Jain Society Lansing MI 2000 05 Pratistha

SR No.: 528511
Original Sutra Author: N/A
Author: Jain Center Lansing MI
Publisher: USA Jain Center Lansing MI
Publication Year: 2000
Total Pages: 108
Language: English
Classification: Magazine, USA_Souvenir Jain Center MI Lansing, & USA
File Size: 4 MB

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When the work was completed the king celebrated the historical event. The book was placed on the king's elephant and a colourful procession was held. More than 300 copies of this book were made and sent to different places in India and abroad. Regular examinations were conducted based on the book, and prizes were awarded to the successful candidates. After nearly 900 years this grammar is still an important source in the study of Sanskrit and Prakrit languages.
Hemachandra had once predicted that Kumarapal - who was the nephew of Siddharaj – would become the king of Gujarat after Siddharaj's death. Siddharaj had no son but he did not like Kumarapal and was determined that Kumarapal should not become the king after his death. Siddharaj, one day, ordered his men to arrest or kill Kumarapal. Siddharaj's men searched for Kumarapal who, terrified, went into hiding. He sought refuge at Acarya's monastery (upashray). Hemachandra hid him in a stack of palm leaves. Siddharaj's soldiers, unable to find Kumarapal, went away. Since that day Kumarapal was under the influence and obligation of this great monk.
The prophecy came true. Kumarapal became king after the death of Siddharaj. Hemachandra already had an honourable place in the kingdom but, once Kumarapal became king, his influence increased tremendously. Kumarapal had always respected Jain traditions but was now a true devotee of the Acharya. Kumarapal's period was a golden era in Solanki-history. The king made many social and political reforms. He was under the influence of Hemachandra and had given orders not to kill any animals in the kingdom. Though he believed in the principle of non-violence, through necessity, he fought many battles and expanded the boundaries of his kingdom. Hemachandra had a special place in the king's court. The King regularly paid his respects to him and received his blessing.
Hemachandra carried out extensive research on many subjects. It is believed that he spent much of his time writing and dictating his literary works. He was a great poet too. His composition of devotional poems in praise of the Jain Tirthankaras has put him in the front-line with other great poets. Hemachandra stayed with people and stayed with time. He did not live like a hermit: he came out of his monastery and took part in the social life of people. Indeed, Hemachandra influenced kings as well as common people. He changed the affairs of the kingdom whenever it was practicable. His philosophy of non-killing and non-injury made revolutionary changes in the lives of everyday people.
Hemachandra wrote another mammoth work called the Trishasti Shalaka Purusha Charita ("Biographies of 63 Great Personalities"). This book is written in prose and contains 36,000 verses. It narrates the lives of 24 Tirthankaras and other eminent personalities. The book provides absorbing reading, describing many aspects of human life. The Lives of the Jain Elders is a new book by R. C. C. Fynes of De Montfort University, Leicester. It is a translation of Sthaviravali, one of the appendices to the above work. It was published in 1998 by Oxford University Press in their Oxford World Classics series. The book is an admirable effort by Dr. Fynes to bring an important work of Hemachandra to Western readers.
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