Mahapurana (Jainism)
Encyclopedia
Mahapurana is a major Jain text composed largely by Acharya Jinasena
during the rule of Rashtrakuta
ruler Amoghavarsha
and completed by his pupil Gunabhadra in the 9th century CE. The section composed by Gunabhadra is called "Uttarapurana". The completed and edited text was released by Lokasena, pupil of Gunabhadra in a celebration at Bankapura
in the court of Vira-Bankeyarasa in 898 CE. The first 42 Parvans of this text were written by Jinasena, while remaining
34 Parvans were composed by Gunabhara.
This text gives an encyclopedic account of the Jain tradition. The text is widely quoted. A widely used quote from Carl Sagan's Cosmos, page 140 is:
A number of Jain and non-Jain texts have been influenced by the Mahapurana. Mahapurana was the model for Saiva Siddhanta Periyapuranam which gives biographies of the 63 individuals.
Jinasena
Jinasena is the name of several famous Jain Acharyas of the Digambar tradition.* The author of Harivamsha Purana in the 8th century. He belonged to the Punnata branch of Jain monks....
during the rule of Rashtrakuta
Rashtrakuta
The Rashtrakuta Empire was a royal dynasty ruling large parts of the Indian Subcontinent between the sixth and the 10th centuries. During this period they ruled as several closely related, but individual clans. Rastrakutas in inscriptions represented as descendants of Satyaki, a Yadava well known...
ruler Amoghavarsha
Amoghavarsha
Amoghavarsha I was a Rashtrakuta emperor, the greatest ruler of the Rashtrakuta dynasty, and one of the great emperors of India. His nominal reign of 64 years is the longest precisely dated monarchical reign on record in India and one of the longest documented reigns of all monarchy since...
and completed by his pupil Gunabhadra in the 9th century CE. The section composed by Gunabhadra is called "Uttarapurana". The completed and edited text was released by Lokasena, pupil of Gunabhadra in a celebration at Bankapura
Bankapura
Bankapura is a panchayat town in Haveri district in the state of Karnataka, India. It is in Shiggaon taluk, is just 2.5 km from the Pune-Bangalore national highway NH4, 22 km from Haveri town. Bankapur is about 45 km from Hubli-Dharwad...
in the court of Vira-Bankeyarasa in 898 CE. The first 42 Parvans of this text were written by Jinasena, while remaining
34 Parvans were composed by Gunabhara.
This text gives an encyclopedic account of the Jain tradition. The text is widely quoted. A widely used quote from Carl Sagan's Cosmos, page 140 is:
"Some foolish men declare that Creator made the world. The doctrine that the world was created is ill-advised, and should be rejected. If god created the world, where was he before creation? If you say he was transcendent then, and needed no support, where is he now?",
A number of Jain and non-Jain texts have been influenced by the Mahapurana. Mahapurana was the model for Saiva Siddhanta Periyapuranam which gives biographies of the 63 individuals.