Some Less Known Verses of Siddhasena Divākara

The fifth article collates lesser‑known verses attributed to the Jain philosopher Siddhasena Divākara. Medieval sources such as the Prabhāvakacarita recount that Siddhasena recited poetic verses before King Vikramāditya, yet the verses cited there do not appear in his known works, raising questions about authorship. By tracing quotations in commentaries by Jayasiṃha Sūri (A.D. 859) and Haribhadra Sūri (ca. 750), the author argues that some of these verses are genuinely ancient. The article highlights how Jain scholars often borrowed verses from multiple traditions, making attribution complex. It presents the verses in translation and analyses themes such as transience, ethics and cosmology. Ultimately, the piece illustrates the fluidity of authorship in early Jain literary culture and urges caution when assigning verses to historical figures.

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