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Introduction
CCCIX
some of the tenets of the rival schools on which the Jaina sees reason to differ. Devotion and thought are happily blended together in one whole, and are expressed in such noble and dignified language that it deserves to rank as a piece of literature no less than that of philosophy (P. C. XXIV).
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This brief review of Hemachandra's literary work will, I hope, give some idea of the contribution he made to Samskṛta Learning and Literature. It is a very difficult task to give a proper estimate of his work. Only a scholar of Hemachandra's capacity can do it justice. It surely makes one feel that the man who did all this work must have possessed extraordinary intellectual powers must have been a veritable intellectual giant.
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We can divide Hemachandra's work into two parts Sastric and literary or poetic. We saw that his Sastric activity covered almost the whole field of the then known branches of learning. These works, as we saw, are characterized by clearness of exposition and lucidity and preciseness of expression. They seem to be designed with the practical view of providing excellent and exhaustive books for the purposes of study. They are, however, not reinarkable for originality of ideas. *
The following remarks of Prof. Jacobi give a fair estimate of Hemachandra's work: "Hemachandra has very extensive and at the same time accurate knowledge of many branches of Hindu and Jaina learning combined with great literary skill, and an
* Hemachandra has given, his idea of originality (lit novelty) and authorship in the Pramaņāmīmamsā. pp. CCCIV-CCCV.
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