Descriptive Catalogue of Manuscripts in Jain Bhandars at Patan

SR No.: 011005
Original Sutra Author: N/A
Author: Lalchandra B Gandhi
Publisher: Oriental Research Institute Vadodra
Publication Year: 1937
Total Pages: 591
Language: English
Classification: Catalogue
File Size: 32 MB

Page 46

( 40 ) The MSS. were written cither by Yatis or professional scribes who were mostly Brahmins, Kāyasthas and Banias. The cost of the MSS. including the price of the leaves and the copying charges was comparatively higher. MSS. often changed hands both by gift and sale,
All palm-leaf MSS. are pierced either with one hole in the middle or with two holes on the left and the right in the case of long MSS., through which strings are passed in order to keep the leaves together. The MSS. arc generally place between wooden boards and occasionally in leather covers held together by means of strings of cotton or silk. The MSS. are then wrapped over with pieces of cloth or silk and then arranged in gañas and placed in large wooden boxes. The largest MS. measures 36"x2)", in size while the smallest (pustikā) measures 42"x1.}" in size.
Although the oldest dlated MS. at Pattan was copied in 1062 A. D. there are about half a dozen undated MSS. which were written carlier. The script of the MSS. of Damayanti, Candra-Mahattara's Prākrta commentary on Sittari, and other MSS. tell us that they were written in the 10th century A. D. Of the dated MSS. there are about a dozen written in the 12th century and about one hundred in the 13th century. Most of the MSS. copied in the 15th century were written at the command of Devasundara and his pupil Somasundara, pontiffs of the Tapāgaccha, both of whom seem to have done much for the resuscitation of the old works. The latest palm-leaf MS. at Pattan is dated Samvat 1497. Among the names of the kings in whose reigns the MSS. were written, those of Siddharāja, Kumārapāla, Višaladeva and Sārangadeva are often found.
Among the places where the MSS. were written, we find the names of Pattan, Cambay, Dholakā, Karṇāvatī, Dungarapura, Vijāpura, Candrāvati and Prahlādanapura.
There is a peculiar system of numbering the pages of these MSS. On the left side there are the usual numerical signs but on the right the pages are indicated by distinct letters or syllables. Thus 1 is indicated by "Sva", 2 by "Sti", 3 loy "Śri”, 100 by "Sı”, 200 by "Sú", and so on. Old paper MSS. are generally marked with numbers, but many MSS. in che Vāļi Pārsvanātha are