Question 23 from UPSC CSE 2022 - Art & Culture

Question

With reference to Indian history, consider the following texts:
1. Nettipakarana
2. Parishishtaparvan
3. Avadanashataka
4. Trishashtilakshana Mahapurana
Which of the above are Jaina texts?

IASCODEX · Accepted Answer

Correct Option: B. 2 and 4 only

Strategy: *   Recognize religious affiliation of texts by linguistic roots, title structure, and contextual clues.
*   Identify Nettipakarana and Avadanashataka as Buddhist based on their Pali/Sanskrit context and associated terms.
*   Trace Parishishtaparvan and Trishashtilakshana Mahapurana to Jain authors and themes, particularly by the use of 'parvan' and 'mahapurana'.
*   Eliminate Buddhist texts (Nettipakarana, Avadanashataka) to correctly select the matched Jain texts.

Key Info: *   **Nettipakarana** -- A Buddhist text in Pali, serving as a guide for interpreting and teaching Buddhist doctrine, sometimes attributed to the disciple Kaccana.
*   **Avadanashataka** -- A Sanskrit Buddhist collection of one hundred (shataka) edifying stories (avadanas) about karma and past lives of the Buddha and other figures, compiled between the 2nd and 11th centuries CE.
*   **Parishishtaparvan** (also Sthaviravalicharitra) -- A Jain Sanskrit mahakavya composed by Hemachandra in the 12th century CE. It covers the histories of early Jain teachers and other ancillary legends.
*   **Trishashtilakshana Mahapurana** ('The Great Purana of Sixty-Three Illustrious Beings') -- A major Jain epic composed mainly by Acharya Jinasena and completed by Gunabhadra in the 9th century. It documents the Jain view of cosmology and legendary history, including the 24 Tirthankaras, 12 Chakravartins, 9 Balabhadras, 9 Narayanas, and 9 Pratinarayanas.
*   Jain puranas, unlike their Hindu counterparts, are didactic and focus on spiritual biographies and principles of Jain ethics and cosmology.

IASCODEX · Answer

Option A: 1, 2, and 3

IASCODEX · Answer

Option C: 1, 3, and 4

IASCODEX · Answer

Option D: 2, 3, and 4

With reference to Indian history, consider the following texts: Nettipakarana Parishishtaparvan Avadanashataka Trishashtilakshana Mahapurana Which of the above are Jaina texts?

With reference to Indian history, consider the following texts:

Nettipakarana

Parishishtaparvan

Avadanashataka

Trishashtilakshana Mahapurana
Which of the above are Jaina texts?