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THE JAINAS In the History of Indian Literature
$ 1) Brief Survey of the contribution of the Jainas TT would take a fairly big volume to give a
I history of all that the Jainas have contributed to the treasures of Indian literature. When Albrecht Weber wrote his famous Lectures on the History of Indian Literature (second German Edition 1876) he only referred in a note to the Jaina Caritras and their importance for the history of India, with a passing reference to the Satruñjaya Māhātmya. He mentioned in a note the atomistic theory of Jaina philosophers, as found in the Bhagavati. Besides these notes he devoted a whole page to the sacred books of the Jainas and in a long note he pointed out what great importance the Jainas have had for Sanskrit Literature, especially for grammar and lexicography. He mentioned the great Hemacandra and his Yogasāstra which shortly before Professor Windisch had made known by publishing the text with a German translation.
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