Biology in Jaina Treatise on Reals

Author(s): N L Jain
Publisher: Parshwanath Vidyapith

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Biology in Jaina Treatise on Reals
been included which cover case-endings. (nominative, possessive, locative etc. which lead to clarification regarding the meaning of the aphorisms), compundings and utility of aphorismic structures and the terms used therein. (ii) Terminology : The earlier translations of Jaina literature, in general, showed a varying terminology by different authors. Many-a-times, a single English word (i.e. perception etc.) was being used for many spe confuse a new reader. There has been a feeling that this has a strain on him when he studied more than one book. About twenty such terminologies of individual origin are available. It was decided to use a highly simple and common terminology developed (out of them) by a Board of Scholars - under Jain International , Ahmedabad (1995). A good number of terms have to be coined for their simplicity and non-traditional derivatives and words have been used - perhaps not to the liking of the traditional linguists. It is hoped that the readers will appreciate this endeavour. (iii) References : This work involved a good amout of studies of books and journals. They have been used freely and repetitively in the translation and notes. It has been thought proper to avoid their referencing at each point to contain the volume of the text. However, they have been listed in the end in Appendix A. In the same way, a list of symbols and abbreviations is also given. (iv) Supplementary Notes : The addition of supplementary notes at the end of the commentary of aphorisms was thought to be an essential component of a twentieth century scholarly endeavour. They give not only the summary of contents of the respective aphorism commentary but additional points also found in other commentaries alongwith the current scientific opinions on the related subjects. In most cases, they also indicate different renderings of aphorisms in the S-version. Their importance has been mentioned earlier. The first part of these notes may seem somewhat superflous but it was felt necessary for onward notes. These notes have been added with an unprejudiced mind and logic-amenable faith in the ancient wisdom. Many recent authors have been referred to in this connection and logistics have been impressed upon. Vidyananda's Explanaory forms a substantial part of these notes with or without direct reference. It is hoped that these notes will add to the charm of this work. (c) Translation Technology : This translation work has been undertaken on the basis of the above points in mind alongwith the following additional salient features : (i) It has been pointed out that this explanatory has autocommentary on its semi-aphorisms. In fact, it is the autocommentary which gives the real purport of the semi-aphorisms. It would have been a high repetition to give their import also. Hence, they have not been taken into consideration in this translation. This does not cause any disadvantage in any way. (ii) The Hindi translator of this explanatory gave only the gist of the contents in running Hindi. He did neither have the commentarial introduction
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