________________
PRASTAVANA
I have never favoured a language on the basis of a region or a state. Rather, on account of its all-pervasiveness, I had always been a protege of the English language. Though English is not the only language of the world, yet it is the most prominent one. When I term it as most prominent, I mean that it has more readers as compared to all the other languages..
Late Dr. S. Radhakrishnan once said to me, “You people write books in Hindi alone without calculating as to how many people in the world can read and write Hindi. Non-Hindi-speaking states out. number the Hindi-speaking ones". He further remarked, "I am not the only scholar of Indian philosophy in the country. But I am more popular in the world than any other Indian scholar because all my works have been in English only".
; It gives me great pleasure to note that the English edition of my work Agama aura Tripitaka-eka anuselana, Vol I' is with its learned readers. Though its Hindi edition was published long ago, I am confi. dent that in the realms of English language it is bound to evince same degree of novelty and freshness as it once did in the field of English language.
A long chain of events have intervened between the translation and publication of this work which can be summed up as follows. Some of the chapters of the work were translated into English by Muni Mahendra Kumara Ji (II). These chapters were about to be published as separate books. Late Upadhaya Muni Mahendra Kumara Ji (I) of Calcutta got rest of the chapters translated into English by Prof. K.C. Lalvani. Thus both Muni Mahendra Kumara Ji (I) & (II) are associated with the work from the cditing of the Hindi edition to the translation of the English edition.
. During the Delhi Caturmasya of Acarya Tulasi, task of publica. tion of the book began with the consent of Acarya Ji under the over all guidance of Muni Mahendra Kumara Ji (II) through Sri Rajendra Kumara, Director of the Today and Tomorrow's Publications. As far as cditing and making improvements is concerned Muni Mahendra Kumara Ji (II) shouldered all the responsibility then. When the project was almost ncar. its completion the events took a fateful turn. A situation of separation came in. The apple-cart was upset.
