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compared to the stories from other works those in this work are much more interesting and conforming to international standards.
Some of the stories from Jnata Sutra have parallels in Buddhist, Vedic as well as foreign literature. For example the story of Megh Kumar has a parallel in the story of Nand from the Jatak literature; the story of two tortoises has parallels in commentaries on Gita; the story of Rohini has similarities with stories of Methew and Luke from the Bible. All this points toward the fact that many stories from Jnata Sutra have slowly spread all around the world and have been adapted and absorbed in the world literature. INTRODUCTION TO THE TEXT
There are two sections in the Jnata Sutra. The first section contains nineteen chapters and the second has ten sub-sections. The name of this work is Jnata Dharma Katha. Acharya Abhaya Dev Suri has commented on this term-Jnata means example and Dharma Katha means popular religious tales. Both these combined mean-examples and religious tales. Some scholars say that the word Jnata has been derived from the Prakrit word Naya. One of the names of Bhagavan Mahavir is Naya-putta or Jnataputra. Here the word Jnata points towards Bhagavan Mahavir. So according to this theory Jnata Dharma Katha means the religious stories told by Bhagavan Mahavir. This interpretation appears to be more appropriate. Another meaning is religious tales told by Jnata (omniscient or Bhagavan Mahavir).
All the stories in the first section are based on examples. The verses drawing conclusion at the end of each story make it easy to grasp the lesson contained. These stories impart moral values, knowledge of the fundamentals, inspiration, and guidance for spiritual practices. THE ILLUSTRATED AGAM SERIES
Three years back we had celebrated the sixtieth anniversary of the Diksha ceremony of revered Gurudev U. B. Pravartak Bhandari Shri Padma Chandra ji Maharaj. At that time the plan for publication of illustrated Agams was taking shape in my mind. The very same year I launched and concluded the editing and publication of the last sermon of Bhagavan Mahavir, Illustrated Uttaradhyayan Sutra.
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