Merutunga

Merutunga
Born	14th-century
Died	14th-century
Works	Prabandha-Chintamani Vicharashreni

Merutuṅga was a medieval scholar from present-day Gujarat in India and was a Śvētāmbara Jain monk of the Añcala Gaccha. He is presently most well-known for his Sanskrit text, the Prabandhacintāmaṇi, composed in 1306 CE. He also wrote Vicāraśreṇī in 1350 CE which describes the chronology of Chāvḍā, Chaulukya and Vāghelā dynasties.

Works

Prabandhacintāmaṇi

Main article: Prabandha-Chintamani

The Prabandhacintāmaṇi was composed in Vardhamāna (modern-day Wadhwan) in VS 1361 Phālguna Śukla 15, a Sunday. In the text itself, Merutuṅga states that Gaṇī Guṇacandra compiled the first version of the text and that Dharmadeva assisted Merutuṅga in the compilation of the final version.

Therāvalī

The Therāvalī of Merutuṅga is a Paṭṭāvalī that presents a chronology from Mahavira to the arrival of and invasion by the Sakas in India.

Vicāraśreṇī

The Vicāraśreṇī is a bhāṣya on his earlier Therāvalī and was likely composed in VS 1363 (1306 CE).

Ṣaḍdarśananirṇaya

The Ṣaḍdarśananirṇaya is a general exposition, a doxography of 6 contemporary religious philosophies (darśanas) during Merutuṅga's time: Buddhism, Nyāya, Sāṃkhya, Vaiśeṣika, Mīmāṃsā, and Jainism. It is unique among medieval Jain doxographies in that it presents refutations on non-Jain positions found in the other philosophies.

Mahāpuruṣacarita

The work has survived with a bhāṣya, likely written by Merutuṅga himself, and is a charita, a biography, of five great figures in Jainism: Ṛṣabhadeva, Neminātha, Śāntinātha, Pārśvanātha, and Mahāvīra. Additionally, in the bhāṣya, the original work is named the Upadeśaśataka and the Dharmopadeśaśataka. It is also referred to as the Vivaraṇa.

Criticism

As a historian, Merutuṅga's works are generally regarded to be of poor quality, as compared with his contemporaries and with modern historians. Gujarati historian K. M. Munshi states that dates are "the weakest point in Merutuṅga's narratives" and British Indologist A. K. Warder dismisses Merutuṅga's histories as "completely unreliable" and his narratives as "essentially fiction".

References

Sources

• Cort, John E. (2001), Jains in the World : Religious Values and Ideology in India, Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-513234-3
• Jain, Kailash Chand (1991), Lord Mahāvīra and His Times, Motilal Banarsidass, ISBN 978-81-208-0805-8
• Sen, Sailendra Nath (1999) [1988], Ancient Indian History and Civilization (Second ed.), New Age International Publishers, ISBN 81-224-1198-3
• Crouzet, François (1965), Studies in the Cultural History of India, Shiva Lal Agarwala
• Arai, Toshikazu (1978), The Structure of Jaina Kingship as Viewed by the Prabandhacintāmaṇi
• Tawney, Charles Henry (1901), The Prabandhacintāmaṇi or Wishing-Stone of Narratives, The Asiatic Society of Bengal
• Eggermont, P. H. L. (1969), The Purāņa Source of Merutuṅga's List of Kings and the Arrival of the Śakas in India
• Winternitz, Moriz (1996), A History of Indian Literature, Volume 2, translated by Sarma, V. Srinivasa, Motilal Banarsidass Publishers, ISBN 9788120802650
• Mahesh Singh (1984). Bhoja Paramāra and His Times. Bharatiya Vidya Prakashan. OCLC 11786897.
• A. K. Warder (1992). Indian Kāvya Literature. Vol. VI: The Art of Storytelling. Motilal Banarsidass. ISBN 978-81-208-0615-3.