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The Dhavala script is in old Kannada, scribed on palm leaves. It was scribed at Sravanabelgola, about 200 miles east of Mudabidre, and was preserved in the Siddhanta basadi complex. Sometimes after 1600 C.E., the collection of the manuscripts was moved to Mudabidre.
The content mostly on Präkrit is scribed on 592 strips of leaves which measure 27 inches wide by 3 inches long. The manuscript was rediscovered by Pandit Todarmal (1740-1767 C.E.). who was a scholar of Prakrit, Sanskrit, Hindi and Kannada, which he had taught himself. He had set a plan in motion to collect the Dhavala manuscript such that it could be published. Unfortunately, the project never materialized."7
In the next several decades. Manikchand of Solapur (Maharastra) saw the manuscript in 1883. and through his efforts from 1896 to 1922 - the contents of the manuscript were hand scribed by six scholars to repute. one of whom was Lokanatha Sastri. Copies were made on 1500 sheets of paper measuring 14 by 6 inches in Hindi script and 2800 sheets in Kannada. However, the trustees of the place did not agree to part with the scribed copies. It was with the effort of concealed scribing by the wife of the Kannada scriber, that the Kannada copy of the manuscript found its way out to Saharanpur in north India. There in 1926. it was read by Gajpati Sastri and scribed in Hindi by Sitaram Sastri. Later a dozen copies of the material reached Jain temples around the country."
4.2 The Reconstruction of Hindi of Satkhandagama -
At the 1935 Convention of Jain Mahasabha at Itarsi, the Jain community of India launched the Dhavala project, with specific objectives and guidelines. The monumental project was thus begun. deciphering the Dhavala contents and integrating it with other commentaries.
A team consisting of three scholars Pandit Hiralal Sastri, Prof. Hiralal Jain and Pandit Phoolchandra Jain was entrusted with the project. Pandit Hiralal Sastri with his deep knowledge of nyaya syllogism gained through the study of Prameya Ratnamala of Anantavira had brought inside into the reconstruction work, through the practical usage of Prakrit, Nyaya syllogism in conjunction with anekanta and its structural elaboration in Jaina thought, therefore, has simplified for the team a larger understanding of Jaina philosophical postulations. particularly of this pro-canonical work.29
5. The Satprarupana Sutra
Sat has Prakrit roots and it refers to the intrinsic distillate of reality, whereas sacch (Prakrit, satya in Sanskrit) - truth applies to a statement. The term prarupana (enunciation) is not a miripana (insight based opinion).
Arhat Vacana, 14(4), 2002
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