Agam 39 Chhed 06 Mahanishith Sutra

Author(s): Punyavijay, Rupendrakumar Pagariya, Dalsukh Malvania, H C Bhayani
Publisher: Prakrit Granth Parishad

Page 10

MAHĀNISIHA STUDIES AND EDITION IN GERMANY
PREFACE
Padmabhūsana śri Dalsukhbhāj Mālvaniã asked me, during my stay in Ahmedabad in February 1992, to prepare a Report about the studies and the edition of the Mahānisiha by Professors Walther Schubring, Frank-Richard Hamm and Jozef Deleu, as he would like it to be attached to the Mahānisīha being published by the Prakrit Text Society. The valuable contributions of Walther Schubring and F.-R. Hamm are in German and the scholars not conversant with this language coul: till now not benefit from them. The work of Albrecht Weber is available in English, and the contribution of Jozef Deleu is written in English, important parts of which have been, with his kind permission, included in the present Report.
A direct and coniplete translation of the German contributions would be of little use as they are distributed over a long span of time (1918-1963) and in three volumes and are penned by two scholars. They contain some repetitions, and some of the views expressed by Schubring in 1918 were not maintained by him in 1963. Moreover, such a translation would becoine too lengthy to find a place here. It was, hence, decided that the contributions of Weber and others should be arranged anew and edited in an English garb. Thus, 13-8 are based on their writings. The contents of the Mahānisiha I-VI as described by them are given in 73. Their analysis of its language and metres follows in 14-5, the parallels detected by Schubring and others are discussed in 56. These lead in 17 to the results achieved by them about the date and the authorship of the MNA.
18 contains conclusions drawn by Schubring and Deleu. In 19 some important passages which are often discussed have been collected. In 110 we reprint some reviews of the Studien zum Mahānisiha.
On my part, I have given full details in 11 about the publications concerned and in 12 about the manuscripts utilized. The Report concludes with my Epilogue.
In my difficult task I have been helped by Professors Colette Caillat, Nalini Balbir, and Klaus Bruhn. R. Grünendahl and others have kindly introduced me to the subtle technicalities of a "computer". My sincere thanks are due to all of them, specially to śri Dalsukhbhāi Mālvaņiā.
This Report, wherein the main parts of his studies are incorporated, is dedicated respectfully to Prof. Dr. Jozef Deleu on the occasion of his birthday.
Berlin, in February 1993.
Candrabhāl Tripāthi