Prabhāvakacarita is a Jain text devoted to history, composed by
Prabhācandra, an ''
acarya
In Indian religions and society, an ''acharya'' (Sanskrit: आचार्य, IAST: ; Pali: ''ācariya'') is a preceptor and expert instructor in matters such as religion, or any other subject. An acharya is a highly learned person with a t ...
'' of the
Svetambara tradition of
Jainism
Jainism ( ), also known as Jain Dharma, is an Indian religion. Jainism traces its spiritual ideas and history through the succession of twenty-four tirthankaras (supreme preachers of ''Dharma''), with the first in the current time cycle bein ...
in 1277–78. While Prabhāvakacarita is dedicated to the lives of Jain scholars of the Shvetambara tradition, it is often quoted in the context of contemporary history, often dealing with the time of Acharya
Hemachandra
Hemachandra was a 12th century () Indian Jain saint, scholar, poet, mathematician, philosopher, yogi, grammarian, law theorist, historian, lexicographer, rhetorician, logician, and prosodist. Noted as a prodigy by his contemporaries, he gain ...
. It is a major source of the information on the society in that era. Prabhāvakacarita includes a mention of use a parachute in ancient India.
Prabhācandra mentions that he was inspired by the
Hemachandra
Hemachandra was a 12th century () Indian Jain saint, scholar, poet, mathematician, philosopher, yogi, grammarian, law theorist, historian, lexicographer, rhetorician, logician, and prosodist. Noted as a prodigy by his contemporaries, he gain ...
's Parishisthaparvan, which is an appendix to the
Trishahsthi-Shalaka-Purusha-Charitra which stops at the account of Vajraswami. Prabhachandra gives accounts of acharyas from the first century of the Vikram era to 13th century, concluding with the account of
Hemachandra
Hemachandra was a 12th century () Indian Jain saint, scholar, poet, mathematician, philosopher, yogi, grammarian, law theorist, historian, lexicographer, rhetorician, logician, and prosodist. Noted as a prodigy by his contemporaries, he gain ...
. It gives an account of 22 acharyas, including Vajraswami, Kalaka,
Haribhadra
Aacharya Haribhadra Suri was a Svetambara mendicant Jain leader, philosopher , doxographer, and author. There are multiple contradictory dates assigned to his birth. According to tradition, he lived c. 459–529 CE. However, in 1919, a Jain m ...
, Bapabhatti,
Manatunga, Mahendra Suri (which includes an account of poet
Dhanapala[Dhanapāla and His Times: A Socio-cultural Study Based Upon His Works, Ganga Prasad Yadava, Concept Publishing Company, 1982, p. 26]) and Hemachandra. It concludes by including a prashati of the author himself.
Translations
References
Jain texts
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