भट्टारक वीरसेन और उनका समय
By श्री रमाकान्त जैन
Summary
The article discusses the life and times of Ācārya Vīrasena, a prominent Jain scholar. It begins with verses praising Vīrasena as a conqueror of all sides, a king of poets, and a guru of pure fame. He is described as a master of the path to liberation, deep as an ocean and lofty as a mountain, who dispels the clouds of passion through meditation on the self. The text identifies Vīrasena as the author of the *Dhavalā* commentary on the *Ṣaṭkhaṇḍāgama*, a foundational Jain scripture based on the oral tradition of Mahāvīra’s teachings. He also began the *Jayadhavalā* commentary on the *Kaṣāya Prābhṛta*, which was completed by his disciple, Jinasena (also known as Jayasena). Vīrasena is referred to as a *Bhaṭṭāraka*, a title that later came to denote a monastic leader. The *Dhavalā* was completed in 72,000 verses in a mixed Prakrit-Sanskrit style. According to the colophon of the *Dhavalā*, Vīrasena studied the scriptures under Ācārya Elācārya and was a disciple of Ārya Nandi and a grand-disciple of Candrasena, all belonging to the Pañcastūpānvaya tradition. The *Dhavalā* was finished in Vikrama Saṃvat 838, on the thirteenth day of the bright half of Kārtika, during the reign of Boddanarāya Narendra, in a region ruled by Jagatuṅgadeva. While some scholars mistakenly took this as Śaka 738 and dated Vīrasena to 816 CE, Dr. Jyotiprasad Jain, after examining the planetary positions, determined the date to be Monday, October 16, 780 CE. He identifies Boddanar
Conclusion
The meticulous dating of the Dhavala and Jayadhavala commentaries to 780 CE and 837 CE respectively, anchored by Dr. Jyotiprasad Jain’s astronomical and epigraphic analysis, fundamentally repositions Ācārya Vīrasena from the 9th to the 8th century, aligning him with Rāṣṭrakūṭa king Dhruva Dhārāvarṣa rather than Amoghavarṣa. This chronological shift resolves inconsistencies in the textual and inscriptional record, particularly the identification of Jagatuṅgadeva as Govinda III and the location of Vāṭagrāma in the Nāsik region. Consequently, Vīrasena’s intellectual lineage—from Elācārya through Āryanandi—and his role as a pivotal synthesizer of the Ṣaṭkhaṇḍāgama tradition are clarified, establishing him as a central figure