Author of Milacira
By V. Joharapurkar
Summary
This miscellany piece reconsiders the authorship of the Jain treatise **Milacira**. Earlier scholars attributed the work to Kundakunda or Yativṛṣabha, eminent Digambara monks of the 2nd and 5th centuries A.D. V. Joharapurkar examines passages quoted in later commentaries and finds that some manuscripts refer to the author as **Vajrakara** or **Vajrakara of Bhattaraka**. He argues that this name derives not from a sectarian leader but from the village **Vajrakera** mentioned in an eighth‑century Rāṣṭrakūṭa copper‑plate grant. Joharapurkar notes that the text’s language differs from known Kundakunda works and that its doctrinal emphasis on five great vows resembles later Śvetāmbara manuals. He concludes that Milacira was likely composed by an unknown teacher from Vajrakera around the 8th–9th century and that attributing it to early luminaries is a later hagiographical invention. The article encourages critical examination of Jain authorship traditions.
Conclusion
By challenging traditional attributions, Joharapurkar shows that not all Jain works can be confidently linked to famous teachers. His careful use of epigraphic and textual evidence places Milacira in a more plausible historical context and underscores the need to distinguish between genuine authorship and later sectarian prestige. Such studies refine our understanding of Jain literary history and caution against uncritical acceptance of manuscript colophons.