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BOOK REVIEW
JAIN SAHITYA-KA BRHAD ITIHAS (A Comprehensive History of Jaina Literature in Hindi), Vol. III. Agamic byākhyāen : Mohanlal Mehta: P. V. Research Institute, Varanasi : Pages 8+548 : Price Rs. 15.00.
This is the third volume of an encyclopaedic work on the Jaina canonical literature of which the earlier volumes had already been reviewed in somewhat disproportionate detail in these columns. As the sub-title to the volume indicates, its preoccupation is with the diverse Agamic interpretations, notably niryuktis, bhāşyas, cūrnis and tikās. While the text provides details on each, the readability of the book is immensely enhanced by an exclusive and learned introduction by the author on the entire field of auxiliary sacred literature of the Jainas. Excluded from this is an equally vast literature in languages other than Prakrit and Sanskrit and perhaps that will be presented between separate covers in future.
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