Aspect of Jainology Part 2 Pandita Bechardas Doshi

Author(s): M A Dhaky, Sagarmal Jain
Publisher: Parshwanath Vidyapith

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During the famous Dāņdi-kuch movement, Mahatma Gandhi was locked behind the bars. Despite Mahatma's forbidding, Pt. Doshi a ssumed the editorship of the Navajīvana, the periodical whose editor was Mahatma Gandhi. As an inevitable consequence, he was arrested by the British Government. After his release he was served with an order prohibiting him to enter the British territory. He, therefore, had to shift his headqnasters to Rajasthan; taught there Prāksta and the āgamas to some young Sthānakvāsi friars and other lay students, and during those years wrote his famous text book, the Prāksta mārgopadeśikā and a book on the grammar of the Apabhramsa language.
In 1936 the bar on his entry was lifted and he returned to Ahmedabad. He now prepared a case enjoining the University of Bombay to introduce the courses in the Ardhamāgadhi and this too on parity with Samsksta and Pāli. This was eventually accepted. In the meantime he consented to be the editor of the Jainaśāsana, a half-monthly magazine in Gujarāti which openly discussed Jaina theological and dogmatic questions. Then on he spent several years in writing his innumerable useful articles on several topics, did editorial prefaces and so forth, and taught many young Jaina friars and nuns, some of whom like Mahattarā Mșgāvati Sri ji became the renowned holy person of the Church. Pt. Doshi's reputation as a first rate scholar and teacher of the Prākṣtas was later much too well known. However, he was also a great Sanskritist and as such he was honoured with the national award for Sanskrit by Government of India.
By disposition he was sober and soft-spoken inspite of his being a fearless revolutionary. His enormous toleration to sufferings, the ablities to survive in adversities, and cool-headeness despite angry oppositions he met with, and the matching spirit of an undaunted fighter endowed him with a long span of life of over 92 years. We feel very subdued before the character, stature, and learning of this great man about whom his countrymen know very little because he wrote largely in his native tongue and at occasions in Hindi. We, with all humility, dedicate thit small volume to his sacred memory and while doing so take an opportunity profusely to thank the contributors who readily sent their articles by way of homage to Pt. Doshi.
In the preparation of this volume, the coördination of the sections in three different languages proved a difficult task. Since a style-sheet was not earlier circulated (as it ought to have been), each author followed his own conventions which considerably added to the difficulties at editing. Had it not been for the generous assistance of Dr. Ramanik Shah for overseeing the printing of the Gujarāti section, it could not have been what it is. Dr. Arun Singh and Shri Mahesh Kumar helped us reading through the proofs of the Hindi and English sections. We feel beholden to them as also to the staff of the Pārsvanātha Jaina Vidyāśrama. Sri V. K. Venkata Varadhan of the American Institute of Indian