''Vyākhyāprajñapti'' ( sa, व्याख्याप्रज्ञप्ति "Exposition of Explanations"), commonly known as the ''Bhagavati Sūtra'' (), is the fifth of the 12
Jain Agamas
Jain literature ( Sanskrit: जैन साहित्य) refers to the literature of the Jain religion. It is a vast and ancient literary tradition, which was initially transmitted orally. The oldest surviving material is contained in the c ...
said to be promulgated by
Mahāvīra
Mahavira (Sanskrit: महावीर) also known as Vardhaman, was the 24th ''tirthankara'' (supreme preacher) of Jainism. He was the spiritual successor of the 23rd ''tirthankara'' Parshvanatha. Mahavira was born in the early part of the 6t ...
. The Vyākhyāprajñapti is said to have been composed by
Sudharmaswami
Sudharmaswami ( sa, Sudharmāsvāmī or Sudharman; 607 BC – 507 BC) was the fifth ganadhara of Mahavira. All the current Jain acharyas and monks follow his rule.
Life
Sudharmaswami was the spiritual successor of Indrabhuti Gautama in reli ...
by the
Śvētāmbara school 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 ...
; it is written in
Jain Prakrit
The Prakrits (; sa, prākṛta; psu, 𑀧𑀸𑀉𑀤, ; pka, ) are a group of vernacular Middle Indo-Aryan languages that were used in the Indian subcontinent from around the 3rd century BCE to the 8th century CE. The term Prakrit is us ...
. It is the largest text of the canon, said to contain 36,000 questions answered by Mahavira. The subject matter of the answers ranges from doctrine to rules of ascetic behaviour.
Contents
The Vyākhyāprajñapti is divided into 41 sections known as ''shataka''s. It follows question and answer pattern. The questions are raised by Gautama, Makandiputra, Roha, Agnibhuti and Vayubhuti, Skandaka, Jayanti and others. Briefly, the answers may be categorised under the following categories:
*related to ascetic conduct
*related to the six substances
*related to ontology
*related to reincarnation
*related to geography
*related to cosmology
*related to mathematics
*related to
obstetrics
Obstetrics is the field of study concentrated on pregnancy, childbirth and the postpartum period. As a medical specialty, obstetrics is combined with gynecology under the discipline known as obstetrics and gynecology (OB/GYN), which is a sur ...
*brief biographies of famous contemporaries of Mahavira
*miscellaneous subjects
English translations
Illustrated BHAGAVATI SUTRA Vol. 1, VYAKHYA PRAJNAPTI Prakrit Gatha - Hindi exposition - English exposition; with a glossary Ed. by Pravartaka Amar Muni, Shrichand Surana Saras Eng. tr. by Surendra Bothra
External links
Bhagavati-sutra (English translation)*first twelve books*, by K. C. Lalwani, 1973, includes commentary by Abhayadeva Suri
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vyakhyaprajnapti
Jain texts
Agamas