आरभिक

Summary

This combined issue of the *Jain Vidya* research journal is presented to readers as a special Veerasena issue. Dharasenacharya imparted knowledge of certain sections of the second Purva to his disciples Pushpadanta and Bhutabali. Based on this knowledge, they composed the Shatkhandagama in sutra form. This Agama is considered by the Digambara sect to be a text from the second century CE. Its composition was completed on Jyeshtha Shukla Panchami, a day still celebrated as Shruta Panchami by the Digambara sect. Approximately contemporary to Dharasenacharya, Acharya Ganadhara composed the Kashayapahuda. Acharya Veerasena wrote a commentary on five sections of the Shatkhandagama, consisting of seventy-two thousand shlokas, which is famous as the "Dhavala." He also began a commentary on the Kashayapahuda, writing twenty thousand shlokas before his passing. His worthy disciple, Acharya Jinasena, completed it by writing forty thousand shlokas. This commentary is renowned as the "Jaya Dhavala." Thus, Acharya Veerasena composed a total of ninety-two thousand shlokas. While the Mahabharata, with one hundred thousand shlokas, is considered the world's largest epic, it is not the work of a single person. Acharya Veerasena's composition is only slightly less in volume than the Mahabharata, yet it is the result of one individual's effort. Acharya Veerasena is a pride of Rajasthan, a resident of Chittorgarh, and his time is considered to be the eighth-ninth century. His commentaries are mostly in the Prakrit language. It is indisputable that through the Dhavala and Jaya Dhavala commentaries, Acharya Veerasena presented the profound material of the Shatkhandagama and Kashayapahuda in an unprecedented manner, achieving unparalleled public welfare.