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They were not completely pure either. Those who could impart the true meaning of the scriptures were also rare. Due to many other reasons, the stream of Agamic knowledge became constricted.
In the sixteenth century Vikram era, Lokashah made a revolutionary effort. A bold attempt to expound the pure and true meaning of the Agamas was revived. But after some time, obstacles arose again. Communal hatred, doctrinal disputes, and the lack of linguistic knowledge of the scribes became a major obstacle to the attainment of the Agamas and their proper understanding.
In the early nineteenth century, when the tradition of printing the Agamas began, readers found some relief. When the ancient commentaries, churni, and niyukti of the Agamas were published and the simple and clear meaning of the Agamas was made available to the readers in print based on them, the study of Agamic knowledge naturally increased, hundreds of inquisitive people developed a tendency towards Agamic self-study, and Jain and non-Jain scholars from India and abroad also began to study the Agamas.
It is difficult to mention the names of all the scholars and wise monks who made historical contributions to the work of publishing, editing, and printing the Agamas due to the lack of sufficient material. However, I will definitely mention the names of some great monks of the Sthanakvasi tradition.
Reverend Shri Amolkarishiji Maharaj was a great courageous and determined monk of the Sthanakvasi tradition, who, despite limited resources, translated all thirty-two sutras into Hindi, making them accessible to the masses. The editing and publication of the entire thirty-two was a historical work, which benefited the entire Sthanakvasi and Terapanthi society. A resolution of Gurudev Pujya Swami Shri Joravarmalji Maharaj:
When I was studying the Agamas under the guidance of Gurudev Late Swami Shri Joravarmalji Maharaj, some Agamas published by the Agamoday Samiti were available. Gurudev used to make me study based on them. Seeing them, Gurudev felt that this edition, although quite laborious and also quite pure among the editions available so far, still has many unclear places. There is also a difference somewhere in the original text and its commentary, somewhere the commentary is very brief.
Gurudev Swami Shri Joravarmalji Maharaj himself was a profound scholar of Jain sutras. His intellect was very sharp and argumentative. Seeing this state of Agamic literature, he was very pained and expressed many times that if there was a pure, beautiful, and universally useful publication of the Agamas, it would benefit many people. Due to some circumstances, his resolution remained limited to just a feeling.
Meanwhile, Acharya Shri Jawaharlalji Maharaj, Jain Dharma Divakar Acharya Shri Atmaramji Maharaj, Pujya Shri Ghasilalji Maharaj, etc. learned monks gave beautiful explanations and commentaries on the Agamas.
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