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INTRODUCTION
there, especially in some pages at the beginning, could be conveniently filled by the readings of J. It has not meticulously distinguished, at least in some places, the prose from the verse; and there are occasional lapses in the numbering of gathās. It has scribal errors here and there, but their number is comparatively small. It uses anusvāra () and not para-savarna (कन्द). Usually it writes लोयंमि, सयलंमि and not लोयम्मि, सयलम्म, and often a for. It always writes v both for v and b, and very rarely b is written. There are scribal errors mostly arising out of orthographical similarity in medieval Devanagari between s and m, m and g, u (with the vertical stroke to separate the words) and o, jj and dy, ru and jh, tt and nn, c and v, cch and tth, th and dḍh, p and e, etc. Though we have called it a transcript, it is a very carefully prepared copy; so for safe custody I have returned it to Śri Jinavijayaji who had so kindly lent it to me for my use.
3
J-This stands for the Variant Readings personally noted by Acharya Jinavijayaji (during his stay at Jaisalmer; for a description of his visit to that place, see Bharatiya Vidya, Hindi, Singhi Smrti Grantha, pp. 65 ff.) on the margins of the transcript P from the Jaisalmer palm-leaf MS. which is noticed by Dalal in his Catalogue of MSS. in Jesalmere Bhandars, G. O. S., No. XXI (Baroda 1923), pp. 55 (Intro.) and 28. The palm-leaf MS. belongs to the big Bhandara at Jaisalmer and its No. is 237. It contains 143 leaves, measuring 12 by 2 inches. The leaves are stiff and thin, and the MS. is quite intact. Each page has four lines, vertically cut into two columns. The script is Devanagari, usual in Jaina MSS., with paḍimātrās, and the letters are uniform and attractive. The first page and the last page are blank; otherwise the leaves have writing on both the sides. The pagination is both syllabic and numerical respectively on the left and right side margins. The symbol śri upon 1 stands for 1; su pta upon 2 for 142; and su pla upon 3 for 143. The MS. opens thus: ६० ॥ नमः सर्वज्ञाय ॥ नमह etc. and ends thus ॥ ग्रंथाग्रं श्लोक वर्षे पौषसुदि द्वादश्यां शनौ लीलावती नाम कथा समाप्तेय० ॥ छ ॥ ॥ छ ॥ भद्रमस्तु ॥ छ ॥
१८०० ॥ छ ॥ संवत् १२६५
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Jain Education International
It has to be remembered that the editor has not got the complete copy of the Jaisalmer Ms. So J stands just for the readings, carefully and legibly noted by Sri Jinavijayaji, whenever they differ from those of the transcript P; and by implication it means, when the readings of J are not noted, that P and J agree and go together. With regard to the nasals, this MS. shows clear partiality for n initially, medially and in a conjunct group. With regard to ya-śruti it practically agrees with P.
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