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AHIMSA TIMES - APRIL 2009 ISSUE - www.jainsamaj.org
Page 8 of 15
HUNDREDS OF SACRED JAIN BOOKS AND SCRIPTURES NOW AVAILABLE ON THE WEB A newly established web site, named www.jaingranths.com which contains more than 600 volumes of sacred Jain literature has been established recently with the inspiration and encouragement of Acharya Saint, Shree Suvudhi Sagar Ji maharaj belonging to Jain Digambar sect during his stay at Agrawal Jain Digambar Dharmshala, at Kota in Rajasthan. The web site has been officially inaugurated on the 19th March, 2009 on the occasion of birth day of Acharya Shree Suvidhi Sagar Ji maharaj. Books as old as 2000 years or even more, written in Sanskrit, Prakrit, Gujarati, Hindi and English on subjects like religion, culture, history, geography, Astrology, Ayurveda and Mathematics have been made available on this web site. This massive effort by the learned saint will go a long way in spreading the Jain religion across the world and help in provoding protection to the valuable ancient literture. Important scriptures covered ob this web site so far include Shat-khandagam, Tatwasutra, Samaysar, Padma puran, Kalyankarak and Sarvarth Siddhi. According to Acharya Shree, the web site will eventually have a collection of 5000 books both from Digambar and Shwetambar sects.
MARATHI WEBSITE WWW.SMARANIKA.COM ON JAINISM LAUNCHED Number of articles on Jainism in Marathi and some in Hindi are published on the website. This website is created by Ennovata, an Indian Software company from Pune. The articles are in unicode and the readers do not require downloading Marathi fonts for viewing the site. Beside articles are also given in PDF form. It is the first website on Jainism in Marathi language.
NEW BOOKS ON JAINISM PARAMATMAPRAKASHA - By Acarya Joindu, Apabhramsha text + Hindi translation, Pandit Nathuram Premi Research Series Volume 9,Preface and Hindi tr. by Dr Jaykumar Jalaj,2007 215 x 140 mm 72 pp.978-81-8876909-4 Paperback Rs. 60. A follower of Kundakunda and Pujyapada, Acarya Joindu was a Jain monk. His compositions however embrace the universal spirituality later found in the works of Kabir. The current work by Joindu has been influenced by Kundakunda's MOKKHAPAHUDA as well as Pujyapada's SAMADHITANTRA. But its sheer spontaneity and flow helps it hold its own in such distinguished company. In the tradition of earlier monks like Kundakunda, Umasvami, Pujyapada and Samantabhadra, Joindu discloses nothing about himself in his works. Not much is known about him other than the fact that he probably lived in the 6th century CE. Joindu wrote in Apabhramsha, the language of the masses. Apabhramsha was a newly developing language, free from the formal restrictions of Sanskrit. Hence, the free flow of ideas and the verve in his writings. The text has been sensitively translated into Hindi with minimal interference and succeeds in conveying to the reader the feel of the original. The Hindi translation reads as smoothly as the original text.
Illustrated FUNDAMENTALS OF JAINISM - Compiled by Sadhvi Vijayashri Arya, English tr. by Dr Priyadarshana Jain, Edited by Sanjay Surana English. Edition Rs. 160. Tirthankara Mahavira placed great emphasis on knowledge, especially discriminatory knowledge or bheda jñana. He held that correct knowledge is important to ensure correct conduct. Jain Doctrine is vast. Jain scriptures are written in Prakrit and Sanskrit and are immensely voluminous. Hence, for the average layman, studying the scriptures is next to impossible. Hence, in order to help the lay person learn the essence of the Jain doctrine in brief, certain succinct text were composed by Jain ascetics. They were meant to be studied thoroughly and put into practice. This is one such text. It attempts to present the entire Jain doctrine in 25 sutras. The 6 dravyas, 9 tattvas, etc. are all covered in the 25 Bol. The language is simple and the information accurate. The English translation by Dr Priyadarshana Jain is quite apt. The book is richly illustrated, printed fully on art paper and beautifully designed with plenty of charts, diagrams and paintings. A pleasure to read and study. To obtain the book, readers may contact: Mr. Manish Modi, Hindi Granth Karyalay, 9 Hirabaug, CP Tank, Mumbai 400004 Phones: +91 (0)22 2382 6739, 2035 6659.
JAINISM AND THE TEMPLES OF MOUNT ABU AND RANAKPUR - An Exquisite Coffee Table Book on Jainism, Text by Lothar Clemont, Photographs by Thomas Dix, Text edited by Dilip Surana, Coffee Table Book, English, Distributed by Hindi Granth Karyalay, 2006 310 x 245 mm 96 art plates in full colour, Deluxe Hardcover Edition Rs. 1500.
This is a truly exquisite coffee table book on Jainism! Beautifully conceived, gorgeously shot. Each photograph is worth framing. Jain temples are known for their architectural excellence and exquisite iconography. This book
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8/11/2009
