________________ Preface other important books which would hardly have been possible without his great learning and scholarship. On account of want of time at my disposal and various other considerations I have not been able to go through the various Manuscripts which are available at some Bhandaras' and * Upas'hrayas'. However, I intend to do this at a later date. But in this volume I have given an exhaustive introduction, having collected all available and useful information about the author, his works, his date, his Gachchha, his predecessors and his pupils etc. I have traced the origin of the story literature of the Jainas and have explained the purpose etc. of the author in writing it. For the benefit of the students I have given also a brief summary of the portion prescribed from the story, and at the end of the introduction I have instituted a comparison between Sirivalakaha and Kummaputta so that the students might have & comparative study of the two books. Over and above the introduction I have given a word for word English translation of the text, and full explanatory, critical, and grammatical notes in English--which is a special feature of this book. One more special feature is the illustration of the Siddhachakra or the Navapada
