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Dr. Charlotte Krause : Her Life & Literature
Sacred Books, i.e., more than 2000 years ago, and for the last time directly mentioned as existing at the time of Vastupāla, and Tejapāla, i.e., about 700 years ago, is described in our text as a still flourishing place of pilgrimage of miraculous sanctity. Our hymn thus represents the last definite record of the existence of that sacred place, its Requiem, as it were.
Similarly, the Devakulādinātha-stavana extols the sanctity of Devakula, another famous old place of pilgrimage, identical with today's Delwara near Udaipur, which once resounded with the chimes of the bells from 300 Jaina temples, and is now nothing but an insignificant village with three Jaina temples, surrounded by acres of ruins.
A whole list of such names of ancient places of pilgrimage is contained in the short Caityavandana, and constitutes its interest.
The Vīra-stuti is a striking example of onomatopoetic expression, and, at the same time, an indirect, but eloquent testimonial to the important role which music and musical science once played in the Svetāmbara ritual.
The Simandhara-stavana, last but not least, is of linguistic value as another of those not every frequent specimina of late Gaurjara Apabhramsa in its transition to Middle Gujarati. Besides, it is not without poetic charm, an outcome of both the skill and the devotion of the poet, who, incidentally, was one of the great figures of earliest Gujarati literature, if a conjecture ventured in the discourses is correct.
The introduction is meant to facilitate the understanding of the texts in their hagiographical settings. The subsequent discourses attempt to define the historical and literary background, and, so far as possible, to identify the author, of each individual text.
Thanks are due to my learned colleague at the Scindia Oriental Institute, Ujjain, Pt. Gopikrishna N. Dvivedi, as well as to the erudite Controller of the Institute, Dr. H. R. Diwekar, for going through the Saṁskṛta texts and suggesting several improvements.
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