakas, Mūlasūtras, Chedasūtras), their commentaries, and related epistemological works. For each text, it meticulously lists various published editions and studies, providing bibliographic details, critical comments from scholars where available, and manuscript siglia used in the thesis.

The document also includes detailed sections on abbreviations, sources used in the compilation, and the purpose and principles of organization for the bibliography. It's a foundational resource for understanding the textual history and availability of Svetāmbara Jain literature, particularly in the context of Royce Wiles' PhD research on the Nirayāvaliyāsuyakkhandha.

In summary, this document is a scholarly and exhaustive bibliography that serves as a critical tool for researchers in Jain studies, providing essential information on the published literature of the Svetāmbara canon and its commentaries.