Ananthnath Jina Chariyam

Author(s): Nemichandrasuri, Jitendra B Shah, Rupendrakumar Pagariya
Publisher: L D Indology Ahmedabad

Page 6

PREFACE
The life of the Tirthankaras enjoys a considerable reverence and has great importance in Jainism. It is said that just as holy waters are capable of cleansing all the impurities of the body, in the same way the reading of the life of Tirthankaras washes away all the sins accumulated since long time. The Anantanatha-Jina-Carita is a biographical work narrating such a holy life-story of Jina Anantanatha, the 14th Tirthankara. It is composed in Prakrit. This work has been edited on the basis of the only available single manuscript stored by the Samvegi Upāśraya Jñana Bhandara in Ahmedabad.
Acarya Nemicandrasuri who is the author of this work, flourished in the 13th century. He has made the work interesting by delineating many incidental stories, which are essentially meant to exemplify lucidly as well as elegantly various tenets of Jainism. This work also vividly reflects the contemporary socio-religious and cultural life.
Pt. Rupendrakumar Pagariya has taken great pains and in editing this work. He is a scholar with a long standing in the field on editing and research in Prakrit Literature. He has penned an exhaustive introduction in Hindi to enable the reader to have glimpses of the various facets of the work.
We are thankful to Pt. Rupendrakumar Pagariya for the efforts he has put up in bringing to light this unpublished work.
We believe that this publication will prove useful for the students and scholars interested in the field of Prakrit literature.
Jitendra B. Shah Director