Pancastikayasara (PKS) is one of the important works of Kundakunda, who was an outstanding philosopher, a versatile genius, a celebrated literary figure, an original thinker, a doyen of saints and a great religious teacher. He lived in the first century BCE.
Kundakunda's name is revered next only to Lord Mahavīra and his apostle Gautam Gandhara. PKS deals with Jaina metaphysics or ontology and ethics, leading one to the path of salvation.
A number of commentaries on it in Sanskrit by Amṛtacandra, Brahmadeva, Devjita, Jayasena, Jñānacanda, Mallisena and Prabhācandra are known. Those of Amṛtacandra and Jayasena are already printed and are well known. There is a commentary by Bälacandra in Old Kannada; but it has not been published. Some expositions of this work in India have been composed by Hemarāja (Samvat 1700), Rājamalla (Samvat 1716), Hīrācandra (Samvat 1718) and Vidhicanda (Samvat 1891) and more recently by Lalaji Nyayatirtha (1989-90 CE/Sarmvat 2046-47).
Like other works of Kundakunda, the Samayasara (SS) and Pravacanasara (PS), PKS too contains the Sanskrit commentaries of both Amṛtacandra and Jayasena. As with other works, Jayasena's recension of the Pancastikayasara also contains additional verses than those in Amṛtacandra's recension of the Pancastikayasara.
As the name itself suggests, the Pancastikayasara deals with the five (panca) cosmic constituents (astikayas). The term astikaya is a compound name made up of asti and kaya, which respectively means existing or existent and of extensive magnitude. Astikāya therefore means a real thing that has extensive magnitude, i.e.
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