________________
No 1]
Babu Deo Kumar Ji Jain otherwise. He fell seriously ill soon after and breathed his last in August 1908, in the extraordinary circumstances already enumerated.
We have already seen how peacefully and manfully he embraced death. At that time he had no anxiety about any thing except the preservation of the ancient scriptures and the uplift of the community. So for this purpose he created a trust of a property worth more than a lac of rupees fetching an annual income of about ten thousand rupees. This Trust now maintains the Central Jain Oriental Library, Arrah; the Girls School Arrah, finances the Syadbad Mahavidayala Benares, charitable dispensaries at Shri Parsvanath and at Arrah and several Jain temples at different places. Besides these it renders financial help to poor and deserving students irrespective of caste and creed. He further made an appeal to the members of his community and its leaders in the following words :
My last request to my Jain brothers and the leaders is that they should immediately strive for the preservation of ancient 'Shastras' 'Puranas'. It is these things that will proclaim the loftiness of Jain religion and propogate its light throughout the world, making it immortal. This was my aspiration since long and I had taken a vow of leading a life of celebacy till I fulfil this work. I am deeply pained not to have the good fortune of accomplishing this holy task. Now it is for you to take a vow for the completion of this holiest of holy tasks. The responsibility is now entirely yours."
This last message of his, spurred the entire community into action and his two illustrious sons, Babu Nirmal Kumar Jain Ex. Member Council of State and Babu Chakreshwar Kumar Jain, B. Sc., B.L., Ex. M. L. A., even in the midst of their manifold preoccupations leave no stone unturned to see that every word of the message and the purposes mentioned in the trust ars completely fulfilled.
In the end when we have surveyed the volume of works done by Babu Deokumar Ji and see that he accomplished all these at the early age of thirty, we are simply wonder-struck and are reminded of the very apt saying that "Man lives not in years but in deeds."
