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FOREWORD
Much thought and extensive exchange of views have gone into the planning of the manuscript of Aspects of Jaina Religion by Dr. Vilas Sangave. This has been done primarily under the active guidance of the President of Bharatiya Jnanpith, Padma-bhushan Sahu Shriyans Prasad Jain.
Whatever the limited range of published works on Jainism in English so far, some of it most serious and some of a rudimentary nature, Aspects of Jaina Religion is expected to make its mark mainly because it combines the authenticity of the essentials with the simplicity of treatment.
It goes to the credit of Dr. Sangave that he has been able to weave a pattern of presentation where history, archaeology, philosophy, literature, political ramifications and social ethics, each with its own colour and charm, harmonise to illustrate the glory that is Jainism and its basic creed of universal compassion that is Ahimsā.
As the title of the book suggests, it does not deal with the whole range of nuances of philosophy or astounding sweep of religions and secular literature through centuries of pioneering work of great Achāryas and scholars in Prakrit, Sanskrit, Apabhramsa and in various regional languages, or the amazing achievements in the field of Art and Architecture, with any descriptive details, and yet it gives a panoramic view of each such aspect so that a reader can acquaint himself reasonably well with the fundamentals of Jain religion and culture, and also the the way an ascetic and a layman have to conduct himself under the prescribed codes.
A very distinctive feature of the book is that each
