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Press Comments on Bhagavati Sūtra
An edition and English translation of the gigantic and encyclopaedic Jain work, the Bhagavati-sütra, was a longfelt desideratum, especially for those who could not follow Ardha-Magadhi easily. This book is of great importance in that the work, being the largest of all Jain canonical writings, contains, besides Jain tenets of philosophy, many things secular, providing information on the political, social, and economic conditions of the contemporary society, education, different systems of religion, cosmology, geography, etc. This provides a high incentive to a scholar doing research in Jainism.
The mode of representation is in the form of a dialogue between Sramaņa Bhagavān Mahāvīra and Indrabhūti Gautama and this reminds one of Plato's Republic.
As regards the translation, it must be said at the outset that the English of Professor Lalwani is so lucid and graceful that it makes for pleasant reading by itself, even without the text. Every word in the translation looks natural to it, and we have the pleasure of reading good English side by side with a graceful Ardha-Magadhi coming from the mouth of Sramaņa Bhagavān Mahāvīra.
The explanatory notes appended and the different tables clarifying the contents of the text and philosophy incidentally speak of the translator's proficiency in Ardha-Magadhi. Professor Lalwani deserves all praise in undertaking such a strenuous and gigantic task.
-V. L. Joshi, JRAS 1976, Part 2.
The rich content of the Bhagavati Sūtra, as conveyed by the profundity and precision of its concepts, is at once metaphysical and scientific. Its standpoint is not different
