Contribution of Jainas to Sanskrit and Prakrit Literature

Author(s): Vasantkumar Bhatt, Jitendra B Shah, Dinanath Sharma
Publisher: Kasturbhai Lalbhai Smarak Nidhi Ahmedabad

Page 20

A Teacher in Real Sense
It was perhaps the month of September, 1994, when I saw Dr. K. R. Chandra in the Prakrit class in M. A. Part - I. As I and some other students had offered Prakrit as subsidiary with main Sanskrit very late. Dr. Chandra engaged extra lectures for two months to enable us to cope with the rest of students. It was his very style that in a very short period I could understand the language whose name, I did not know a month before and consequently he assigned me the correction work of a Prakrit Hindi Kosh which he was preparing for students by concising the Paiyasaddamahannavo. He started the editing of Ardhamagadhi agama text in order to restore the original form of Ardhamagadhi language. He asked me to prepare the word index cards to analyse the phonetical and morphological forms of the words. To compare these words with contemporary literature like Pali and Ashokan inscriptions, I had to prepare the cards of Suttanipata and Ashokan inscriptions also.
. These words enriched and strengthened my knowledge and conception of Middle Indo Aryan languages. A boy from poor family was taken care of like anything whenever difficult circumstances arose. Whatever I am now, it is due to his dedicated effort to make me so. He wanted me to be conversant in all Prakrits and Jainology. I do not know how far I have been successful to his expectations, but I will try my best to be so in future and will walk on the path, he has paved for editing the Agama texts. I shall feel thankful for myself if I will be able to return even 1% of his efforts, he has rendered to build my life.
In the end I pray God to give eternal peace to the soul of Prof. K. R. Chandra, my revered Guru.
Dinanath Sharma Reader, Prakrit Pali Deptt.
School of Languages Gujarat University, Ahmedabad.
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