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known that on account of schisms, calamities, and the general habit to remember it orally, at the time of every council the mutilated canon was required to be put in proper order.
(ii) The last two redactions of the Jain Canon took place particularly in the provinces where S'aurseni and Maharastri were prevalent. (iii) Among Jainas in the west, from a very early time the Maharastri was a favourite dialect as is evidenced from the works like quffs on the scriptures, वसुदेवहिंडि of संघदास etc.
(iv) In the scriptures themselves, the nom, sing. .33 in manifestly later parts and even very rarely 3034 in the absolutive is found. Thus all along the Maharastri influence did operate constantly upon the Jain Canon.
(v) The influence of Maharastri is so much
33. See. Barnett. Ant & Anu. Trans. P. 123 "An attempt has been made to discriminate between the older and later Prakrit of the text. As is apparent, the narratives which are abbreviated by the use of जहा and तहेव often show Nom. in it as do also the colophons of several sections, whereas the full text regularly has the older nom, in g."
34. See, Ant. Text, P. 12. 1. 23.