Padmasundara’s Jñānacandrodaya-nāṭaka (Introductory note)

Summary

This brief piece, edited by Nagin J. Shah, introduces a rare Jaina philosophical drama titled Jñānacandrodaya‑nāṭaka, composed by the scholar Padmasundara. The introduction explains that the existing edition is based on a paper manuscript from the Hemacandrachārya Jñāna‑mandir at Patan, dated to around V.S. 1700 (c. 1643 CE). The manuscript comprises twenty‑four folios written in good script but lacks a colophon; however, the scribe’s name, Meghā, appears at the end. Shah notes that the work is not a conventional drama but a vyāyoga (a short play) divided into five acts. Its themes include bondage (bandha), liberation and Jaina metaphysics, and the characters are personifications of concepts rather than dramatised individuals. The author summarises the historical background of Padmasundara, identifying him as a disciple in the lineage of the Jñānacandrodaya Vyākoga tradition, which itself traces back to the philosopher Ānandameru. Biographical notes credit Padmasundara with other works on astrology, lexicography and logic and mention that he was honoured at Akbar’s court, though he likely flourished slightly later. The piece also lists some published works in the Gañjā Oriental Series that reproduce related Jaina philosophical tracts. Shah emphasises that the Jñānacandrodaya‑nāṭaka embodies the essence of Kundakunda’s philosophy and that Padmasundara’s commentary draws heavily on the works of Kundakunda and his commentator Amṛtacandra, sometimes borrowing entire phrases. The editor indicates that the subsequent pages provide comparative extracts from Jñānacandrodaya and other Jaina treatises to illustrate these connections.