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Studies in Jainology, Prakrit
Sanskrit into their regular Prakrit medium. The Tikas, then, fully realized this temptation of the Curnis, imbibing scholastic techniques of the Brahmanic Nyaya school and displaying them well in their commentarial efforts.
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After getting introduced fairly well to these four types of the Jaina exegetical literature, some interesting questions stand before us Why do we have no bhāṣya for every Niryukti? Or, why Niryuktis like the Ayāra and the Suyagada remained free from later additions and insertions of explanations? Why some Cūrnis stand independent of Bhāṣyas? Why should a Bhāṣya, like that on the Dasaveyāliya (Dasavaikālika) comprise just 63 verses? We cannot bundle off all these and many such other questions by simply saying that all the exegetical works (in different layers too) have not come down to us. But we have to apply ourselves, first and foremost, to bringing out critical editions of the available exegetical works and to study them intensively, extensively, and comparatively, so that we may be able to answer all such questions and also know many new facts about and facets of the Jaina tradition, history, dogmatics, theology, philosophy, metaphysics and hence the Jaina contribution to Indian thought and literature. This would be possible only when we will have some Leumanns, in India and Japan, and of course in the West, who would produce scholarly studies like 'Ayara Literature', 'Dasaveyaliya literature', 'Nisiha Literature', etcetera.
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