________________
INTRODUCTION
27
Āgamaprabhākara Muni Śrī Punyavijayaji got the important mss. in the Bhandāras in Jesalmer microfilmed. This ms. has also been microfilmed along with others. I sought permission from the Registrar, the Mahavira Jaina Vidyalaya, for getting enlargements of the microfilm of the ms., pointing out the importance of the ms, for the work of editing the Bhagavatīsūtra. The Registrar as usual understood my point, put the matter before the Hon. Secretaries and got it sanctioned, and promptly gave me permission for getting the enlargements done. I have compared the version of the text of the Bhagavatīsūtra, contained in the second and the third parts, that is, from the 10th Sataka to the end, with the corresponding portion of the text contained in this enlargement copy. I have accepted in the body of the text the optional syllables, viz., 7-2---07, etc., following the readings yielded by this ms. As this enlargement copy is of the ms. belonging to the Jesalmer Bhandāra, I have given the sign to to this ms.
It was not possible to compare the text portion contained in the first part with this ms, as we got the enlargements only when the first part was under print. But the editor has utilised the handwritten copy of the ms., which is upto the third Uddeśa of the fifth Śataka. This copy was prepared at the instance of Āgamaprabhākara Muni Sri Punyavijayaji. The editor has given the sign to to this ms., and noted the readings yielded by it. Thus the ato ms. is not different from the Soms. While writing the description of the mss., this fact came to my notice. In other words, two signs have been given to one and the same ms. In short, the tms. mentioned in the first part and the Soms. mentioned in the second and the third part are identical. But this ho is quite different from so used in the first part, mentioned in the state.
The ms. indicated by a sign in the second and the third part has in its last folio a colophon composed in 13 verses. The substance of the colophon is: The first five verses mention Candragaccha, Ācārya Sri Sarvadevasūri, his disciple Śri Municandra Upadhyāya and Municandra Upadhyaya's disciple Śrī Dhaneśvarasūri. The sixth verse refers to Pravartini Sādhvi Śrī Mrgävati. From this we can infer that Śrī Mrgāvati Sādhvi must have been a female disciple of Acārya Śrī Dhaneśvarasūri. The seventh verse mentions Dharkața lineage. The verses 8-12 inform us that a merchant named Naga got this ms. copied. The thirteenth verse expresses the hope that the ms. will remain extant for long.
The colophon verses are composed in Prakrit. The complete text of the colophon is given in the foot-note No. 4 on p. 1185 of the third part of the Viyahapannattisuttam.
Jain Education International
For Private & Personal Use Only
www.jainelibrary.org