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Narrative Literature of the Jainas.
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Oriental Series I have the intention to write a History of Indian narrative literature and to publish it in English in the same series. In order to execute my plan, I must beg the Jaina pandits and other owners of valuable Mss. to lend me their aid, as Dharma Vijayaji and Indra Vijayji have done and continue doing
Every kind of stories is represented in the Jaina Sanskrit and Prakrit literature: there are sagas, legends, romances novels, fairy tales, beast fables, anecdotes, &c. Very often these stories are full of wit and humour. Most of them are intended to give in an attractive form instruction in the most sublime morals of mankind, morals which presc ibe chastity, sobriety, honesty, readiness to assist others, even one's enemies, and to forgive offences which others may comm against us, and before all अहिंसा, or, the duty of avoiding not only killing, but all offences whatsoever directed against our fellow-creatures. Or again, these stories give rules for a clever conduct of life. But besides their attractive form and their useful and often very amusing purport these stories have a great scientific value, especially a great value for historical research in the most comprehensive sense the word. I beg to give here some specimens from the Siddhanta or from the holy Scriptures of the Jainas, in order to prove this assertion. The first story is taken from E. Leumann's edition of the Avashyaka Stories, p. 19. It runs thus.
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एगम्मि रणे रायभरण नगराओ उव्वसिय लोगो ठिओ । पुणो वि घाडिभरण पवहणाणि उज्झिय पलाओ । तन्थ दुवे अणाहप्पाया अन्धो पय उज्झया । लोगग्गिणा वणदवो लग्गो । ते य भीया । अन्धो छुट्टकच्छो अगिन्तेन पलायई । पङ्गुणा भणियं । अन्ध मा इओ नासणं । इओ पेव अग्गी । तेण भणियं । कुओ पुण गच्छामि । पङ्गुणा भणियं । अहं मग्गदेसणा समत्थो पङ्गू । ता मं खन्धे करेहि जेण अहिकण्डकजलणादिअवाए परिहवन्तो सुहं नगरं पावमि । तेण तहत्ति पडिवज्जिय अणुडिचं पङ्गुवयणं । गया य खेमेण दोवि नगरं ति ॥
Translation.
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In a certain forest there were people who had escaped from
