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The poet has stated at the beginning of the poem that Minister Bharat had this poem composed by me, on this very Falgun Shukla 13. At this time, on the great fort of Jogipur (Delhi), the Sultan Alam Paatshah has clearly accepted in the end that he had various ras-raj at the request of Minister Bharat. Then, in the auspicious place called 'Pal', the 'Paddhardiya' chhand of the Mahapuran, filled with emotions, was composed by 'Chaudhary Raimal' in the beginning section of the Mahapuran. Paddhardiya was written in the Apabhramsha language in that era. The writing work was done by a Brahmin named 'Vishnudas', and the style of the paintings was very popular. The poet attributes the credit for completing the Mahapuran to his own talent and the generosity of Minister Bharat 'Harinath Kayasth' and his family. The poet was very proud of Minister Bharat's selflessness. Pushpadant has marked the end of each section of his poem with the name 'Bharat' along with the epithet 'Mahaabhavya' with great pride. This manuscript of 687 pages mentions 541 colored paintings in accordance with the life story of Tirthankar Rishabhdev. A self-respecting, selfless, and world-weary person like Mahakaavi Pushpadant has marked his name in the original manuscript. Keeping six letters, namely letter numbers 10, 15, 87, 96, 132, and 133, at his home, and having a huge work like 'Mahapuran' composed is a special characteristic of Minister Bharat. Pages 18-19, 28-29, 172-173, 190-191, 262-263, and 264-265 are missing. He was a judge of men and a seeker of virtues. It is undoubtedly due to the generosity of Minister Bharat that this great work of Apabhramsha language became available to the world. The Apabhramsha text 'Adipuran' has been taken from the printed/published copy (from Bharatiya Gyanpeeth) with gratitude. This illustrated manuscript of historical importance is unparalleled, unique, and one of a kind. 2. Minister Nann
_ The Managing Committee of the Digambar Jain Big Temple Terapanthiyaan, Jaipur, is very grateful to the President - Shri (Dr.) Subhash Kasliwal, Minister - Shri (Dr.) Samantbhadra Papdiwal, and all other members. Mahakaavi was under the patronage of Minister Bharat until the completion of 'Mahapuran' (i.e., 965 AD), but he was under the patronage of Minister Bharat's son Nann during the composition of 'Nayakumarachariu' (between 966-968 AD). The cooperation provided by Shri Vinaychand Papdiwal, nominated by the Managing Committee of the Big Temple, in this work is noteworthy. It appears that when Pushpadant composed 'Mahapuran', Bharat was the minister, but after the completion of Mahapuran, either Bharat passed away or he took renunciation. Nann, the son of Bharat, became the successor of his father, and Nann also provided patronage to the Mahakaavi and inspired him to compose poetry in Apabhramsha. Nann was gentle by nature and pure at heart. Just like his father, he was also religious and used to study the meaning of Jain Agamas seriously. He used to give all four types of charity. Under his patronage, the poet composed 'Nayakumarachariu' and 'Jasaharachariu'.
We are grateful to the Managing Committee of the Digambar Jain Atishay Kshetra Shri Mahaveerji and the members of the Jain Vidya Sansthan for granting permission to publish this manuscript. The 'Jain Vidya Sansthan' run by the Digambar Jain Atishay Kshetra Shri Mahaveerji is dedicated to preserving and promoting Jain philosophy, culture, art, conduct, and thoughts. In keeping with this objective, the institution has published this illustrated manuscript of 'Adipuran'.
We are grateful to Shri Pramodkumar Jain and Shri Alok Jain of Jaipur Printers Pvt. Ltd., Jaipur, for this beautiful and artistic printing. This illustrated manuscript of 'Adipuran' has been published for the first time. This original illustrated manuscript of the Apabhramsha language has been published on art paper with Hindi meaning. The Hindi meaning by (Late) Dr. Devendrakumar Jain has been taken from 'Adipuran' published by Bharatiya Gyanpeeth (2001) with gratitude.
President Minister
Coordinator
Managing Committee
Jain Vidya Sansthan Committee
This manuscript is preserved in the Shastra Bhandar of the Digambar Jain Big Temple Terapanthiyaan, Jaipur. This manuscript has 344 letters (687 pages). Its script date is Samvat 1597 (AD 1540). Digambar Jain Atishay Kshetra Shri Mahaveerji 1. The first and second parts of 'Apabhramsha Mahapuran' written by Mahakaavi Pushpadant.
Tirthankar Mahaveer Nirvana Day, Kartik Krishna Amavasya, Veer Nirvana Samvat 2531, 12.11.2004
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