''Mahapurana'' (महापुराण) or ''Trishashthilkshana Mahapurana'' is a major Jain text composed largely by ''Acharya''

Jinasena Jinasena (c. 9th century CE) was a monk and scholar in the ''Digambara'' tradition of Jainism. He was patronized by the Rashtrakuta king Amoghavarsha I. He was the author of ''Adipurana'' and '' Mahapurana''.Rashtrakuta ruler Amoghavarsha and completed by his pupil Gunabhadra in the 9th century CE. Mahapurana consists of two parts. The first part is ''

Ādi purāṇa Ādi purāṇa is a 9th century Sanskrit poem composed by Jinasena, a Digambara monk. It deals with the life of Rishabhanatha, the first ''Tirthankara''. History Adi Purana was composed by Jinasena (a Digambara monk) as a Sanskrit poem praising ...

'' written by ''Acharya'' Jinasena. The second part is ''

Uttarapurana ''Uttarapurana'' is a Jain text composed by ''Acharya'' Gunabhadra in the 9th century CE. According to the Digambara ''Digambara'' (; "sky-clad") is one of the two major schools of Jainism, the other being '' Śvētāmbara'' (white-clad) ...

'' which is the section composed by Gunabhadra.

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The ''Trishashthilkshana Mahapurana'' was composed by

Jinasena Jinasena (c. 9th century CE) was a monk and scholar in the ''Digambara'' tradition of Jainism. He was patronized by the Rashtrakuta king Amoghavarsha I. He was the author of ''Adipurana'' and '' Mahapurana''.Chavundaraya Chavundraya or Chamundaraya (Kannada ''Cāmuṇḍarāya, Cāvuṇḍarāya'', 940–989) was an Indian military commander, architect, poet and minister. He served in the court of the Western Ganga dynasty of Talakad (in modern Karnataka, In ...

in 9th century CE. Mahapurana consists of two parts. The first part is ''

'' written by ''Acharya'' Jinasena. The second part is ''Uttarpurana'' which is the section composed by Gunabhadra. ''Adipurana'' contains about 37 chapters where as ''Uttarapurana'' contains about 65 chapters. The completed and edited text was released by Lokasena, pupil of Gunabhadra in a celebration at Bankapura in the court of Vira-Bankeyarasa in 898 CE. The first 42 ''Parvan''s of this text were written by Jinasena, while remaining 34 ''Parvan''s were composed by Gunabhara. ''Mahapurana'' is a work of Pushpadanta (''

Digambara ''Digambara'' (; "sky-clad") is one of the two major schools of Jainism, the other being '' Śvētāmbara'' (white-clad). The Sanskrit word ''Digambara'' means "sky-clad", referring to their traditional monastic practice of neither possessing ...

'' writer) in 960 AD in Apabhramsa. This text gives an encyclopedic account of the Jain tradition. The text is widely quoted. A widely used quote in Carl Sagan's Cosmos, written in the Mahapurana is:

"Some foolish men declare that a Creator made the world. The doctrine that the world was created is ill-advised, and should be rejected. If God created the world, where was He before creation? . . .How could God have made the world without any raw material? If you say He made this first, and then the world, you are faced with an endless regression . . . Know that the world is uncreated, as time itself is, without beginning and end. And it is based on the principles . . . - The Mahapurana (The Great Legend), Jinasena (India, ninth century)",

A number of Jain and non-Jain texts have been influenced by the Mahapurana. Mahapurana was the model for

Saiva Siddhanta Shaiva Siddhanta () (Tamil: சைவ சித்தாந்தம் "Caiva cittāntam") is a form of Shaivism that propounds a dualistic philosophy where the ultimate and ideal goal of a being is to become an enlightened soul through Shiv ...

Periyapuranam The ''Periya‌ purāṇa‌m'' (Tamil: பெரிய‌ புராண‌ம்), that is, the ''great purana'' or epic, sometimes called ''Tiruttontarpuranam'' ("Tiru-Thondar-Puranam", the Purana of the Holy Devotees), is a Tamil poetic ...

which gives biographies of the 63 individuals. Anne E. Monius, ''Love, Violence, and the Aesthetics of disgust: Saivas and Jains In Medieval South India'' in '' Journal of Indian Philosophy'', 2004, vol. 32, no 2-3, pp. 113-172

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